Community Policing: A Contemporary Perspective

“Community policing is, in essence, a collaboration between the police and the community that identifies and solves community problems” (U.S. Department of Justice, 1994, p. vii). Throughout the years, community policing has become a more popular strategy to help law enforcement officials control and deter crime; however, some areas across the United States has had problems in the past with communities and law enforcement working together to ensure a secure and safe environment. Although it is an officer’s duty to maintain order, keep the peace, and solve problems within the area he or she

Law Enforcement officers have one of the most critical jobs in the United States. Their lives are always on the line and they are of high regards. This means they cannot fail! The results of their jobs do not only depend on their actions but also on the people. What this means is the community has a huge role when it comes to solving crime. Though many people may not believe it, they are the key to a successful crime prevention community. The people of the United States don’t really understand both the positive and negative effects that community policing actually brings. Some may say it is very dangerous based on their experiences. Others may say it’s the best way to do away with crime. Today the two will be compared and put to test by true officers serving our country. The facts will be stated and questions will be answered. Let’s take a look at what community policing is really all about!

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.

My vison for positive social change within my professional goal is to improve community policing in our society to reflect the evolving changes of the 21st Century. My academic goal is to gain the knowledge to use critical thinking skills and communicate my finding in a scholarly format for criminal justice policy-makers.

Community policing is an area that I am extremely passionate about due to first-hand experiences encountered over the years. Earning the community's trust and building relationships helps to facilitate relationships to reduce crime on the streets. Allows the community to see police officers are people and community members, just like them. Police officers just are upholding the letter of the law, providing increased safety for the community at large. Educating the community on how to prevent crimes in hopes they do not become a victim. Encouraging individuals in the community to help stop the cycle of violence and showing them a way to chose a different avenue for themselves. Working with inner-city youth, providing programs for them,

Community policing encompasses two-way communication between the local population and the police. Main concerns are defined by the community, and the community plays a crucial part in the modeling and executing locally appropriate and acceptable solutions to its problems within the community. Community policing is basically non police officers or civilians that monitor and voice concerns about neighborhood crime. They talk about public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. Joint partnerships between the police and the community they serve to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police. Community policing, knowing that police rarely can solve public safety problems alone, boosts interactive partnerships with relevant stakeholders. The range of prospective partners is great and these partnerships can be used to reach the two combined goals of developing answers to problems through joint problem solving and improving public trust. The public should play a vital role in arranging public safety problems.

Community based policing can best be defined as, "a collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems" (Sykes). Community based policing is the role of the police not that of catching bad guys, but more that of helping the public. In order for community based policing to have an effect or benefit the role of the police officer has to have an active part in the community. Police departments have always looked to the community for help when it came to reporting a crime or help solving a crime. The point was to engage with the citizens and build a trust between the people and police so the community could once again feel safe and trust that police officers are there for them and working with them directly. Police must maintain a positive rapport to overcome all the negativity placed on officers." Strong, positive relationships between children and police officers often grow into

As an administrator given the task to implement a new agency, the choice would be a law enforcement agency in a small to medium size community. There would be several client oriented service concept that I would consider and include in the organization and its mission and objectives. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s police were not trusted by the community and its citizens (Cronkhite, 2013). As the public’s trust and faith in the police declined, so did the funding provided by the public. This was evidenced by the failure of several ballot initiatives for police funding that failure (Cronkhite, 2013).

Community Policing is a concept that involves both the community(civilian) police to help aid in solving and prevention of crime within the community. This is a necessary interaction with officer to help prevent crime and or help solve crimes. “The philosophy of community policing is both police and people of the community form a partnership, in which they jointly approach the problem of maintaining order, providing services, and fight crime.” This become problematic because of the pre-conditions between police and the community it serve makes community policing very difficult as a whole.

In conclusion, policing is present in most communities, and it is effective with the assistance of the people within the neighbourhood. Everyone benefits with the appropriate relationship and the outcome. Many factors, both good and bad contribute to how police can better serve in the work they do and the work place they are present in.

Since the surface of Community policing in the 1970’s and making the mark of influence on the strategies of policing throughout the United States, community policing has slowly become the direction of police interaction (Sozer and Merlo, 2013). Originally, having a breakthrough of helping reduce crime in the larger cities of America, smaller cities took the initiative and began the tactic of using community policing in the same efforts to reduce crime in local communities (Sozer and Merlo, 2013). With help from Federal funding agencies throughout the states such as, The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the peak of utilization of community policing was on the right path for effectiveness in the areas (Sozer and Merlo, 20132013). The size of the communities became factors that were not up for discretion, it became rudiments for change in American communities. State Chief Police officers (CPO) and Lieutenants are the first line commanders when dealing with community policing. They are the main leaders and the key to the process of change (Sozer and Merlo, 2013).

In continuation, community oriented policing is defined as, Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues, such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.” (Scheider, pg.1 2008). One might say that the main aspect of community policing is the partnerships that police departments have to create in order to ensure the efficiency of this strategy; officers of our community cannot do it alone. Yes, there are positives aspects of this strategy as well as negative ones. As just stated, officers cannot increase awareness of crime, safety issues and disorder alone, so the constructive side of community policing is bringing everyone together such as residents and local businesses to decrease possible misconduct. On the other hand, being too close can also be a downfall to community policing. That is said because, partnerships created can possibly take advantage of the police force and vice versa with officers abusing power. Also, according to Gianakis (1998),

The philosophy of community policing drives a strong relationship through involvement of law enforcement, community residents, and so on.

A lot of police point to walking beats, bike cops, or “community police teams” as evidence of their commitment to community policing. They’ve defined the concept, if not cosmetically and, to make matters worse, they’ve done so unilaterally. And that is not community policing. It is the citizens policing themselves, organized help from all members of their local police department, as well as other criminal justice and government agencies, neighborhood businesses, and community based organizations. I’m a fan of the practice of citizens patrolling their own streets. I’m not talking about Zimmerman–like people, but rather everyday people dedicated to making their streets to the schools and workplaces, churches, temples, daycare facilities, parks

The renowned Sir Robert Peel who helped found the London Metropolitan Police unit that was meant to be closer to the people than any other time before. His vision was to have a community where ""¦the police are the public and the public are the police"¦" (Braiden, 1992). His vision was to have a community where the idea of policing is closely interlaced between the formal police force and the community participation in the control and termination of crimes in the entire England.