New policing model has Corps' attention

US Marine Corps News

By Cpl. Christopher Duncan | Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton | November 08, 2012

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Military police here have recently begun a new approach to enforcing the law, and the Marine Corps has taken note.

Marine and civilian law-enforcement agents began training Oct. 15 to apply a model that takes the standard ways of policing and combines them into a unique, more effective way of conducting operations, according to 1st Lt. Cesar Guerra, assistant operations officer for the Camp Pendleton Provost Marshal’s Office.

Combining the standard models -- i.e., intelligence-led, problem-oriented and community-oriented policing models -- is a methodical shift in law-enforcement operations that allows police to rapidly respond to criminal activity and incidents, said Guerra, developer of the new multi-dimensional model.

With the new approach, police are able to triangulate problem areas and focus strength and resources rather than blanket the base with forces, according to civilian Capt. Leroy Corte-Real, the PMO operations officer.

"As MPs, for the last 20 years, we've been reactive to what we respond to on base. You call and we're there," said Guerra. So what we're trying to do here is three-dimensional policing ... which we feel is a more proactive approach."

Guerra said the Marine Corps has adopted the model, and leaders are making efforts to see the methods taught to military police at the academy level.

Another dimension to the new model is the incorporation of elements of Combat Hunter, once a Corps-unique skill set used in counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan.

Guerra said Combat Hunter skills such as observing and tracking -- or scouting methods that involve following evidence trails -- are applicable in law enforcement on a base as well as in combat operations, and Marines with Combat Hunter skills greatly enhance on-scene police work.

"Understanding the atmospherics of an area is important for effective policing," said Col. Gino P. Amoroso, commanding officer of Security and Emergency Services here. "With this training, an officer is better able to identify community safety and security concerns and know how to partner with the community to solve problems.

"What we wanted to do is take the skills that Marines are taught in Combat Hunter, which are based in human behavior, profiling and tracking, and adapt those skills to a law-enforcement setting. This is to assure that Marine and civilian officers have the ability to use their environment as an advantage when responding to incidents."