Community Policing

920 Words2 Pages

Like other social institutions, policing has advanced over time. The number of law enforcement agencies and their functions have changed tremendously. According to Reaves from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (2011), there were almost 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies, with more than 1.1 million full-time employees in 2008. Police are a fundamental part of the government. Their role requires that they adequately balance the legal authority they have been granted by the public (through government) with their responsibility to protect individual rights and contribute to public safety (Cordner, 2014, p.149). Police have authority and the power to stop, question, detain, arrest, and use force when necessary. At the same time, it’s …show more content…

Community policing has many different definitions. For some people, it means order maintenance, cleaning up broken-down neighborhoods, and fixing “broken windows.” For others, it means instituting foot patrols, bicycle patrols, getting out of patrol cars, and other activities that are designed to bring law enforcement closer to the communities they serve. However, the best definition of community policing that I found was published by Chapman & Scheider from the COPS Office (2012):
Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques …show more content…

began operating under what is referred to as a professional model of policing. Under this model were many improvements associated with training, specialization, and technology. Local police departments were organized around strict hierarchical lines, utilized standardized operational protocols, and emphasized responding to serious crimes when they occurred (Lawrence & McCarthy, 2013, p.5). However, between the 1960s and 1970s, social disorder and crime increased at a phenomenal rate. Concerns emerged about police being isolated and distant from the public and their inability to fight crime in an effective and appropriate manner. Police had trouble communicating with all members of the socially and culturally diverse communities they served. The police and the public had become so separated from one another that in some communities an attitude of “us versus them” prevailed between the police and community members (BOJA, 1994, p.6). A number of organizations within the policing field, law enforcement and other municipal leaders began to re-examine the role of police departments in public safety management. They became committed to improving policing methods and developed reform efforts that sought to reduce crime through improved relationships and direct partnerships between citizens and police. As a result, community policing originated as an idea and philosophy in response to the communication gap between police and the

More about Community Policing

Open Document