Community policing implementation and crime prevention in Chicago

Community Policing

The end of the 20th century has seen vast changes in almost all spheres of human activity. Today the state, living and information have undergone vast changes both in the concept and definition. Availability of a number of opportunities, change in lifestyle and upward mobility of the people as a whole has given rise to new genera of crime and therefore the modern state requires better policing. The earlier police state was such that the people were 'policed' by the agency which was active at the time of an occurrence. Today the policing have to be in terms of preventing and arresting the crime before it happened. The police state is slowly giving way. There is more public participation in governance. Community policing as a method of curtailing crime is being adopted by the police forces all over the globe. This change will redefine the roles and the methods how the police officers will do their jobs and also in a new manner which will necessitate new psychological training and readjustment. (Skogan; Hartnett, 1997)

The Police as a force has wrested control to the department from the political bosses and have evolved over the years the platform for this change. In the last century the reactive and incident-driven policing model had evolved, and community policing is involved in preventing crime which calls for more participation and involvement. (Skogan; Hartnett, 1997) the importance of the community being involved and supporting the police force not in the detection or general duties, but in controlling crime by preempting it is very important today more than ever, because of the demands on the police force and the nature of crimes which have grown in different arenas than the beaten path. Community policing is a new concept with a short history.

Historical background of the programs

According to Weatheritt community policing is not a single identifiable concept. It involves rapid action by many agencies which merge together to enforce a program of crime control. The process involves the public in the working of programs like neighborhood watches and efficient communication. In the United States during the 1970s, 'community policing' began as a good will building measure between the citizens and the forces. This was then extended to patrols, reducing fear and evolving some kind of social control. This seemed to work in homogenous communities. (Fielding, 1995) for a simple illustration, we can consider the Chicago city. Community policing was t6ried out in Chicago on April 29, 1993: The policy was called CAPS an acronym for Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy. This involved reorganization of the police force, and redefine its relationship with the residents. The foundation for the transformation began with the city council which was pressurized into doing something on account of the racial violence, crime rates and the forthcoming elections. So far back in 1991, the Mayor brought about the concept and the idea of community policing was imposed on the police and the people. (Skogan; Hartnett, 1997)

That is an illustrative case where public opinion and the civic bodies determine to have such a system. The theorists have been arguing on the issue for quite a long time. In fact the theories of the social systems including community policing owes its roots to the Community Action Program of the 1960s. Communities organized projects which later evolved into community development corporations. These companies are into "housing and neighborhood revitalization, with an elaborate network of intermediary institutions to support them at the local, state, and national levels." (Sirianni; Friedland, 2001) There are more than 200 such groups in one hundred cities and it is this force that set the community activity and furthers the community policing concept in motion. (Sirianni; Friedland, 2001)

The important shift comes in the very definition of the capitalist state, which by definition plays the important role of the protector. For two centuries the state had absolute monopoly of the enforcement of law and this concept is a result of a paradigm shift. Increasingly the changes in the nature of the state itself have given rise to more public participation in its affairs, with the limitations of the state becoming more apparent. Thus the concept of state sovereignty based on the power of enforcement and political power is slowly being replaced from the last few decades with a volatile situation. (Crawford, 1999) if we examine the Chicago program CAPS actually worked we understand that back in 1990s, when the concept was mooted, the organizers were aware that the public would respond to the generic problems if given an opportunity to express themselves. The CAPS service request was a design that elicited this response. Thus the coordination responsibility began to be shared jointly by the police; local businesses, established community leaders and representatives. (Skogan; Hartnett, 1997)

Analysis of data or critical examination of researches

The sympathy of the people with the victims of police violence first causes them to band together and then form the next code that automatically creates the stage for community vigilance. Police violence has resulted in large scale unrest and the research that used the data for Toronto, New York City which was analyzed to see public reaction to police actions and the result was that it was not even reported by the press. (Hale; Ross, 2000)

