Effective Policing in a VUCA Environment: Lessons from a Dark Network

Abstract

In a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) environ- ment, the dark networks are able to defy the much stronger police forces by suc- cessfully addressing these environmental risks, and instead creating these risks for police forces. Using the extended case study method, this study identifies effective counter-strategies by confronting an empirical case of CPI (Maoists), one of India’s oldest and most successful dark networks. This study also identifies the organiza- tional changes that need to be adopted by the police forces if they have to defeat the dark networks. We highlight that a direct confrontation is not an efficient answer. Rather, the solution lies in attacking each of the strengths of CPI (Maoists) indi- vidually, in an orderly fashion. This case study also provides rich insights into the organizational design and peoples’ practices adopted by CPI (Maoists) that mini- mizes the impact of the VUCA environmental risks and adds to the literature on civil wars and criminal organizations