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Sometimes called "democracy in action," community policing is a collaboration between the police and the community to identify and search for solutions to crime. Founded on close, mutually beneficial, long-term ties between police and community members, community policing aims to prevent crime, reduce fear of crime and improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.
Policing concepts currently in vogue have tended to isolate officers from the communities they serve. Community policing enables law enforcement to become part of the fabric of a community so that the people come to the police for counsel and help before a serious problem arises, not after the fact.
To build trust and develop an intimate knowledge of the day-to-day workings of the community, officers make themselves visible and accessible. They patrol on foot or bicycle, get to know individuals, speak to neighborhood groups, participate in business and civic events, consult with social agencies and take part in education programs for school children.
As the police and the community become stronger partners, they are better able to pinpoint and mitigate the underlying causes of crime. As a result, crime prevention takes on a renewed emphasis.
There is no single recipe for successful community policing; however, common to all strategies are three core, complementary components. These include community partnership, problem solving and change management. Establishing and maintaining mutual trust is the central goal of community partnership. Problem solving listens to community members' specific concerns and prioritizes these in joint police-community interventions. Change management implies that in order to facilitate community-police partnerships and problem solving activities, police departments must make an organization-wide commitment to changing infrastructure.
As community policing is adopted in more and more cities, law enforcement is finding that in addition to preventing crime and engendering partnerships between police and the community, community policing also directly benefits police officers. As their interactions with the community increase and improve, police officers report increased job satisfaction. They are invigorated by these partnerships and find that tapping into the talents within the community helps relieve severely strained police resources. Further, reduced levels of crime allow police resources to be allocated not just to rapid response, but to services that improve the overall quality of community life.
Community policing does not offer a quick fix. It requires a long-term commitment by law enforcement to forge bonds of understanding and cooperation with community members, in order to reach mutually agreed-upon goals.
Source: Community Policing Consortium
