Community-Oriented Policing: Components and Strategies

Introduction

Today's society is characterized by a drastic increase in gangs, crime, and drugs. Studies focusing on crime detection and rapid response are now criticizing the effectiveness of traditional policing practices. The perception that the core police function involves arresting law violators and combating crime has been slowly fading. These studies have convinced American police agencies to re-examine traditional policing practices considered unsuccessful. This has led to the birth of community policing, which is currently making a significant contribution to United States policing strategy.

Components of Community-Oriented Policing

Community-oriented policing (COP) consists of two essential components: problem-solving and community partnership. Community partnerships are created by developing positive relations with the community (The United States & Community Policing Consortium, 1994). This requires police to involve community members in the pursuit of better crime prevention and to integrate their resources with existing community resources to address the most pressing security concerns. Problem-solving is defined as the procedure by which police identify the particular concerns of the community and initiate the most appropriate remedies to abate the identified issues.

The concept of community policing does not imply that the police department is no longer in authority or has been subordinated (The United States & Community Policing Consortium, 1994). Nonetheless, tapping into the community's resources and expertise relieves police officers of some burdens. All those working and living in the community — among them churches, social agencies, government officials, and schools — have a stake in its development. This means they share responsibility for devising practical solutions to issues that detract from the security and safety of the community.

Community Partnership

The component of community partnership aims at forming and sustaining mutual trust. Police officers have acknowledged the need to cooperate with the community. In combating serious crime, authorities are encouraging community members to present relevant information (The United States & Community Policing Consortium, 1994). Moreover, police have been speaking to local neighborhood groups, participating in civic and business events, working with educational programs for schoolchildren, and collaborating with social agencies. Special units have also adopted strategies that include providing various crisis intervention services. The fundamental feature of community policing is that police have become an indispensable element of community culture. As such, community members help in establishing future priorities and allocating resources.

For police to mobilize community support effectively, they must apply different strategies in different communities. Obtaining cooperation and establishing trust are often easier in affluent and middle-class communities than in poor communities. This is because, in poor neighborhoods, there is a long history of police mistrust. In some areas, building bonds entails supporting basic social institutions — such as schools, churches, and families — which may have been weakened by pervasive disorder or crime. It is necessary to create viable neighborhoods if police hope to sustain long-term alliances that foster cooperative efforts. With community policing, police officers serve as both facilitators and catalysts in the development of these communities.

Conclusion

Community policing has become the defining development in today's policing in America. It has revolutionized traditional policing practices that failed to address modern challenges, integrating effectiveness with efficiency, encouraging creative approaches, and promoting quality over quantity in problem resolution. It has been called the "bottom-up" strategy, in which increased authority and discretion is granted to lower-level officers to solve problems in their neighborhoods. This has led to a new form of partnership between the community and police to reduce fear, combat crime, improve quality of life, and maintain order. It is believed that community policing can help police officers deliver the seemingly impossible mandate of "doing more with less" (The United States & Community Policing Consortium, 1994).

References

The United States & Community Policing Consortium. (1994). Understanding community policing: A framework for action. Washington, D.C.: The Bureau.