Lessons From the Battlefield: Counter-Insurgency for Domestic Law Enforcement – December 15, 9:00-11:00am

with

Lieutenant Michael J. Domnarski

and Trooper Michael Cutone

Massachusetts State Police

Thursday, December 15th

9:00 am – 11:00 am

At The Westminster Institute

6731 Curran Street, McLean, VA 22101

RSVP: info@westminster-institute.org

Springfield, Massachusetts, was ranked the 12^th most dangerous city in America and had a rampant gang problem.  A rise in crime and gang violence was exacerbated by budgetary restraints on the police force.  Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Cutone had recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq where he and Trooper Thomas Sarrouf had played essential roles in a Special Operations mission in the Avghani region of Iraq. Avghani was a key route for insurgent travel to and from the Syrian border as well as a safe haven for insurgent rest and resupply. Before the arrival of Cutone’s team, al Qaeda–affiliated terrorists had destroyed the town’s police headquarters, leaving the community and its governing structure in shambles. Combining his 20 years of Special Forces experience with his law enforcement background, Cutone worked with Sarrouf and their team to restore the confidence and capability of the local Iraqi infantry and police, which in turn stabilized the town and its environs.  In the fall of 2009, Cutone, with the support of his commanders, met with Springfield Police Department Deputy Chief John Barbieri to discuss how the Avghani Counterinsurgency Operations (COIN) model could be adapted to law enforcement operations and integrated into an overall strategy to address the crime problem in the North End. After weeks of planning, a shooting in late October served as the catalyst to begin coordinated law enforcement efforts and the development of the Counter Criminal Continuum (C³) Policing methodology. Drawing upon the principles of community-oriented and intelligence-led policing, integrated with the military counterinsurgency model and lessons learned at Avghani, law enforcement in Springfield has made great inroads over the past year with limited resources. This briefing will detail the C3 model, with lessons for both gang-related crime and domestic terrorism.

http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=2475&issue_id=92011

The Westminster Institute • 6729 Curran Street • McLean, VA 22101

Tel. 1-703-288-2885 • www.westminster-institute.org

Katharine Cornell Gorka, Executive Director

kcg@westminster-institute.org