Law enforcement is an ever-evolving job. Over the last several decades, community policing has become a rudimentary principle for police departments all over the United States. Community policing is an idea that encourages law enforcement agencies to be proactive and foster partnerships with the communities they serve. This is done, so they can address crime and other issues. This essay will look into the four key dimensions of community policing that guide how police departments can effectively implement this philosophy. Those dimensions are the philosophical dimension, strategic dimension, tactical dimension, and organizational dimension (Cordner, 2023). We will also look at the case of Strategic Planning in Spokane, Washington, and provide …show more content…
This started when Terry Mangan became the Chief of Police. He did not have any plans on how the department would move to community policing, so he sought to create an environment where different ideas and projects could be presented at the table (Ipl.org., 2023). Chief Mangan showed a strong commitment to making change and introducing community policing. Chief Mangan took a proactive approach to changing the Spokane Police Department by applying a comprehensive strategic planning process that involved community members, learning and developing their vision and goals and sharing them. He also aligned department resources and other priorities to support community policing. Chief Mangan also highlighted the importance of data-driven decision-making, performance, and accountability. This was to ensure that the department was achieving admirable results in their effort to build trust with the community and decrease crime. This approach to community policing and organizational change was successful in many ways. Under his leadership, the Spokane Police Department showed major improvements in crime rates, community engagement with police services, and overall officer morale. By communicating with community members over planning and implementation of new strategies, Chief Mangan …show more content…
Police work is a key function for the production and maintenance of public order, but it can also discriminate, exclude, and violate civil liberties and human rights (Egbert, & Leese, 2020). While these activities are important parts of police work, they represent only a small fraction of the complicated responsibilities police officers are tasked with on a daily basis. Police work is surrounded by a variety of roles and functions. This includes prevention of crime, traffic enforcement, community engagement and community policing, victim services, crisis intervention, and social service services. The portrayal of police work in popular culture has shed both positive and negative results. Police officers are portrayed in television series, books, and movies. On one hand, the fictional depictions of police officers are heroic, courageous, and noble individuals, as well as hold the ability to help brighten the image of law enforcement and inspire others to have respect for the profession. These portrayals in this fictional setting have also raised awareness of the challenging obstacles and dangerous situations police officers are put in during the line of duty. This is an appreciation for their dedication and sacrifice.
Policing is a very difficult, complex and dynamic field of endeavor that is always evolves as hard lessons teach us what we need to know about what works and what don’t work. There are three different Era’s in America’s policing: The Political Era, The Reform Era, and The Community Problem Solving Era. A lot has changed in the way that policing works over the years in the United States.
Chief Terry Mangan change to community policing of the Spokane Police Department, began on a slow approach because he didn’t have a master plan or a step by step plan on how he wanted to move into community policing. He began with approaching all levels of the police department , first he started with having the police officers problem solve more on responds to 911 calls with the help of the community. ( Cordner 496) . Chief Mangam also let the citizens of Spokane be important co-producers of public safety by allowing them to become volunteers within the department .
The police are usually charged with the great responsibility of ensuring that citizens are living quality lives that are free of crime and fear. In order to perform this duty effectively, the police need accurate and deeper knowledge of the citizens and issues they encounter in their daily lives. This knowledge will not be easy to come by if the police work independently from the citizens. Over the last several decades, police agencies have been working to gain the respect and the cooperation of the communities they serve. Community Oriented Policing was introduced to bring a closer working relationship between the citizens and the police.
In the intricate variety of law enforcement, principles serve as guiding stars, steering the course of policing and police administration. The tenets encapsulated within the ten guiding principles of policing and police administration are not merely abstract ideals but pillars upon which the integrity, efficacy, and legitimacy of law enforcement rest. Additionally, understanding the four police executive styles delineates the diverse approaches to leadership within law enforcement agencies, each with its unique implications. Moreover, as we investigate contemporary policing methodologies like problem-oriented policing and its counterpart, community-oriented policing, we uncover nuanced strategies tailored to address the multifaceted challenges
Community policing is a strategy used by various departments in order to create and maintain a relationship between the law enforcement agency and the community being patrolled. Community policing is composed of three critical components, community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving (Gardiner, 154, 2016). Community partnerships are pivotal in community policing since they increase public trust and create am improved relationship in law enforcement agencies better serving the community (Gardiner, 87, 2016). These partnerships not only offer public input but also encourage the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in order to minimize crime within the community (Gardiner, 88, 2016). Unlike, the traditional strategies of policing, community orientated policing has been adopted by two-thirds of agencies in order to improve public safety and control crime. (Gardiner, 148, 2016).
