Military Police contains information about military police functions in maneuver and mobility support, area security, law and order, internment/resettlement, and police intelligence operations.
Issue link: https://militarypolice.epubxp.com/i/484012
43 MILITARY POLICE . 19-15-1 By Major Early Howard Jr. T he Fort Hood Directorate of Emergency Services and leaders of the 89th Military Police Brigade (Griffns) recognized the need to change policing strategies at Fort Hood, Texas. Junior military police leaders had gained abundant combat skills through multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, but they had little garrison policing experience. Griffn leaders needed to fnd a policing model that could replicate conditions similar to combat, but could easily be applied to the garrison mission. They recognized that a shift from reactive to preventive policing was required in order to solve complex crime problems. The Fort Hood Police Department made cutting edge changes in military policing by adopting a professional policing model, conduct- ing police performance management, shifting to the use of criminal intelligence (CRIMINT), and assigning company sectors to solve garrison policing problems. A professional policing model helped provide a phi- losophy and strategy to prevent crime on Fort Hood. In- stallation leaders elected to transition from a community policing model to a problem-oriented policing model. Problem- oriented policing models address how police should perceive their function and approach their work, and they offer spe - cifc mechanisms for doing so. Problem-oriented policing requires a commitment to implementing the new strategy, rigorously evaluating its effectiveness and, subsequently, reporting the results in ways that will beneft other police agencies. This method of policing focuses on statistical con- centrations—places, times, offenders, and victims. 1 Prob- lem-oriented policing helped to signifcantly reduce crimes committed on the installation. Conducting police performance management helped to improve police performance by setting standards focused on outcomes. Effectiveness was not only measured by the number of patrols or case closures, but also by reductions in crime, disorder, and fear levels on and off the installation. The Fort Hood Police Department established four goals for police performance: • Goal 1. Prevent, reduce, and control crime. • Goal 2. Prevent, reduce, and control disorder. • Goal 3. Prevent, reduce, and control the fear of crime. • Goal 4. Improve the effectiveness, effciency, and fair- ness of police operations. Measures of effectiveness were used to evaluate police pa- trol performance at the tactical level. Each of the measures can be statically tracked and compared using a statistical comparison process introduced by the New York City Police Department in 1994. The process, which has supported a paradigm shift in modern policing, allows statistics to drive police messages, responses, and allocations. The implemen- tation of police performance management initiatives helped hold police managers (company commanders) accountable for their measured performance. 2 CRIMINT The area of police intelligence operations has always been a military police battlefeld function that supports the operations process and protection activities by providing exceptional police information and intelligence to enhance situational understanding, the protection of the force, and homeland security. 3 Police intelligence operations integrate and support military police and Army operations in combat environments, but they do not provide enough focus for the garrison environment. Griffn leaders realized that a shift to the use of CRIMINT was necessary to professionalize the force in garrison policing. CRIMINT, which has been successfully used by national and international policing agencies for more than 20 years, is the result of the collection, analysis, and interpretation of all available information concerning known and potential criminal threats and vulnerabilities of supported organiza- tions. 4 Shifting from police intelligence operations to the use of CRIMINT signaled Fort Hood senior leaders that military police are professionals in analyzing crime using industry standards. The focus on crime analysis helped develop pat- terns, seasonal trends, and actionable intelligence in sup- port of the garrison policing mission. The crime analysis framework was structured along two levels of planning: • Tactical. Tactical-level planning emphasized options and Companies developed CRIMINT cells to collect and analyze information from their sectors. The function of the CRIMINT cells in garrison policing was similar to that of company intelligence support teams during deployment.