AN early warning and response mechanism aims to detect and address signs of violence before it occurs. Through EWRM police can engage with the community, respond to crises, spot early radicalisation, analyse risks and check escalation. Detecting extremist thought, recruitment efforts and planned violence early helps LEAs intervene before harm. Police are often the first to get reports of or note extremist threats. Working in society, they can identify vulnerable communities and monitor risky environments. But if they enjoy low public trust, how can EWRM work? Violent extremism grows gradually, often with clear signs. Avoiding a reactive mode, police must be proactive and be trusted as partners by the community. This needs police capacity building.

Trust can grow through community policing, cooperation, information sharing and engaging with religious leaders, youth groups and NGOs to create safe channels for reporting concerns. LEAs can be part of joint task forces to rehabilitate former extremists, but lack legal authority and know-how to identify online extremists. They can work with intel agencies to assess threat credibility and use community information to spot early signs. But low capacity and multiple tasks can mar EWRM efficacy, which requires understanding of radicalisation, human rights training, cultural sensitivity, youth engagement and crisis management.

Campuses can help in EWRM. Hubs of critical thought, they can also be breeding grounds for radicalisation and recruitment. Faculty aren’t trained to discern early signs; students don’t know where and how to report. Mashal Khan’s lynching at Mardan University, and a suicide bombing at Karachi University reflect EWRM gaps. Still, faculty and student leaders are well-placed to spot behavioural changes. Campuses can be linked with ‘referral systems’ and help in preventive education and awareness, conflict resolution, interfaith and intercultural dialogue. But without clear reporting pathways, EWRM won’t work; faculty and student leaders need training in PVE awareness, student-friendly reporting mechanisms must be created, and safe debate spaces promoted.

Many of the 25.3 million out-of-school children are involved in crime and extremism. Collaboration can encourage reporting of such tendencies with help from parents, LGs and welfare set-ups. PVE policies need LG-police cooperation. Weak communication between police, health and social services impacts EWRM. Traditional/tribal societies are reluctant to work with authorities; warnings by a relative or neighbour are seen as privacy intrusion and may lead to enmity. A proactive police role can help societies redefine privacy.

Community trust in police is essential.

Ambiguous behaviour may mislead — isolation and religious interest may not always mean radicalisation; innocent individuals could be wrongly seen as threats. For better understanding, access to data (online activity, travel history, finances, etc) is needed — easily accessible to police but not other departments.

Police face a trust deficit, inadequate training, over-securitisation and an inability to balance rights and security. Their best option is to build long-term trust with communities. Community policing focuses on prevention, not just prosecution and kinetic options. Police must treat individuals as people at risk, not just threats. Actions must be transparent and accountable.

Article 47, KP Police Act, mandates setting up public liaison councils to help police prevent crime, inform them about issues that can lead to violence, new local tenants, misuse of loudspeakers and hate speech. In KP, 10,508, members of 909 PLCs are trying to do their bit in EWRM. Citizens police liaison committees are involved in EWRM in 15 KP districts; 27 CPLCs are functional. Chitral Poli­­ce have a suicide prevention unit collaborating with communities. There are laws to curb loudspeaker misuse but enforcement needs police-public liaison.

Preventive education involves youth, women and LG reps to boost trust in police. It requires raising female officer numbers, presently just 3.2pc, which limits LEAs’ efforts in EWRM. To counter this, police can introduce a hotline and links with social welfare institutions. EWRM isn’t part of police training; for many, it’s on-the-job learning; thus, making it part of training is inevitable. Parents’ (especially mothers) limited capacity also limits efficacy. Mostly, parents of accused terrorists are unaware of their offspring’s links with militants or only learn about it when they’ve become hardened militants.

Collaboration is thus critical as students spend most of their time with parents and teachers. Police can empower parents and teachers to spot early signs of extremism. Parent-teacher and police network collaboration must be encouraged and institutionalised.

The writer is author of Pakistan: In Between Extremism and Peace.

X: @alibabakhel

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2026