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Policing Vs Traditional Policing

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Modern Policing Vs. Traditional Policing
Today when people see police officers out on patrol, they believe that police officers have been patrolling the streets since the beginning of time. However, little do people actually know that the way police officers perform their duties have significantly changed from traditional methods of policing, to the modern-day methods of policing. Even though, these changes have created many improvements in a police department’s relationship with the community, there are also areas that have been greatly caused people to resist the modern-day approaches to policing.
Traditional Policing
In traditional policing, police department's will normally be divided into multiple units such as, traffic unit, S.W.A.T unit, …show more content…

Today, many police officers are out performing patrols on foot and on bike, interacting with the public through meet and greets, and participating in community service projects to help make the city a great place to live (Roufta, n.d.). Furthermore, this method of policing also allows the community to get involved with their local law enforcement. Through initiatives such as block watches, police officers can now answer calls from the neighborhood. Overall, today’s policing has created a method of policing known as Community Oriented Policing. Community Oriented Policing is a style of policing that involves police officers partnering with their communities to help solve problems and to attack the core problems that lead to crime in the first place (“Law Enforcement and Community Relations,” (n.d.), para. 24). For instance, say a local neighborhood park has very poor lighting. The police department notices this and decides to hire someone to fix the light. This is an example of Community Oriented Policing since the police department took initiative to improve the lighting in the …show more content…

The first similarity involves shifts. In today’s law enforcement, people normally see police officers at all hours of the day. However, even though one police officer may be patrolling during the daytime shift, another police officer may only work at night (“Law Enforcement and Community Relations,” (n.d.), para. 16). Another similarity can be seen in a department’s ethics. In both styles of policing, police officers are often required to remain impartial in their decisions. In both approaches to policing, the officer is usually required to stay out of politics while they are out on patrol (“Law Enforcement and Community Relations,” (n.d.), para.

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