Evaluations, Theory and Innovations, alternative and impact

The neighborhood watch which arises from the fear of crime is often on the agenda of politicians and by turning it to a civic duty the citizen is brought on par with the police. "The neighborhood watch is put forward as one of the central vehicles through which collective community action may be coordinated and expressed by 'active' citizens." (Kurke; Scrivner, 1995) the sociological models of the state which have contrasting views like crime is the action that fragments a community and arguments by people like Conklin that both crime and fear go hand in hand which ultimately makes the community powerless to involve itself in any constructive program. Emile Durkheim argues on the contrary and advocates that crime actually unifies the community and bringing to gather the members strengthens them by creating a bond which helps fight crime. (Kurke; Scrivner, 1995)

In either case the strengthening of the community by curtailing crime is shown to be of paramount importance and this is important. However these theories describe the expectations but not the actual way of organizing the community. To create the community practice, Weil, Mondros and Wilson have set out several components that are crucial for proper community based activities including the policing activity. This can be listed as defining specific roles for all concerned the staff, participants and the authorities, a proper goal to be achieved by the units, and the process of selecting and attending to the relevant and pressing issues. The members also have to have a deep understanding of the community and the changes in the community. (Hardina, 2002)

The government and the law are inseparable and a decentralized version of administration will change the relationship of the departments and the people and government. The government role will be diminished in perspective with regard to petty issues. In an argument against this decentralization it is argued that "diminishing their importance would erode the privatized feel that now dominates the exercise of city power in America and, thereby, affect the life of every metropolitan resident." (Frug, 1999) it is argued that the community policing will create 'city power' which will be the forerunner of the decentralization of power to American cities. This would in the long run help the cities improve and become safe with more interaction between the citizens and in common aims. This will result also in community building. The police department which is more isolated from the public and views issues as 'us' and them angles will become more humane and cooperative in peaceful policing methods.

Community policing as a method of curtailing crime is being adopted by the police forces all over the globe. Even where the state and police show reluctance the local people form organizations that either cause vigilant watch over the community or take to following up the actions done by police in sensational cases. This concept has caught on in most of the world and now cases as old as 26 years are being reopened in the light of fresh evidence coming to light on account of individual and community activity. This change will redefine the roles and the methods how the police officers will do their jobs and also in a new manner which will necessitate new psychological training and readjustment. The Police as a force has wrested control to the department from the political bosses and have evolved over the years the platform for this change.

Conclusion

It is inevitable that community policing becomes a way of the social system. The reasons that the world has become a global village, and while on one hand it helps the country and the world community at large grow and become affluent has also given the pathway to the terrorist, and the nonconformist and the elite and sophisticated criminal better opportunities. Thus a small police force which plays multiple roles cannot be up to the task of controlling the entire community, especially since the modern times demand that crime be prevented before the attempt. A successful attempt can have devastating consequences for a community or even a state. The September eleven tragedy ought to have been prevented. Thus it is important that the community police itself and take active part in the vigilant prosecution of crime and take steps to prevent crime. The onus of reporting and seeing to it that activities that occur in the neighborhood are suspicious thus shifts to the member of the community. The citizen thus is empowered to participate with the law enforcing agencies in their primary role and also gets to interact with the community in such a way that community policing will create harmony with the people of a district or block and also create a venue for better interaction between the citizens and police and bring to light the problems of the police and citizens. This will result also in community building and in the long run integrate the community and avert such problems like racism. The police department and the police personnel will be saddled with better responsibility and will automatically become efficient because of the public eye that follows them. It also is a method of preventing police brutality.

Community policing as a method of curtailing crime today is either being experimented or has been adopted by the police forces all over the globe. Even where the state and police show reluctance over the involvement of individuals, the media acts as the community mouthpiece and brings public reaction to bear on the issue. This shows that people of the world are ready to take on the responsibility of protecting themselves. What is now required is to devise a system that can work integrating the police department, the citizen and the agencies that could provide correction facilities for the delinquents and help them get rehabilitated. The possibilities are endless. This is one step to a safer and better community and a decentralized policing method.