Convergent Models of Police Cooperation: The Case of Anti-Organized Crime and Anti-Terrorism Activities in Canada (From International Police Cooperation: Emerging Issues, Theory and Practice, P 126-143, 2010, Frederic Lemieux, ed. - See NCJ-230937)

• NCJ Number: 230943
• Author(s): Chantal Perras; Frederic Lemieux
• Date Published: 2010
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines the convergence of police cooperation by comparing police investigations of organized crime and terrorism in Canada, suggesting that cooperation models used in organized crime investigations have been replicated in countering other forms of serious crime such as terrorism.

Abstract

The chapter examines how social learning influenced the operation of a complex joint investigation team that involved many officers from Canadian police forces whose professional practices were sometimes dissimilar. The focus is on the working relationships of police officers during a joint criminal investigation that culminated in national and international arrests and warrants (Operation Springtime, 2001). Bandura's (1977) research on social learning provides a relevant conceptual framework within which to explain how individuals in a given work environment are able to learn, internalize, and effectively reproduce techniques and values through interactions with colleagues. Social learning is portrayed as a multistage process that involves attention and concentration, information retention and processing, the reproduction/imitation of procedures and behaviors, and the motivation to learn fueled by individual rewards and sanctions. The analysis of the role of social learning in propagating police cooperation frameworks uses the example of Canada's Regional Integrated Squads (RISs) and Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs), two specialized investigative teams formed with a view toward maximizing partnership and cooperation among police organizations. RISs are involved in anti-organized crime activities in the province of Quebec; and INSETs are involved in anti-terrorism activities throughout Canada. Convergence between the RISs and INSETs are identified in the areas of organizational framework, legal framework, operational framework, and structural framework. The chapter notes that although the models of police cooperation in these two types of operation have many similarities, the multijurisdictional character of anti-terrorist activities had a unique feature, i.e., the confidentiality of national-security issues, which poses a distinctive challenge in implementing investigations that involve multiple agencies. 1 table and 12 notes