Police and Community Cooperation in Counterterrorism: Evidence and Insights from Australia

Summary

Effectively engaging the Muslim community is a challenge for police given many Muslims feel unfairly targeted by counterterrorism policies and laws because of their faith. This article explores how such perceptions influence the willingness of Muslims to voluntarily cooperate in counterterrorism efforts, drawing on data collected from Muslims living in Australia. We test whether procedural justice policing can help buffer this perception of being targeted as a security threat and whether it can enhance Muslims’ willingness to cooperate with police. Efforts by the Australian Federal Police to engage Muslim communities in Australia are also examined. The implications of the results for community-based approaches to counterterrorism are discussed.

Keywords

Counterterrorism Securitization

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