Community Policing

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln INTRODUCTION The responsibility to maintain a peaceful society is shared by each level of government; local, state, and federal. However, because crime is an immediate threat to the communities, the police have a highly visible and primary role in overcoming the threat and fear of crime. The process of policing a democratic society is complex and due to this fact, a police department is probably one of the most difficult public institutions to manage effectively. It is therefore important to have processes that are critical to operating police departments and their commitments in securing peace in the society.

In community policing, officers need to work with citizens to put a clamp on crime. In the past officers have tried to solve all the community issues on their own (Ortmeier, 2006). However, it came to be that officers who are essential to the citizens, was also vice versa. With community policing, it focuses on relationships of trust, with cooperation between both. The theme of community policing is that the law enforcement can be more attentive, proactive, and community sensitive (Greene, 2000).

Community oriented policing is a philosophy that directs police operation, management and strategies. The model emphasizes on establishing a partnership between community and police and solves problems that directly affect the needs of the involved community (Chappell, 2009). The model of policing promises that coordination between the police and community relations will assist to reduce crime and fear and improve relations between the two, facilitating faster responses to distress calls and routine calls for service. One of the significant objectives of the community based policing is to create a working partnership between the community and police (Alpert & Dunham, 1986). Additionally the community can evaluate problems and come up with solutions and implement the services that are genuinely community based.

This can show the police are here to help as well as fight crime and the trust of the community won 't be lost after the crackdown. Pulling levers gets positive feedback for its ability to use community service providers to handle problems in the community (Winship and Berrien, 1999). This policing model shows great evidence it works gun homicides(Mcgarrell and Chermak, 2003). This can work with community policing well, since community members would be able to point out the groups that needs to get targeted for intervention. Pulling levers is a special variant of using the main elements of problem oriented policing (Eck And Spelman 1987, Goldstein 1990), which i discussed how problem oriented policing could be used cooperatively with community policing.

“Community policing comprises three primary elements, two of which are problem-solving to reduce crime and disorder by addressing their immediate underlying conditions, and implementing associated organizational changes to help ensure that the community policing philosophy can be successfully implemented, sustained, and institutionalized.” (Chapman, 2008) In order to lessen crime in a community, residents must be able to trust and respect the police and also vice versa. If there is no trust or respect given or received there will always be a hostile environment in which the police will not be able to carry out their job properly without citizens obstructing officers. On numerous occasions this leads to more crime and violence in these

The empirical principle, this is where by the public demand the police handle a wide range of problems. Then there is the normative principle, this is where police are supposed to reduce problems rather than responding to incidents. Finally, the scientific principle, this simply means that the police should take the scientific approach to crime and apply analytical approaches. In my community policing appears to be the surface focus. In judging the value of police strategies in keeping crime intact, however one should not be misled by the eloquence or merely expressed allegiance to the goal one must keep one 's eye out for the effectiveness of achieving the goal.

Both of these strategies want to fix the problem the community is having and not just wait for crimes to happen. This can use crime mapping and investigations in these areas which involved speaking with community member to get insight on what 's going on. Problem oriented policing still focuses on the crimes more than the community. The actual crime might not be the main concern of the community, this can make the community unsatisfied when the police believe they fixed the problem because they solved the crime but have not met the community 's

If the community can trust the police department and see police officers without having to fear being killed or losing a loved one; then the community would be more committed to working with police to reduce crime in the area. Building trust with the community should be the first step the Newark Police Department takes to make a change in the city. Some other solutions include improvement to the training of officers and making the administration and communication systems more efficient. An efficient police force would ensure their already limited funds would be put to the best

There are several initiatives that the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) is engaged in that are related to community crime prevention. Social development is a key feature of these initiatives. CPD prides itself in using problem-solving approaches when combatting crime, and is heavily involved in youth engagement. The Police Chief has placed emphasis on targeting at-risk youth and bridging the gap between youth and police. The Chief also stresses the importance of a working relationship with community citizens as well as with businesses and city departments.

One definition of community policing is "community policing is most broadly regarded as a philosophy requiring significant and fundamental organizational change and defined as a recognition and acceptance of the community in influencing the philosophy, management, and delivery of police se... ... middle of paper ... ...ce Personnel: A Quasi-Experimental Test. Crime and Delinquency. 40.3 (1994): 331-360. Seagrave, Jayne. "Defining Community Policing."