Strengthening Police-Community Relations through Community Policing Strategies

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 policy and problem identified in this policy analysis recognized the significance of the problem. Their goal was to address the issue of deterrence, public safety, and restoring neighborhoods to a safe environment for kids and the elderly to live. The plan outlines challenges for interactions with local residents and attracting more business to make the area a desirable place for residents and visitors to patronize. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of police foot patrol as a means of deterrence through apprehension and as a means of risk reduction, community and problem oriented policing, high crime neighborhood hot spots, and violence prevention.

During this process, the police must understand and identify the events and conditions that may be influencing the issue (Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, 2017). Referring back to the drug issue inside the neighborhood, we could say that the drugs are being sold inside of the house, bringing more issues to the neighborhood. This one accompanying problem could influence other crime that could hurt the community. Throughout the analysis period, identifying data, researching and talking about the issue is other actions that are enacted (Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, 2017). The police must narrow down their scope of the issue to ensure that they can figure out the ultimate goal.

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.

Hi Nick, I like the approach that you are taking by identifying what the neighborhoods are doing to keep it safe and see the conditions of the homes. There are a lot of different outcomes and just because it works in one area, does not mean it will work in another. Although, studying what Portland neighborhoods are doing that Gresham neighborhoods are not would be one approach, even thought it will most likely have a different effect. I think it is a great idea to get the other local police departments together to learn and share ideas on what works in their community. This way the police officers can learn new tactics that can try implementing into their

Each police department put magnificent emphasis on implementing community oriented policing; for instance, each police department demonstrated the process of implementing strategies to decrease crimes in the city or community; bonding with the people in the community in order to deter crime (approachable); targeting the barriers in the community or city before it becomes a major problem (security in the community); demonstrating best practice skills when interacting with the public. For example, The Influence of Community Policing in City Governments (2001) Community policing in Miami-Dade Police Department has changed into a form of community management which has presented reorganized community services to Miami’s areas and more personal police services to the people. Through the Neighborhood Enhancement Team initiative, “mini-city halls” substitute a team approach to the documentation and determination of community problems. Also, each police agencies implemented the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. In addition, many police departments are moving away from the old way of community

Preventing crime is not only a concern for the police department, it is also a concern for the citizens. This principle places emphasis on each to do their part within the community to prevent crime. References Dempsey, J. S., & Forst,

Community policing is where law enforcement officers become familiar with the surrounding community and the surrounding citizens that live there. This was created so that the surrounding community and law enforcement officers can become sort of like a family unit of closeness in order to create a safe environment to live in, to try and reduce the crime rate within the surrounding area, to try and reduce the fear of law enforcement officers, gain the respect and trust that is needed/wanted and lastly to try and reduce the fear that citizens may have towards the community they live in.

These types of community involvement foster the positive growth and relations that are needed to ease the tensions with law enforcement. These programs help build trust and can give the community a sense of security. However, incidents such as excessive force can tear away any sense of unity that the aforementioned programs build. In an incident that

Although not all communities are benefited from community policing, some have had great success in achieving the goals for community policing and some have had little success in the program because of the lack of understanding of what the program is intended for and a lack of consistency in the involvement with the community. In order to be effective community policing requires participation from both the law enforcement agency and the citizens it serves. Officers who are not fully committed to the assigned neighborhoods can cause adverse effects on the community that results in a failed

This sharing of information leads to an increased detection rate, increasing police’s efficiency and a trustful relationship are formed between the police and the community (Evans, 2016). Examples of the consensus model of policing can be seen which ranges from Neighbourhood watch, community policing and problem-oriented policing. Neighbourhood watch schemes in the United Kingdom refers to the collaboration between the residents of the neighbourhood and the police to make their neighbourhood safer (Bennett, Holloway and Farrington, 2006). The residents helped to watch out for each other and reports any suspicious activity to the police in creating a more secure and safe neighbourhood to live in (Bennett, Holloway and Farrington, 2006). Community policing refers to the shift of focus towards resolving the local needs and priorities of the community and in return, the community is required to play its role in providing information and work hand in hand with the police in solving crimes and social disorder (Pandey, 2014).

Initiating community-oriented policing is about partnerships and building trust in communities between law enforcement and the citizens in the community (Bull, 2015). According to Bull (2015), community policing has shifted from a centralized bureaucratic command to a collaborative style of problem-solving crime and disorder through programs and activities within the community. To be effective, community policing requires the trust of the citizens. According to Schlosser, Cha-Jua, Valgoi, and Neville (2015), The Law Enforcement Code of Ethic states that the duties of a police officer are to serve humankind, safeguard lives and property, protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against

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

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).

They also, of course, respond to dispatch calls of crimes in progress. Crime prevention is achieved through mere police presence. Negative interaction between the community and police is generally the norm. In communities policing, on the other hand, police officers are typically assigned to specific geographic areas in their jurisdiction and establish ties with the various community groups. These groups may include ministerial (church) associations, neighborhood associations, youth groups, etc. The idea is that when police are involved with the community they are not viewed as outsiders who are there simply to enforce the law. Crime prevention is achieved through positive interaction with police and the community. The goals of community policing are to reduce crime and disorder, promote citizens’ quality of life in communities, reduce fear of crime, and improve police–citizen relations. These goals are achieved through three essential efforts: community engagement, problem solving, and organizational transformation. In other words, the police are the public and the public are the police.