There has been a controversy over the police force in the United States. The challenge can be addressed simplistically by considering the dilemma between choosing a policing strategy that prevents a crime or a “respected and respects” strategy of its constituents but less efficient. Some policies can be applied by the police to deter crime but do not create negative results to the community. Overlap can be experienced in the policing strategy because different groups can apply a similar approach to a crime (James, 2014). The goals used by the police are significantly focusing on reducing crime, suspect location and diligent use of the police resources. Specific policing strategies have been named to be the most effective, and this encompasses hot spots policing and problem-oriented policing. Stop-and-frisk is an infamous method among the New York police claiming that it encourages a practice that infringes on the civil rights of the citizens, but under specific circumstances, it can be applied.  Community policing can be considered to be an effective policing strategy to be implemented in most of the criminal incidents. The paper discusses community policing as a strategy that is used by the police to control the rate of crime in different locations effectively.

Community policing

The modern society has indicated an evolution in the demands and expectations of police officers. The public had already lost trust in the police due to the extrajudicial killings and oppression of the people while conducting a criminal investigation and this broadened the gap between the community and the police. The community is currently demanding new strategies to policing that does not only focus on pursuing the criminals but considered the welfare of the public and respects their civil rights (James, 2014). Members of the community are currently anticipating for a community-oriented policing that encourages a collaborative relationship between the police and community members to solve local issues. Community policing is a police approach that supports a partnership focused on providing public safety issues like crime, fear and social disorder. The procedure of law enforcement requires the consent of the entire community by assigning specific responsibilities for establishing an essential outcome to the members of the community. Community policing is a program that has been in existence and implemented by law enforcement agencies.

Currently, community policing is required to go beyond just a single program into a foundational principle that any agency can use. Collaboration with the community members can be achieved through different ways encompassing partnership with city agencies and engaging in activities that aim to build a positive relationship with particular community members. A good community policing strategy should be the one that identifies the goals and measurable results for all the units. Community policing is not just a program that focuses on partnership but it a philosophy that stresses on a culture of perceiving police officers as members of the community they serve and hence work along the community to provide security (James, 2014). The policy aims not only to bring law offenders into justice but also improving on the lives of every person who stays or work within the community. The modern world is familiar with ever-advancing technology, and immediate communication creates a challenge for police departments. Alienation of the police from the residents of a community and regarding them as outside observers is not enough to develop a safety community. The community members should familiarize with the police officers o that they get the chance to quickly approach the officers and report the possibility of a crime to be committed in a location.  The police department of America has applied community policing through sending a police representative to attend community meetings, bike patrols, and publishing newsletters. The engagement of the community in crime reduction was not found to be perfect enough since it only focuses on improving the satisfaction of the community with policing approaches (James, 2014). To improve on the police legitimacy, community policing is used as an option to deter crime within the community. Community policing reduces crime, but studies have shown that they do not last for more than a year. A challenge with community policing is that it is not often prompt since it takes time to build trust in the community.

Community policing requires that the community itself should have a contribution in the policing just like it is expected to be with the police officers. Acquiring ideas from the community members yields a result when all the target groups bring their ideas to assist in bring law offenders into justice. Community policing brings several benefits depending on the strategies applied during its execution (Heyer, 2016). Since the approach encompasses collaboration and shared responsibility, the policy contributes to savings on some human, physical and financial resources that could be directed to policing through criminal intelligence gathering and patrol. The savings can be directed into other areas of priority that also assist in improving the activities of police operations in the investigation. The execution of community policing does not only increase the level of security but also institutionalize the togetherness between the government and the public in addressing law enforcement and crime management. The community contributes to problem-solving by providing their ideas and in decision making which reinforces the strategic planning within the police departments.

Community policing is structured on the idea that no any organization can solve local security issues which call for collaboration and comprehensive problem-solving. There are different partners whom the police can use and trust while conducting criminal investigation and arrests. Other agencies of the government like local authorities, public works department, schools, and public works department can play a significant role in policing. The community members who are the inhabitants of the target community and are essential resources while striving to identify vital concerns of the community (Deflem, 2016). The non-governmental organizations who are the community-based providers of services and are critical partners in the system for a referral who also provide support to survivors or the females at risk.

In conclusion, the policing strategies that are applied by the police are in response to the traditional policing strategies that received a lot of controversy from the public. The current policing approaches are focusing on acquiring enough evidence that a crime is committed or it is likely to be committed then applying the necessary resources to reduce or prevent the crime. The police are compelled to implement policies that do not affect the attitude of the community members and increases the confidence of the people on the policing approaches applied by the police. The strategies apply to particular circumstances while others can be used generally to reduce or prevent a crime. Therefore, the police should choose on relevant policing approaches that do not raise controversies on the police operations and civil rights of the community.

 
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