About
SCG’s programs to Counter Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) strengthen partner institutions to disrupt FTOs and TCOs that threaten U.S. and global security. Through focused programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe, SCG advances anti-terrorism and anti-crime strategies that deliver measurable outcomes, including stronger vetted units, more effective disruption of cross-border networks, and more secure correctional environments. By designing time-bound, results-driven initiatives, SCG ensures partners develop the systems, procedures, and skills to sustain progress after assistance ends.
How We Do It
- Assess local drivers of radicalization, violent extremism, and terrorism in collaboration with trusted partner institutions.
- Partner with vetted units and national agencies to design and implement targeted anti-terrorism and anti-crime strategies.
- Deploy technical experts and advisors to strengthen justice, law enforcement, and corrections partners in investigations, evidence handling, and protecting institutions from FTO and TCO infiltration.
- Embed security sector best practices in at-risk communities to reduce FTO and TCO influence and recruitment.
- Foster community-security partnerships for early threat detection and to build local resilience.
- Provide policy-relevant analysis to shape the development of national strategies against FTOs and TCOs and to strengthen inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination.
- Build skills and advise on inter-ministerial coordination to sustain disruption of terrorist and criminal networks.
About
Special Police Interdicting Drugs ECOWAS Region (SPIDER)
To strengthen cooperation against transnational crime in West and North Africa, Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) designed and launched the Special Police Interdicting Drugs ECOWAS Region (SPIDER) at the request of the Malian and Nigerien governments, with funding and support from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The network included counternarcotics leaders from eight participating countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal, and engaged regional subject matter experts and international partners from multiple agencies, including the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Organization of Migration (IOM), United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). SPIDER improved cross-border communication, operational coordination, and intelligence-sharing, which was vital for disrupting and dismantling trafficking networks, countering regional “super labs,” and combatting growing linkages between organized crime and terrorist groups.
Counter IED Training, Burkina Faso
With increasing extremist violence in the eastern region of Burkina Faso, Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) supported the delivery of a series of technical counter-IED trainings by U.S. government experts to Burkinabé law enforcement officials.
Counter-Narcotics Task Force, Niger
Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) supported the Niger National Police counter narcotics task force, the Office Central de Répression du Trafic Illicite des Stupéfiants (OCRTIS), to improve their management structure, processes, and operational capacity (2021-2022). Project activities included:
- Developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) with OCRTIS counterparts to improve operations and administration, including priority SOPs for vehicle and patrol boat fleet management that enhanced operational efficiency.
- Documenting OCRTIS’ existing organizational structure and designing a new structure better aligned with strategic priorities.
- Creating formal job descriptions for key personnel to standardize recruitment, training, and personnel management.
- Drafting a strategic plan linked to available resources, covering command and control, security and fleet management, and laboratory capacity for illicit substance identification.
- Identifying a Joint Coordination Center to facilitate inter-agency coordination.
Model Police Precincts: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
In support of programs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to support police professionalization, community/citizen security, and the disruption of organized crime activities impacting local, regional, and transnational stability, Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) supported the examination of the model police precincts program to identify lessons learned and best practices for the Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
Nigeria CT Units Curriculum
At the request of the Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) supported the Nigerian government by developing curricula to generate, train, deploy, and sustain newly formed police units tasked with combating terrorism, countering transnational crime, and maintaining order and border security in the six North-Eastern States of Nigeria. SCG collaborated with Nigerian counterparts and subject matter experts to design and implement a Development Training (DT) and a Command Staff Course (CSC). These programs of instruction (POI) combined classroom and field learning with capstone exercises and were tailored for rank-and-file, mid-level managers, and command leadership.
