Community policing practices and implementation

Community Policing

One of the renowned names in community policing is Sir Robert Peel who helped found the London Metropolitan Police unit that was meant to be closer to the people than any other time before. Sir Robert had the objective of creating a community where "…the police are the public and the public are the police…" as indicated by Braiden, (1992). He envisioned a community where the idea of policing is closely linked between the formal police force and the community participation in the control, deterrence and termination of crimes in the entire England. This was a trend that was to be adopted in many parts of the world including the U.S.A.

Bearing the various successes that community policing has achieved, my support goes for the program and there is need to strengthen it and make it work better and more adaptable to the ever changing community. Initially, the crimes rates soared each day due to the divide between the police and the community they serve. There was the feeling of the otherness between the police and the community members. This hindered a free flow of information between the two sectors. With lack of information about crime, lawlessness went unhindered. It was the community policing ideology that drew the two together to facilitate the free flow of information, leading to crackdown on crime cartels, reduction of drug peddling and nabbing gun peddling in many parts of the U.S.A. This is a move that could not be possible if the community kept mum with the information they had about a criminal or on criminal activities secretly stashed within the community away from the police radar.

The other reason for the community policing was the development of technology in the 1970s. This development severed the social distance between the community and the police. The police got more into answering calls and responding to the situation. The calls ultimately proved futile and not a means of sorting out the needs of the community. The technological development shifted the police from crime prevention to after crime control of further damage upon call. This trend escalated with the introduction of computer and computerized systems of profiling of crimes, type of crimes, frequency, trends, calculated rapidity, efficiency of dispatch, and so on the rapid response became an end in itself rather than a means to end crime (Conrad Adenauer, 2005). To reverse this, there was need to have community policing instilled among the society.

Before the community policing implementation, the management structure of the police emphasized on a centralized system and control that adhered to the preset operational standards and procedures. This structure was aimed at heightening the professionalism and absolute impartiality among the police. Apparently these standards were not understood by the public hence did not work well with them. The continued use of them would deny the police a chance to understand what the community wanted. The needs and requirements of the citizens are mostly unclear hence often needs the engagement of the same society to come to understand their needs, this could only be done through community policing.

The police, there before were randomly changed from one route to another with the aim of reducing corruption and reducing police involvement in drug ring running and cover-ups and making the police force more community focused. This habit denied the community the chance to trust the police enough to share secrets of crime (Jeffery Peterson, 2012), hence the only solution was community policing where the police drew closer to the community and after a long time winning the confidence of the residents.

There are however some few challenges that come with the community policing. It is argued that once the police come too close to the people or the community, there is always the temptation to be complacent and witness crimes without taking decisive steps particularly if it involves someone they are very close to. There is also the challenge of recruitment, hiring and retention of the community policing personnel that has for long been a challenge to this program. There is also the problem of having the right officers in this program who will ensure the newer officers are properly mentored. There is as well the issue of some communities disengaging from the program due to threats from criminals as well as the inability of the officers to implement the needed changes. These are challenges that can be overcome with persistence and with time as well as institution of the correct policies with the help of the community.