Community Oriented Policing
There has always been a love-hate relationship between the public and the police. When called upon to help, they can be something sent from God, but when they are writing tickets, or taking a friend to jail, the view changes from a savior to a presence that is unwanted and often hated. An effort to improve the public view of law enforcement is being attempted by many departments. Using different styles of policing techniques, mainly community based policing, has proved to be the best way to improve the image of law enforcement.
Community based policing can best be defined as, "a collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems" (Willard Oliver). Community based policing is the idea that the role of the police is not that of catching "bad guys," but more that of serving the public. In order for community based policing to have an effect, the presence of crime isn 't needed, in fact it 's often more effective without the involvement of crime, "Modern police departments are frequently called upon to help citizens resolve a vast array of personal problems--many of which involve no law-breaking activity" (Tim Newburn). The role of the police officer in community based policing, is to have an active part in the community Community policing consists of two complimentary components - community partnership and problem solving. The police must develop positive relationships with citizens to improve crime control and prevention, and to better utilize the resources available to address the most urgent concerns. Community signifies a legal subdivision or jurisdiction which is commonly too expansive or too diverse to be susceptible to a single community-Wide program or method of policing (Willard Oliver). To be successful, community-policing programs operate on a neighborhood scale, finding solutions to neighborhood problems.
Community based policing can best be defined as, "a collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems" (Willard Oliver). Community based policing is the idea that the role of the police is not that of catching "bad guys," but more that of serving the public. In order for community based policing to have an effect, the presence of crime isn 't needed, in fact it 's often more effective without the involvement of crime, "Modern police departments are frequently called upon to help citizens resolve a vast array of personal problems--many of which involve no law-breaking activity" (Tim Newburn). The role of the police officer in community based policing, is to have an active part in the community Community policing consists of two complimentary components - community partnership and problem solving. The police must develop positive relationships with citizens to improve crime control and prevention, and to better utilize the resources available to address the most urgent concerns. Community signifies a legal subdivision or jurisdiction which is commonly too expansive or too diverse to be susceptible to a single community-Wide program or method of policing (Willard Oliver). To be successful, community-policing programs operate on a neighborhood scale, finding solutions to neighborhood problems.
Cited: Maudlyne, Ihejirika. Illinois: More than 3,000 guns turned in. Chicago Sun-Times. 04/28/2006. http://www.freerepublic.com Oliver, Willard. A Systemic Approach to Policing. New York, 2006 Newburn, Tim. Policing: Key Readings. New York, 2005