Community Policing

Some form of community policing program has been in existence since the beginning of the law enforcement profession. The father of law enforcement, Sir Robert Peel, recognized in 1829 that the citizens were the main agent in crime control and public safety with one of his nine principles, which stated the public are the police and the police are the public. This principle is the foundation of community policing (Ortmeier and Meese, 2010). Overt time and with the advent of technology, the concept of community policing was eroded and even became nonexistent. Police officer went from walking their beats and interacting with community and shop owners to patrolling in radio response cars driving past the community they are protecting without saying

Some scholars advised that community policing is not a program, but a philosophy (Schafer, Huebner, and Bynum, 2003). One of the main difficulties with the community-policing concept is defining what community policing is (Gill, Weisburd, Telep, Vitter, and Bennett, 2014). Community policing programs could include bike and/or foot patrol, problem oriented policing, neighborhood officers, a police athletic league, neighborhood watch, and citizens on patrol. One police department could have a community-policing program that uses a combination of one or more programs or another police department may use a standalone program in order to provide the greatest impact.

Every program has some value that the community can benefit from. Bike and foot patrols allow police officers to get out of their air-conditioned confined mechanized boxes to interacting with citizens and business owners in the area. The frequent positive encounters with the police allow relationships to begin and flourish (Berkley and Thayer, 2000). In time, citizens will be willing to trust the police and provide information about reoccurring problems in their neighborhood. They will begin to work on the problems as a team instead of viewing the police as the enemy or an uncaring

The intent of the neighborhood watch is for each neighbor to look out for one another as well as their properties. If any suspicious activity is observed, then they will call the police to respond. The hope is that the neighbors will help police their neighborhood by reporting suspicious activities (Bennett, Holloway, and Farrington, 2006). Police departments understand that someone living in the neighborhood will know more about that area than the police officer who spends minimal time there. The downside with the neighborhood watch program is the limited contact with the police. Although the neighborhood watch program participants understand and feel the connection with the police when they call, that interaction ceases once the call is concluded. In order to keep participants involved and a strong relationship, some departments mail out flyers that include crime statistics and/or crime prevention tips. Although some may see this type of a program as ineffective, there have been many crimes solved by a nosey neighbor that called the