Thai authorities have used a two-pronged approach against the separatist groups, focusing on the suppression of militant cells and the use of development policies to improve the economic situation, which it hopes will slow recruitment into the separatist movement. The government has deployed 60,000 security forces in the south, made up of equal numbers of military, police and paramilitary, along with 100,000 troops from state-supported militias. The government has also given the army considerable influence by placing the region under emergency laws that grant the army wide-ranging authority and immunity from prosecution.