Community Oriented Policing

This report gives a comprehensive understanding of the implementation of community policing in 12 police departments throughout the United States. The researchers observe, measures and draw conclusion of community policing.

Policing is a very difficult, complex and dynamic field of endeavor that is always evolves as hard lessons teach us what we need to know about what works and what don’t work. There are three different Era’s in America’s policing: The Political Era, The Reform Era, and The Community Problem Solving Era. A lot has changed in the way that policing works over the years in the United States.

The Community Policing era has been one of the contemporary police activities in the last 30 years. It is more of a decentralized approach to reducing crime by involving the same officer in the same community on a long term basis, so residents will develop trust and then provide information and assistance to the officer. Community Policing does not replace motorized patrol or other police tactics but instead compliments them with community partnership and problem solving (Bailey, 2011).

The focus of community-oriented policing is not simply on response, but on preventing crime and resolving community problems. This philosophy rests on the belief that the police and the community must work together as partners to solve the contemporary challenges faced in today 's society. (Community Policing Philosophy)

Community-Oriented Policing involves giving the Community it serves a voice in how the Police Department a voice, a powerful voice in the daily operations. In the traditional model of Policing, the police drive policy and methodology while the community has few options if they are dissatisfied with the level of service aside from legal suits and political pressure. Recent police involved shootings and excessive force allegations across the United States involve various Police Departments claiming to have implemented Community-Oriented Policing have still resulted in public displeasure. I am going to compare three metropolitan police departments: Chicago, New York City and Houston who are all listed in our textbook Oliver, 2008 as having Community-Oriented Police programs and compare how they address Use of Force issues at the various departments and how effectively they involve the Communities they serve.

Community policing is has two main components the police and the community that identifies and solves community problems. Community participants speak their concerns, contribute advice, and take action to address these concerns. By creating a positive partnership we will need the energy, creativity, understanding, and patience of all involved. Certain communities take longer time than others to break down walls of apathy and mistrust so that important partnerships can be formed. Community policing officers are able to pursue numerous paths toward achieving self-regulated and self-defended neighborhoods. They have the chance of working jointly and equally with citizens. This helps to define local problems, educating the community about the causes of crime and

Community policing is a philosophy. It uses organizational strategies that support the use of partnerships and problem solving techniques to address issues of public safety.Community-oriented policing is collaboration between the community, organizations within the community, and the police that identify and solve community problems. Police officers work with the community to help solve problems related to crime, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and neighborhood conditions. They do this to enhance the safety and quality of neighborhoods. Officers spend time in these neighborhoods getting to know the residents and business owners by talking to them about the problems that the community is facing or individuals who are causing problems. They are responsible for reducing crime in their beats.

Law enforcement and the community that it serves should have a harmonious relationship that is built on the foundation of trust and protection. Often, the community relies on police officers to protect and serve, while in turn, police officers are dependent on the community to offer support and cooperation to serve the neighborhood efficiently. However, when there is no connection between the two, tension begins to form causing their relationship to deteriorate. If there is no communication between the police officers and the community, then law enforcement would not be able to serve or protect the neighborhood from crime adequately. For law enforcement agencies to properly serve their communities, new innovative policies need to be formed

In light of recent events that have caused rifts in relations between local law enforcement and communities have caused problems that needs to be addressed. To address this issue, the NYPD issued an executive order to establish a new unit called COP- Community Oriented Policing. The NYPD currently has Community Affairs division Bureau established to foster a positive police-community relations. However, it lacks the structure, staff and functions needed to work with community leaders and others to improve the community and relationship. The COP unit under the NYPD section is needed to create a viable community policing as well as working together for crime reduction in communities.

Community policing was defined as “police officers working with community members to address the causes of crime and to prevent crimes from occurring, rather than just responding to crimes after they have occurred.” Officers and the community benefitted with improved attitudes

This program would be developed in a manner that the community can come and address the issues in their community with law enforcement, as well as get to know the officers patrolling their neighborhoods. This could show the community and the officers that there are no differences that can’t be solved with communication. A similar program has been used by the nearby department in San Jose. The program goal “is to help our residents learn about issues and challenges, share their ideas, and help propose collaborative solutions that can lead to long-term relationships between police officers and our community that are more trusting and productive for everyone.” (Newsroom,

In policing a large city, there are multiple approaches that the police chief can use. Four of the main strategies are the standard approach, community-oriented policing (COP), order-maintenance policing (OMP) and problem-oriented policing (POP). Experts disagree on which approach is best, but each one has its own benefits and detriments. The standard model is the traditional reactive approach to policing. The key elements of the model are preventative patrols, emergency responses and follow up investigations.

Throughout the years, law and order have become prevalent in its efforts to maintain control and prevent criminal activity. For some time now, the Stanislaus Police Department has utilized Community Oriented Policing in its efforts to do just that. However, citizens still seem to complain about the way police officers do their jobs. The public does not have a positive outlook on law enforcement at this time; thus, the department requires finding ways in which to repair its relationship with the community. The belief is that in order to make the department better and build a better relationship with the community, several things require change. For one, the department needs to adjust its current management style, put an emphasis on officer training,

Respondents could indicate whether the effect was manifested “not at all,” “to some extent,” or “to a great extent,” instead of just reporting whether there was an effect or not. The 2002 survey indicated that close to 65 percent of agencies responding reported improved cooperation between citizens and police “to a great extent,”, and close to 55 percent reported increased involvement of citizens “to a great extent” (Fridell, 2004, p.45). Relatively large proportions of agencies also reported that community policing “to a great extent” improved citizen attitudes toward police (48 percent), increased volunteer activities by citizens (37 percent), and increased information from citizens to the police (31 percent) (Fridell, 2004, p.45).

There are multiple approaches to engaging a police force with the community in order to most effectively prevent and respond to crime, and considering the relative strengths and weakness of each of these strategic models will demonstrate how models can impact the operation of daily policing practices and activities. The model under discussion here is called community oriented policing (COP), and focuses on building relationships and rapport between officers and the community in order to more effectively prevent crime. It is augmented by a model called problem solving policing (PSP), and depends upon rank-and-file officers identifying community problem areas through direct observation and analysis. Each model excels at slightly different things, and in practice most police agencies deploy a mix of models. By examining the Miami-Dade Police Department's handbook for school resource officers, it will be possible to view a COP/PSP policy in action in order to better understand how these models practically affect policing.