Community Policing Essay

Evolution of Community Policing

Decades later, during the 1980’s and 1990’s politicians, law enforcement agencies, and citizens still continued to struggle with issues of crime, reports of police brutality, increased arrests and incarceration of people of color, high murder rates, a drug epidemic, and distrust between police and many minority citizens. Most attributed these issues to a lack of job opportunities and the explosion of a drug epidemic, which plagued many cities, minority communities, and citizens. Another factor that contributed to putting strains on police-community relations was a declaration by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 declaring a War on Drugs, which many minorities (Blacks and Hispanics) saw as an attack on their communities.

As a result of these issues, in 1994 the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), under then President Bill Clinton put together a Community Police Consortium, which was made up of law enforcement officials and community leaders from around the country. From this Community Police Consortium, the BJA put together a report titled Understanding Community Policing, A Framework for Action, which focused on developing a conceptual framework for community policing and assisting agencies in implementing community policing. The basis for this consortium was much more direct than the previous efforts set forth by Presidential Commissions during the 1960’s and 1970’s, and led to what became known as the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS, Title 1 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994). The core components outlined in the BJA report listed the two complementary core components to community policing as community partnership and problem solving. The report further stated that effective community policing depends on positive contact between patrol officers and community members, establishing and maintaining mutual trust as the primary goal of a community partnership, and police and community must join together to encourage and preserve

Today in 2015, community policing is as relevant as it has ever been in the history of America policing as many law enforcement agencies across the country continue to try and build stronger relationships, and establish partnerships between police officers and the communities they serve, especially minority communities. Since the 1990’s and early 2000’s many police agencies have come to accept the concepts of community oriented policing, and have made great strides towards better community-police relations. Many departments now meet regularly with neighborhood groups, allow citizens to participate in citizen police academies, conduct forums to give citizens a better understanding of the duties of police officers and their actions. Some police departments require and encourage officer to get out of their patrol vehicle and initiate positive contact with the people on their beats (Shusta, Levine, Wong, Olson, & Harris, 2011). All of these efforts are important and relevant to community policing, which helps to remove and diminish negative images of police officers. Citizens are more willing to work hand in hand with police officers who are approachable, engaged, and take ownership in the neighborhoods they serve, which is what community policing is all