Creating a Proper Climate for Change When Implementing Community Policing

Community Policing: Successful Implementation of Change The adoption of a community policing strategy within police agencies is often a change that is instituted with much protest and unrest among officers. In order for community policing to be successful however, it has to be presented to organizations and individual police agents as a mechanism of positive change and law enforcement improvement. Community policing is often in fact adopted by police agencies as a mechanism for improving internal and external relations and delivering optimal service to communities within a given area (Fielding, 1995).

According to Fielding (1995) community policing can "evoke images of police-community relations in stable, consensus based and homogenous neighborhoods where crime is a mere irritant" (p.25). However, it is sometimes met with resistance among agents and officers alike. Thus a suitable environment for change has to be created in order to ensure successful implementation of community policing aims.

A suitable environment may be defined as one that supports community policing and one where agents and managers alike are motivated to accomplish community policing tasks with the same enthusiasm as they would other job responsibilities. Change Catalysts For community policing to be adopted successfully an organization must first engage in a change of work style.

The approach requires a proper climate for change, one that encouraged crime control as the responsibility of police agents shared with the public and one that encourages the development of communication with the public and public interest groups (Fielding, 1995). Thus the proper climate for change to occur in is one that fosters communication and long-term relationship building with community leaders and public representatives.

Police agents must be empowered with the skills necessary to communicate with their supervisors, with other agents, and with the public and citizens in a manner that is productive and revealing. It is the duty of middle management and first line supervisors as much as chiefs to deliver the message of shared responsibility and communication to officers. Without adequate participation from lower level managers a program is unlikely to gain support from font line staff and thus be faced with dissent and irritation.

The focus of community policing efforts requires change on the part of officers that often goes against what they are accustomed to, meaning working on an independent level (Hartnett & Skogan, 1997). In fact community policing is often considered a battle "in the hearts and minds of police officers" which usually operate under conditions that are de-centralized (Hartnett & Skogan, 1977). A community policing program will fail however if it is approached with resentment and fear of change (Lurigio & Rosenbaum, 1994). Many obstacles to change exist which must be overcome.

This includes disagreement from supervisors and middle management about the importance of community policing efforts. In fact it is not uncommon for many to dismiss the efforts believing that interacting with the public does not actually ensure the success of such a program, when in reality interaction is everything (Hartnett & Skogan, 1997).

Other police feel that there job is largely one that is revolved around fighting crime, and believe that community policing is something that should be handled more by social workers than law enforcement agents (Hartnett & Skogan, 1997; Lurigio & Skogan, 1994).

Thus the first step toward successful adoption of a community policing program is adoption of a like minded and committed mindset among managers and staff that the work associated with community policing is the duty of agents, and is indeed a job requirement and critical factor of success in police agencies. Front line supervisors must work together with middle management and chiefs to develop a plan of action that is standardized and agreed upon.

Then buy in from all staff from the front line to top management must be encouraged for a community policing plan to achieve its goals. To create an environment conducive to change and the successful implementation of a community policing program, officers must work on developing and standardizing community relations goals that are geared toward crime fighting, information gathering, patrol efficiency, empowering patrol officers, improving internal communications and building a supervision culture that is supportive and encouraging (Davis & Gianakis, 1998).

In addition the emphasis of the force should be on the development of patrol officer's job skills that encourage communication and interaction as well as accountability. Studies suggest that the more accountable officers are held for their actions with regard to community policing directives, the more likely they are to work toward the.