Community Policing Reflection Paper

“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

In cities and towns across the country, tragic deaths of citizens in confrontations with police have have spiked a wave of distrust for law enforcement. The bad perception for law enforcement is unfair to the officer’s who are dedicated, and mean well in their duties, yet unfortunately, it has created tension between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Due to the recent deaths and confrontations, reform proposals and new policies have been a national conversation to implement new initiatives to strengthen the bonds between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve. Although, confrontations between law enforcement and citizens in the community have spiked, the concept of community policing is not new. Throughout the years the philosophy of community policing has been to

When discussing how exposure to community policing can affect low economic neighborhoods, one must ask what is community policing? Miller, Hess, and Orthmann (2014) stated, it is a philosophy or orientation that emphasizes working proactively with citizens to reduce fear, solve crime-related problems, and prevent crime. Community policing can be a positive change in the community and for the law enforcement personnel that serves the community. An important concept to always remember is that the police are the community, and the community are the police (Miller et al., 2014). To successfully integrate this into police departments, we must examine several factors that have made police departments what they are today, what are ways to implement this new form of policing without resistance from law enforcement and citizens, and how community policing can affect the community and the work of law enforcement in the long run.

Community policing is explained as a collaboration of community and the police working together to help identify and solve criminal activities. Additionally, the whole concept behind it is to promote public safety and to enhance the quality of life within the neighborhoods in which we reside in. Community policing is composed of two major components which are community partnership and problem solving. Community policing is a program that was initially started in the 1940’s. All of the support that was released for this program was materialized actually in the 1980’s. One of the main goals if not the most important goal was to bring in the law enforcement closer to their local public to help

Community oriented policing is a policing strategy based on the notion that community interaction and support can help control crime and reduce fear, with community members helping to identify suspects, detain vandals and bring problems to the attention of police. It is a philosophy that combines traditional aspects of law enforcement with prevention measures, problem-solving, community engagement, and community partnerships (Ref. 1).

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!

Although many may find community policing and problem-oriented policing to fall in the same category, there is (surprisingly) a difference between the two. For one, community policing has many definitions. For some, it means instituting foot and bicycle patrols and doing acts pertaining to the ideal bond between police officers and their community. While for others it means maintaining order and cleaning up neighborhoods in desperate need of repair (Dunham & Alpert, 2005). However, an idyllic definition of community policing is altering the traditional definition of crime control to community problem-solving and promising to transform the way police do their job. Within the past two decades, there has been much research on community

Community relation issues across the nation have been increasing and causing many conflicts between law enforcement and communities. There has been so much disorder between communities and law enforcements not agreeing on how situation have been handled. Both the community and law enforcements having different perspectives on making decisions without ever looking at the others side and acknowledging each other’s reasoning behind their actions. Racism, responsibility and morals are some of many terms that are yet to be sorted out within all these communities that have on going conflicts. The relationships between a community and its law enforcement is important, although it is the police job to enforce, it is also the communities job to enforce all day and everyday (Russell).

Different officers may have different ways to contribute to partnerships. For example, patrol officers have a unique position to help monitor and supervise supervisees (Parent and Snyder, 1999). Patrolling gives officers access to the supervisee and their social networks which can help provide knowledge of their activity (La Vigne, N. G., Solomon, A. L., Beckman, K. A., Dedel, K., & Center, J. P., 2006), this can be very valuable especially in cases which community corrections officers are mostly in their office and not in the field (Thornton et al. 2006). This can help with intervening before recidivism occurs due to being able to foresee issues that the supervisee may be having. This may help law enforcement officers prevent certain crime

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

On the matter of community policing, I believe that the police force plays a big role. This is based on implementing the various strategies geared towards achieving an effective community policing. Taking a closer look at crime, it is widely evident that crime cases in any given society cannot be solved by any single individual alone. This calls for aid in order to curb the vice. Not to mention the complexity of crime, the police should no be left alone to deal with the matter. The community and police thus need to work together to deal with criminal activities. This will necessitate splitting of the crime matter into smaller areas that are easy to manage. The police officers are then set to work in these areas. The police therefore work

more with less. Many police departments have had to lay off officers, and some have eliminated

 Community policing is a relatively new model of service delivery that is employed by the majority of police forces across Canada.  Community policing however, is not a “new” approach, it is more correctly a renewal or re-emergence of the old approach developed in Metropolitan London (Leighton & Normandeau, p.21).

Community policing is a policy and a strategy aimed at achieving more effective and efficient crime control, reduced fear of crime, improved quality of life, improved police services and police legitimacy, through a proactive reliance on community resources that seeks to change crime causing conditions. This assumes a need for greater accountability of police, greater public share in decision-making and greater concern for civil rights and liberties.