Elements Of Community Policing

Community policing is defined as the system of assigning police officers to specific areas so that they become familiar with the local citizens. Some goals of community policing are: defining the problems of the community, developing supportive solutions, develop programs from the solutions and implement those programs at the effective level. Community policing is made up of three main elements: Strategic Oriented Policing, Neighborhood Oriented Policing, and Problem Oriented Policing. Strategic orient policing can be described as working on methods that can result in taking the community back. Neighborhood oriented policing entitles the interaction of police and all community members to reduce crime and fear of crime through proactive neighborhood programs.

When officers investigate crimes they routinely and systematically have to look over the evidence before making an arrest. They essentially have to do the same when trying to solve problems. Officers need to regularly analyze problems before trying to solve them. For example, if officers are responding to a variety of calls around a specific area involving drugs and vandalism. In this element of community policing, officers need to work towards to the future and not the present. They should investigate and observe the area for a couple days, maybe a week to examine the conditions underlying the problem. In order for this to work, officers need to collect additional information, in which they need support from the local community. Tactics could include surveying the neighborhood residents, analyzing the time of day when criminal activity occurs, determining who the offenders are and why they favor that precise area, examining the areas where most of the criminal activity takes place and then evaluate the environmental ideas to fix the