community policing

The need for the police and the public to work together was recognized as far back as the 19th century. In 1829, the Metropolitan Police of London was established by Sir Robert Peel. Peel worked in many areas of government during his career striving to pass legislation to reform child labor laws and other statutes to help protect working Londoners. However, he is recalled by many as the “Founder of Modern Policing” (Jones, 2004). During his time as British Home Secretary, Peel took on lowering London’s rising crime rate, in addition to reforming the criminal code of the time. Peel’s police force was uniformed and its members were taken from the people it served. He believed this, along with strict discipline, was a key to keeping law and order in the streets of London (Jones, 2004).

One of Peel’s trademarks was the creation of a set of nine guidelines which would direct the duties of his officers. Known as the “Peelian Principles,” these guidelines worked to set London’s new police force apart from the military. Recognizing the need for his officers and the public to work together in keeping London safe, one of these principles stands out. Peel said in this principle:

Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence. (New Westminster Police Department, 2014)

This principle embodies the fundamental premise for the community policing movement in today’s society. In the past, the “police” were viewed in a tradition...

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...e likes to hear they are doing a good job. Agency administrators can positively affect the change at hand and future attempts to change by showing appreciation to the workers (Pratt, 2005; Staveley, 2002).

Along with gaining the support of law enforcement officers in the community policing effort, members of the community must also take a stake and become an integral part of the movement. A study noted by Lord, Kuhns and Friday (2009), researchers found that more than 45 million people over the age of 15 encountered the police in some fashion. Of those encounters, one quarter involved members making first contact with police officers. Unfortunately, citizen encounters with law enforcement with negative connotations were more influential to decrease satisfaction with the police than were positive encounters to increase satisfaction (Lord, Kuhns, & Friday, 2009).