Community Policing Case Study

Policing, in all its forms, is a matter of trust and honesty between the police departments and those they are suppose to protect. My sources deal with two cities and their policing ways, New York City and Johnstown, and how their efforts to right the wrongs of their departments’ sordid and violent pasts will lead to hopefully productive and brighter futures for them and their citizens. Both have had mixed success in these new paths, but hope to continue forward in a positive matter. In New York City, the police are attempting to right the wrongs made over the recent years, including a lawsuit that demanded up to $75 million dollars in response to police action involving their summons statements and their lack of reasoning legally with
Community policing is a term for sending police officers to walk, talk, and interact within neighborhoods to be acquainted and close to the people they are sworn to protect, allowing them to build relationships and trust within the communities. Though this is a familiar and well-noted concept, common throughout most of the country, the city of Johnstown has just recently begun utilizing this concept with its police officers and neighborhoods to reconnect and earn back the trust of these communities. There are numerous citizens in Johnstown who believe in these actions, approving and hoping for positive and influential outcomes that will protect them and foster good relations between them and police, while others have shown mistrust. A citizen asked of their opinion responded, “They think they are above the law. They think because they are cops they can do what they want.” Because of these feelings, police Captain Jeff Janciga has stated that he wants to build trust with the public right in front of their eyes, hoping to foster positive feelings and respect between his officers and the
Though the Johnstown police have not done anything to truly earn the ire of the public, it is because they wear the badge themselves that carries the weight of other police scandal. A different side compared to the NYC article, the police of Johnstown are fighting for a relationship built on them by other officers elsewhere that casts them in the light of suspicion to the public. Though they are attempting an almost impossible mission, the police here are working hard to earn the trust and respect of those living in their communities. They are integrating themselves into neighborhoods that don’t trust them, and are slowly winning them over. They want to have cooperation and a healthy relationship between police and public. Something other police departments should strive