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Community Organizing and Policing Essay

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Community Organizing and Policing

Introduction

"Community Development refers to efforts to mobilize people, who are directly affected by a community condition, into groups and organizations which enables them to take action on the social problems and issues that concerns them." (http://www.abacon.com/books/ab_020526834x.html) There are many reasons why residents in a community form teams; the desire to create and act upon a shared vision, develop community cohesion, and solve or reduce the impact of problems and issues. "As crime and violence increase in the communities, community organizing and community policing plan strategies to combat these problems." (http://www.communitypolicing.org/pubs.html)

"The city of Long …show more content…

Racism-political, economic, and social-is at the core of the problem." (Rivera, 1)

Local government officials in many jurisdictions have directed increased attention recently to identifying viable forms of citizen participation. They have acknowledged problems associated with widespread public disengagement and the need to allocate limited resources more effectively. The need for citizen participation poses a major challenge for public managers. How do I get the citizens to participate in improving their community? With a diverse community, how do we promote greater understanding between residents of different ethnic backgrounds? Public managers and employees must understand the importance of community organizing.

The different racial and cultural characteristics within a community propose various issues. Culture is a collection of behaviors and beliefs that becomes a way of life.

"We are defining culture as a collection of behaviors and beliefs that constitute "standards for deciding what is, standards for deciding what can be, standards for deciding how one feels about it, standards for what to do about it, and standards for deciding how to go about it." (Rivera, 7-8)

When there are various ethnic groups within a community often, they find it difficult to co-exist due to the difference in their culture. In those communities, part of what made them places of identity and empowerment were elements of ethnic solidarity. "Aspects of religion,

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