Community Policing as a Strategy to Improve the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement

Police officers must also work with the communities to form relationships. Community policing is defined as a contemporary approach to policing that actively involves the community in a working partnership to control and reduce crime (Bohm & Haley, 2014). Basically, community policing is a method in which police officers work directly with the people of the community to try and create a positive relationship to find a common ground which in return, would hopefully decrease the amount of criminal activity altogether. Community policing not only helps prevent and reduce crime, but it also helps citizens to see police officers in a different light. Sometimes the only encounter an individual has with an officer is when receiving a ticket or when an arrest is made, which can carry a negative connotation.

The first con for community policing is some departments are using the term as an aggressive law enforcement tactic in certain areas. Cops could use for showing their presence among the people where there is no need for them. The community does not know what is going on and the cops are keeping the people in the dark that cerate distrust among everyone. Now you have resentment among both police and the local people. Might be seen as harassment by police when show aggressive.

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.

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

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 justice department today is spending millions of dollars to better train the police department against bias and examine law enforcement procedures, known as community policing. Community policing has been slowing evolving over the years. The civil rights movement exposed how weak the system was in the 1960’s. The development of the model has been inspired by

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

In looking for answers as to why police brutality is such a big issue today, we see that the problem lies in past actions that were not dealt properly. First, Prohibition reduced respect for authority and law enforcement, as the police committed various unconstitutional acts. Next, the War on Drugs and the War on Terror changed the image of law enforcement from that of a peacekeeper to that of a domestic soldier. As a result of this inaction, American society finds itself in a crisis situation, where people cannot trust the police and where police are struggling to regain credibility with the American population.

Community Policing is a value system which infuses a police department, in which the main organizational goal is working helpfully with individual citizens, groups of citizens, and both public and private organizations to identify and resolve issues which possibly effect the livability of specific neighborhoods, areas, or the city as a whole. Community policing can be beneficial to communities. Community policing can help prevent crimes from occurring. As officers get to know a community, they also get to know what is right and wrong with it. Typically, officers remain entitled to an area where crime happens often and as such they are left with fighting it as it is going or after it happened. In community policing neighborhoods, the officers are able to tell what might happen and as

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).”

In order to deconstruct and demilitarize policing in the United States will require law enforcement to first establish a new culture of service and commitment to modernizing with emphasis on developing away from the paramilitary bureaucracy currently in place. This structure reaffirms the closed culture, thus maintaining the mindset that professional police officers are domestic soldier-bureaucrats rather than thinking professionals who make sound decisions rather than drones following orders of superiors (Stamper, 2005 p. 160). The advantages of moving away from the paramilitarism to the desirable community-policing model allow employees (officers) more autonomy in solving problems while also giving community stakeholders input is not the

The main goal of community policing is to assist the public in establishing and maintaining a safe, orderly social environment. Community policing is designed to solve the crimes within the community and solving concerns by working with and gaining support from the community. Police, acting on their own initiative, developing information about crimes and producing strategies for its suppression, this has directed patrol units to monitor specific areas or completing a crime analysis when they are not responding to dispatch calls (Government of Canada, 2015). Community policing helps the police obtain

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.

The term community is a more than geographic boundaries. It is a group of people