Community Policing Importance of Community

Community Policing

Importance of community policing

With the increase of crime rates in various states the need to find solutions becomes a primary issue. Not only should the solutions be effective but they should also be efficient. These factors are intimately interwoven into any crime fighting solution. One of the most recent solutions is the introduction of community policing. Community policing may have been considered as transient by some based on their understanding of crime, however it is here to stay. Community policing represents a long-term strategy effective strategy for address crime on almost all fronts.

Community policing utilizes a wide range of philosophical and realistic approaches to policing. It is based on the idea of merging community interest with the interest of law enforcement. So that the strategies engaged in by the police are highly dependent on the community and the relevant situation in that community. While there is this high degree of specialized shaping of the community policing program, there are certain core ideas that are universal to all communities.

At its most basic community policing requires officers to get into the communities beyond the times relating to the commission of crimes. It also advances the need to engage in collaborative ventures with community based agencies and organization (Community policing, n.d.). This approach then seeks to create a wide collation of likeminded persons who through their combined efforts can change their community and not only address the issue of crime.

The community policing approach has three basic pillars that govern its functioning. The first is the concept of partnership with the community. The partnership with the community is considered to be a collaborative activity. While it does not amount to a union of equals since the law enforcement agents maintain the monopoly on the use of force, it is a mutually respectful partnership. The law enforcement officials are aware that they cannot be successful without the aid of members of the community. The community on the other hand is aware that corporation with the law enforcement officers may translate into a safer community. This more closely represents a symbiotic relationship where each partner is benefits mutually from the experience and the entire system becomes more productive and efficient.

This type of community participation is critical particularly in cases where the criminal activity may occur in minority communities. Minority communities are often wary of the response of law enforcement officials, and as a consequence the successful pursuit of criminals is limited, and at times stymied by this resistance to provide information. A closer relationship between the community and the police will provide the officers with much needed information as distrust is replaced by confidence in law enforcement.

An additional benefit of this interface is the reduction of prejudice that law enforcement officers may have. In many states a large number of the law enforcement officers are white (Donohue, & Levitt, 2001, p.368). Many of these officers may have stereotypical images of minority individuals as it relates to their involvement in criminal activity. The close felicity between the officers and the community will allow the officers to interface with persons who are not criminal. This permits them to develop highly positive views of minorities and may limit incidences and complaints of police harassment and brutality. This aspect heightens the importance of the work of the community police.

The second element is organizational transformation. The present system of organizational structures seems to be aligned with the preservation of the organization, and not with the major mission which is to preserve law and order. The implementation of a community policing practice encourages and facilitates this change in the organizational perspective. Almost all aspects of the organization must change in response to the focus on community policing. Police departments often need to address issues of organizational culture. That speaks to how things are done in the department. The culture is often focused on the procession of crime and criminals and not on prevention. An introduction of community policing can cause a shift in emphasis so that the culture of the organization mutates in response.

These changes also relate to resources and their management. The shift to community policing requires that the police themselves be trained to interface differently with the community. They need to consider how they discharge their power as officers. Even performance evaluation is given fresh consideration as the new view of evaluation will include a component on the interaction with the community and the degree of success achieved through that interaction.

The change also spills into the fiscal management of the service. The monetary resources are to be channeled in a direction that supports the directives of community policing. More money is allocated to lectures and the sponsorship of community events. The police may initiate youth clubs and other ventures that bring officers into the company of the community in a way that makes them appear less threatening. This reshaping of the fiscal policy may also result in more efficient expenditure where they police are able to get more for their money.

The reorganization also impacts information collection. As the police get closer to the communities it becomes easier to collect critical evidence. The finding of witnesses and informants becomes easier and more effective. This entire set of changes mean that unlike the traditional policing practices that are highly reactive, community policing is proactive. The approach seeks to engage in crime prevention rather than simply detection and solving (Bayley & Shearing, 1996 p.587). This new orientation toward crime prevention will ultimately lower the crime rates, since the focus is on the factors that produce criminal behavior and not only on the behavior itself. This is a very important aspect of community policing that makes it a more attractive option than the traditional approaches to police work.