Community Policing

Nicole McAfee
Community Policing Chapter 3

It is important to be a part of strong community. Communities that have strong values usually have a strong foundation against crime and work together to lower crime rates in their area. Community refers to the specific geographic area served by a police department or law enforcement agency and the individuals, organizations and agencies within that area. Community also refers to a feeling of be3longing a sense of integration, a sense of shared values and a sense of “we-ness”. Research strongly suggests that a sense of community is the glue that binds communities to maintain order and provides the foundation for effective community action. It also suggest that shared values, participation in voluntary
associations, spiritual or faith based connectedness and positive interaction with neighbors indicate a strong sense of community and correlate with participation in civic and government activities ( Correia, 2000, p.9).In the United States individual freedom and rights are balanced with the need to establish and maintain order. The United States was born out to desire for freedom.
In fact, former President Jimmy Carter noted: “America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it is the other way around. Human rights invented America.” Although traditional policing has most often dealt with high crime levels by stricter enforcement (zero tolerance), “get tough” policies and a higher police presence, police usually have little ability to change things for the better in the long run. Cracking down on crime usually results in displacement. The community in which the crackdown occurs may be temporally safer; however, forced by the increased police presence and increased likelihood of arrest, criminals usually just move their operations, often a few blocks or miles away, making adjacent communities less safe. Traditional police tactics often fail because the causes of crime in communities are complicated and linked to a multitude of factors including environmental design: housing age, type and density; availability of jobs residents; level education; poverty level; family structure; demographics; mobility; and perhaps other unidentified factors. Demographics include a population’s size, distribution, growth, density, employment rate, ethnic makeup and vial
statistics such as average age, education and income. Income, ethnic makeup and unemployment all make up community statistics. A homogeneous community is one in which people are all quite similar. A heterogeneous community, in contrast, s one in which individuals are quite different from each other. Most communities are heterogeneous. The existence of ghettos in many of our major cities poses extreme challenges for law enforcement. A ghetto is an area of a city usually inhabited by individuals of the same race or ethnic background who live in poverty and, to outsider, apparent social disorganizations. Poverty, unemployment, substandard housing and inadequate education have all figured into theories on the causes of crime. Over three hundred million people make up the United States populations.
Communities have been undergoing tremendous changes in the past half century. The greatest growth has been the Hispanic population, growing from six percent in 1980 to double that in 2000. The black population grew one percent. The United States is also experiencing a widening of the gap between those with wealth and those living in poverty. The Middle class is shrinking, and the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” is widening, resulting is a bifurcated society. The following trends in the United States are likely to continue: The minority population will increase, the white dominance will end; the number of legal and illegal immigrants will increase, and the elderly population will
increase. Organizations and institutions can play a key role in enhancing community safety and quality of life. A good relationship between the schools in the community and the police is vital to maintaining order. Other organizations and institutions with whole police officers should interact effectively include departments of human services, health care providers, emergency services providers and any agencies working with the youth. Most communities have both a formal and informal power structure. The formal power structure includes divisions of society with wealth and political influence such as federal, state and local agencies and governments, commissions and regulatory agencies. The informal power structure includes religious groups, wealthy subgroups, ethnic groups, political groups and public interest groups. Many people equate policing or law enforcement with the criminal justice system when, in fact, it is only one part of this system. The other two components, courts and corrections, are much less visible in most communities, because the police are the most visible component of the system. (Page 67) Many people have a limited understanding of the role the courts and corrections play in crime control. Members of the law enforcement community often become frustrated by such attitudes and incidents. The public may have a negative opinion of the courts because of their failure to process cases promptly, their inconsistency in plea bargaining and the long tenure accorded to judges. To help overcome negative opinions and improve public relations, agencies within the criminal justice system are now actively seeking partnerships with others in the community. Many communities now have community prosecution, community courts, and community corrections and even community justice. Understanding a community requires police to know about who lives in that community. When people work together in a community they can keep gangs, violence, drugs and murder out of their communities. This will help their young children from being exposed to these things and not knowing about them