Community Policing is a policing that promotes organizational strategies which support the systemic utilization of partnerships between government policing agencies and communities, and problem-solving methods, to proactively address the immediate conditions that result in public safety issues such as fear of crime, social disorder, and crime. Community policing is, in fact, a paradigm shift created at the substratum of the community partnership in the creation of a secure and safe environment for all(Choi & Lee, 2014). It is policing in which individuals take an active part in their affair, and the law enforcement officers are not perceived as strangers or problem whose presence means danger but as partners in development and the community members are co-producers of justice as well as quality police service. This shows the need and necessity to involve the local government, the community and the law enforcement agency to work jointly in tackling crime. A fundamental rationale of involving the public in policing is the notion that police alone cannot create and maintain safe communities without the support and corporation of the public (Miller et al., 2014).
Community policing can be described as democracy action, which requires the active participation of business and civic leaders, local government, private and public agencies, hospitals, schools, churches, and residents. All the groups that share a concern for the welfare of the community need to be responsible for protecting that safety(Choi & Lee, 2014). Community policing has of late been an issue of interest and focus especially the top government. Community policing can play a key role in changing the service provision method of the government at the community level(Miller et al., 2014). Implementing community policing imposes key changes in the structure as well as management of the police force. Community policing is quite different from traditional policing in relation to the way the community is perceived and its extended policing goals. While the prevention and control of crime are still central priorities, strategies of community policing employ a wide range of techniques to address these goals(Choi & Lee, 2014). The community and police become partners in addressing neglect and disorder problems such as broken windows, gang activity as well as broken windows which even though might not seem criminal but can ultimately lead to serious crime. As the links between the community and police are strengthened gradually, the resultant partnership will effectively identify and mitigate the underlying crime causes (Miller et al., 2014).
The objective of community policing is to minimize disorder and crime by meticulously examining the characteristics of issues and problems in the communities and then apply the right problem-solving techniques(Thurman &McGarrell, 2015). The community assigned to a patrol officer need to be a geographical area, which is well defined, small. Patrol officers are the main provider of police services as well as have the most frequent contact and interaction with the members of the community (Bayerl et al., 2016).
In community policing efforts, the patrol officers will offer the bulk of the daily policing requirements of the community and will get assistance from other police units, immediate supervisors, and appropriate social and government policies. The command staff and upper-level managers will be responsible for making sure the whole organization supports the efforts and initiatives of patrol officers (Thurman &McGarrell, 2015).
Effective community policing is influencedby the optimization of positive contact between community members and patrol officers. Patrol care is the most effective way of conveying police services(Choi & Lee, 2014). The department of police may supplement automobile patrols with the scooter, horseback, bicycle, and foot patrol and adding min-stations as a method of bringing police closer to the neighborhood. The main core component of community policy involves establishing as well as maintain mutual trust (community partnership). The law enforcement agency recognizes the need for collaboration and cooperation with the community. In an effort to fight and eliminate crime, the police encourage the public to come forward with relevant data (Thurman&McGarrell, 2015).
The second component of the community policy is the problem solving which goes beyond crime elimination and prevention. Problem solving depends on the assumption that disorder and crime can be minimized in small geographic areas by prudently studying the characteristics of problems within the area, and the applying the right resources and the preface that people make choices based on the opportunities presented by the social and physical characteristics of an area (Choi & Lee, 2014). By employing these factors, individuals will tend to avoid criminal activities. Community policing is also about values more, so value change is required to adapt policing in this changing era.
References
Bayerl, P., Karlović, R., Akhgar, B., &Markarian, G. (2016). Community policing – a European perspective.
Choi, K., & Lee, J. (2014). Citizen participation in community safety: a comparative study of community policing in South Korea and the UK. Policing And Society, 26(2), 165-184. doi: 10.1080/10439463.2014.922087
Miller, L. S., Hess, K. M., &Orthmann, C. M. H. (2014). CommunityPolicingg: Partnerships forproblem-solvingg. Delmar Cengage Learning.
Thurman, Q., &McGarrell, E. (2015). Community policing in a rural setting. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
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