Community Policing And The Neighborhood Watch Program

* Community policing has expanded its horizons with the police use of Twitter, by which officers can send out messages to a large segment of the population.

“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

The third and present day era of policing is Community Policing. Community policing is an organization-wide philosophy and management approach that promotes community, government and police partnerships; proactive problem solving; and community engagement to address the causes of crime, fear of crime and other community issues (Hess, Wrobleski pg. 10). Community policing goes beyond the traditional policing from the previous eras. Officers are assigned to designated areas, in which they get to know the citizens of the neighborhoods they are assigned. They use a more effective means of patrol such as foot patrol, and bicycle patrol. They do not just patrol around in vehicles, and respond to service calls. This goes back to one of Peel’s principles, “Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public. The police must obtain a more involved relationship with the citizen of a community in order for the community to help the police with their patrolling to deter crime.

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).

Community policing has evolved to be the most used strategy for policing. “It is an approach to crime detection and prevention that provides police officers and supervisors with new tools for addressing recurrent problems that plague communities and consume a majority of police agency time and resources” (Peak, 2012, 65). It has been defined by various people differently. But all the definitions have similar principles (Chappell, 2009). They focus on proactive problem solving and create relationships with the community to address any issue that may arise. Community policing is a combination of client-oriented and problem-oriented policing.

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!

In a news article titled " Hitting the streets: A look at community policing in downtown" Published by Maria Sestito in the Napa Valley Register.com. Officer Tom Degerstrom and Kyle Upchurch of the Napa Police department drive through the neighborhood in an unmarked patrol vehicle scrutiny license plate and interacting with homeless individuals loitering around at the Triangle on Franklin Street. This form of neighborhood policing was adopted three years ago and Officer Degerstrom and Upchurch are assigned to monitor 26 neighborhoods throughout the city. Degerstrom and Upchurch daily routine at work is to drive to and fro their demarcated location and look out for dubious activities.

Many communities have started a neighborhood watch program and have seen tremendous results. The mayor of the city of Annapolis, Maryland highly recommends it. He reports having seen a tremendous improvement in safety citywide. Any sort of program even remotely related to the neighborhood watch program will be an improvement. Some may argue that no one will take this seriously, there are numerous success stories that tell otherwise. They tell of a hard working community working for the greater good. That community can be Alpena. With a little hard work, we too can be almost crime

First, community policing can be identified or known in numerous ways, one being the broken windows theory. An overview of broken windows theory through policing is known that because of “lack of social order” or policing neighborhoods are unkempt and vandalized. As a result, with the help of community policing, programs are evaluated, crime patterns are analyzed, and information is shared with organizations and other municipal agencies and with the community to help build stronger bonds with the community(Reisig,

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

Law enforcement must endeavor to keep programs such as citizens’ academies, town hall meetings and philosophies such as community oriented policing. Why? Because they maintain the pipeline to the public and they keep law enforcement in touch with the community. There is a need for more communication between law enforcement and community stakeholders. For the police to maintain the public’s trust in the face of negative incidents and changing demographics, the manner in which they convey their trustworthiness may have to change. To achieve real transparency its going to take more that technical gadgetry. Tracie Keesee, a police captain who is also the co-founder of RCLA’s Center for Policing Equity, suggest turning precinct houses into public spaces. “It might be adjoined with a rec center,” she says. “There could be wireless in the lobby, a room for community meetings, so that it’s not just that you come in when you’re handcuffed or making a report. (Bennett, D, 2014).”

Community policing techniques may vary from suburban communities and inner cities because of the demographics of the regions. Community policing in suburban communities can certainly contribute to a greater decrease in crime because of the close quarters police officers have with the members of the community. Community policing is designed as a proactive approach in reducing crime in the community. A collaborative relationship between law enforcement and individuals only strengthens the trust with the police. Indeed this relationship is embedded in suburban areas because policer officers are constantly personalizing their response calls. In addition, Law enforcement agencies in suburban community may rely on more financial base resources in contributing to the infrastructure of neighborhoods. For example, policies are implemented in renovating after school programs for the better of the community. Many police officers

The main argument of this text is the limitations of using social media in modern policing. The author of this article illustrates the limitations in which social media can be used in community policing.

Community policing as a concept is mainly about allowing the community a voice in determining the priorities law enforcement. Allen & Sawhney (2015) defines community police as collaborative effort between police and the community they serve to customize the delivery of police services (p. 307). In order to utilize the community policing approach, it is important for agencies to have a strong bond and trust with the community they serve. Without this trust, creative policing innovations fall short. Despite what shortcomings the approach to policing may have for law enforcement, the popularity of community led or community based policing is on the rise in America. American law enforcement as an industry faces a never-ending public relations crisis, especially during the onset of tough on crime approaches prevalent in of the last forty years. Within the two decades, community police strategies based on bringing key stakeholders together to

Many citizens have become annoyed with the crime in their neighborhoods. They have organized block watches, citizen patrols, along with neighborhood cleanups, and started harassing slumlords that allow drug dealers to use their properties. (Brown Art. 122). Among many of the crime fighting tools, the involvement of