The role of community policing in nurturing acceptance

In a highly polarized world and a highly volatile situation, many wars are perturbing the lives of many, forcing governments to take real measures to protect their citizens.

Away from the geopolitical analysis and speculation, I would like to highlight one of many important aspects related to war preparation, which is the protocol of living in community shelters, historically comparable to the use of air raid shelters during major conflicts.

During the war in Lebanon in the mid-eighties, I published an article about this protocol, and it seems very relevant to these days.

1-      This is not your house: A shelter is a shared space hosting many people, in some cases they don’t know each other, or even don’t talk to each other. You need to accept this fact, and act accordingly.

2-      No smoking: Although people tend to smoke when they’re anxious it’s strictly forbidden to smoke in shelters, for health and safety reasons, as others aren’t obliged to tolerate it. A common practice is to smoke at the entrance of the shelter, but one needs to remember that the air will bring the smoke inside.

3-      No spicy food: It might look odd to say it, and it’s not targeting a specific population. The smell of spicy food in closed areas remains forever, so one would better postpone his favorite meal till going back home.

4-      Respect the life cycle: People are supposed to sleep at night, and everyone should respect this if they’re anxious or can’t sleep for one reason or another.

5-      Reasonable playing: in the mid-eighties children used to run and shout, but I believe that in 2025 this problem is minimal as long as internet connectivity is operating.

6-      Controlling the noise: back to point 1, as this is not your house, you need to respect the presence of others and keep the level and tone of conversations to a strict minimal level, the same applies to TVs, laptops and mobiles.

In addition to these basic tips, a very important challenge arises in cities across the European Union, emanating from the ethnic diversity of their residents. This fact that we tend to tolerate in our daily life, will turn into a real problem when this diversity gets into our shelters, as people have cultural differences and different habits.

This calls on community policing authorities and local civil defense units to create “awareness on acceptance” programs, preferably through open discussions and drills, to avoid clashes in real time. This awareness on acceptance requires community discussions within direct neighborhoods, where everyone can explain their habits and customs, allowing people to agree on the strict minimum of acceptable behavior in common places.

Role of Community leaders

Community leaders will play an important role in easing possible tension, through tangible actions starting by identifying which shelter to be used by which household, and maybe conducting a fun-event, a drill to go to these assigned shelters, so people will get to know the co-residents of their shelters which increases the level of acceptance.

What looks as a routine exercise is more than a necessity in our diverse cities, and the sooner it’s done the smoother would be the real exercise when tension is high coupled to the fear for life, the greatest fear of all.