There are many different ways of policing in the 21st century and all address and apply different theories and ideas to try and control the crime this day in age. One of these methods is called community policing and many law enforcement agencies around our country and the world use it as a model for policing and interacting with communities. Community policing is based on the belief that policing agencies should partner with communities with the goals to prevent or reduce the amount of crime in those areas (Pollock, 2012 p. 99). There are 3 main aspects of community policing that I will talk about in this paper and they are community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving. After hearing about the
There has always been a love-hate relationship between the public and the police. When called upon to help, they can be something sent from God, but when they are writing tickets, or taking a friend to jail, the view changes from a savior to a presence that is unwanted and often hated. An effort to improve the public view of law enforcement is being attempted by many departments. Using different styles of policing techniques, mainly community based policing, has proved to be the best way to improve the image of law enforcement.
Community oriented policing has been around for over 30 years, and promotes and supports organizational strategies to address the causes, and reduce the fear of crime and social disorder through problem solving tactics. The way community policing works is it requires the police and citizens to work together to increase safety for the public. Each community policing program is different depending on the needs of the community. There have been five consistent key elements of an effective community oriented policing program: Adopting community service as the overarching philosophy of the organization, making an institutional commitment to community policing that is internalized throughout the command structure, emphasizing geographically decentralized models of policing that stress services tailored to the needs of individual communities rather than a one-size-fits-all approach for the entire jurisdiction, empowering citizens to act in partnership with the police on issues of crime and more broadly defined social problems, for example, quality-of-life issues, and using problem-oriented or problem-solving approaches involving police personnel working with community members. Community oriented policing has improved the public’s perception of the police in a huge way. Community policing builds more relationships with the
Their long-term perspective allows for consideration of the broader impact of policies, essential for successful transformation. Delegating internal management tasks enables Statesmen to concentrate on broader leadership responsibilities, promoting collaboration and democracy within the department. Unlike the Administrator and Top Cop styles, which emphasize efficiency and adherence to established practices, the Statesman style is more open to change and new ideas necessary for transformative reform. Problem-oriented policing (POP) is a proactive strategy in law enforcement aimed at addressing the underlying causes of crime and disorder within communities, departing from reactive approaches that solely respond to incidents after they occur. Central to POP is the meticulous analysis of crime data to identify recurring issues and develop targeted solutions (Hinkle et al., 2020).
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: 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 peace and prosperity. While these are just a few of the recommendations listed in the report, there were many more that set forth the framework for community policing, but these were the core components.
Community policing is a daunting task. Each culture, diverse in its own right, may believe in a separate religion, have their own language, may have new immigrants, yet all are to be governed by the same set of rules society has set forth. The police strive for equality, yet many times fall short because of human interaction. Immigrants coming from foreign countries are attempting to escape oppression, and obtain the “American Dream.” For all their efforts of escaping, they mistakenly bring the oppression with them.
Community policing is the philosophy that promotes strategies that support the use of partnerships and problem- solving techniques that are proactively address conditions to rise public safety issues like fear of crime, social disorder, and crime. There are three components to community policing, they are community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving. The four elements of community policing are community involvement, problem solving, a community base, and redefined goals for the police.
To conclude, Community policing represents a major development in the history of American law enforcement, but the extent to which this approach is a success and dominates contemporary policing remains a source of debate. In my point of view, community policing is good for communities. It has challenged the traditional concept of the police as crime-fighters by drawing attention to the complexities of the police role and function. In addition to the police officer hard work; citizens can also make a difference and contribute to make neighborhoods a better place to live. For instance, citizens can hold community meetings to talk about concerns and agree on solutions help organize healthy activities for children in your neighborhood, join or starting a neighborhood crime watch program, and talk to your community police officers and share information and concerns.
Community policing represents a philosophy that emphasizes the proactive role of police in forming partnerships with community members to address public safety issues. This approach enhances trust, transparency, and collaboration between law enforcement agencies and their communities. The four dimensions of community policing include community partnership, problem-solving, organizational transformation, and problem-oriented policing (Cordner, 2014). The first dimension of community policing is community partnership.
Community policing is a law enforcement strategy that encourages interactive partnerships between law enforcement agencies and the people they serve (Berlin, Michael M. "Encyclopedia of Community Policing and Problem Solving.") These partnerships help communities find solutions to problems with collaborative problem solving and improved public trust. Through this model, the public plays a role in prioritizing public safety problems (Berlin, Michael M. "Encyclopedia of Community Policing and Problem Solving.")