Collaboration of law enforcement bodies with religious denominations

Effective and well-planned cooperation of law enforcement bodies with religious denominations is able to prevent the propagation of anti-social manifestations in the society, which are widespread today (the data showing the increase of the number of extremist crimes during the period from 2008 to 2013 confirms this fact). There are two models for building relationships between the law enforcement bodies and the religious organizations. The first one, leading to a direct confrontation, has only a negative impact on the operational situation in the region (for example, the attack on the security forces in October 2005 in Nalchik). The other model, based on cooperation and constructive dialogue, is recognized as the most effective by the authors of the article. Implementation of this model is carried out by signing the agreements on adoption of measures for the prevention and suppression of unlawful acts on the part of totalitarian sects and extremist organizations; spiritual and moral education of law enforcement officers; execution of joint research work. Today it is a common practice to involve representatives of various religious organizations in the implementation of ritual services during mourning events, participation in military ceremonial rituals (for instance, oath of allegiance). A striking example of the close cooperation between the law enforcement bodies and the religious organizations is the realization of the project “Christian shrines of Kabardino-Balkaria", organized jointly by teams of the North Caucasus Institute for Advanced Training (branch of the Krasnodar University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia) and the Nalchik deanery of the Pyatigorsk and Circassia diocese. The results of the project, carried out in order to prevent predatory looting of historical and religious monuments of the region, were the publication of the same name guidebook and website containing detailed information about the local shrines, Christian sights and more. The authors define the promising areas for further cooperation of the analyzed structures, including, for example, the dynamic use of social advertising opportunities to inform people about the main areas and results of collaboration between the law enforcement bodies and the religious organizations.