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Law enforcement expert to discuss terrorism, community policing

By Peter Hill '08
October 8, 2007

George Kelling '56, professor at the Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice and a pioneer in the academic field of law enforcement, will speak on "Terrorism, Common Crimes and Community Policing" Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, Viking Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Kelling, who recently received St. Olaf's Distinguished Alumni Award for extraordinary academic contributions to human services, is a nationally known expert in policing. He also is the co-author of "Broken Windows," an article that has been highly influential since its 1982 publication in The Atlantic Monthly.

According to the "broken windows" theory, police can cut down on violent crimes by taking a proactive stance against smaller ones like public drinking and fare-dodging. The doctrine has been famously deployed by the New York City Transit Authority and later by former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani. More than 25 years after its debut, it still influences police organizations across the country. It also has entered the public conscience through bestsellers like Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner and Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point.

Kelling's address will focus on the importance of local police in terrorism prevention. Contrary to conventional wisdom, he argues, effective local crime prevention also is a powerful anti-terrorism measure. Yet recent federal anti-terrorism policy has ignored and even reduced support for local police organizations, simultaneously exposing communities to both criminal and terrorist threats.

Law enforcement leader
After graduating from St. Olaf in 1952 with a degree in philosophy, Kelling attended seminary for two years. While working with prisoners, he became interested in social work and civil rights. He helped police and action groups collaborate to organize peaceful demonstrations, and later obtained funding to start a law enforcement program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

At that time, police officers often were embarrassed to admit they had attended college. "The field was insular and nonacademic," Kelling says. Now, America leads the world in law enforcement theory. "It is gratifying to develop ideas that have saved lives and improved quality of life for city-dwellers," he says.

Academic theme
Kelling's address is part of a semester-long academic theme, "Liberal Arts in Times of War." Part of the college's two-year academic focus on "Global Citizenship," the theme's purpose is to encourage college-wide reflection on the contributions of liberal arts to understanding war, terrorism and the war against it, morality in war, and competing traditions in the analysis of war.

Future speakers include Sgt. John Kriesel of the Minnesota National Guard; James T. Johnson, professor of religion at Rutgers University; and Sohail Hashmi, associate professor of international relations at Mount Holyoke College.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.