Importance of Law Enforcement Relations

Building neighborhood relationships build trust rather than just a police officer. If the public build trust and relationships with police they are more likely to come forward about crimes that occur. Since police can’t be at all places at once they rely on the public to help them catch individuals in the process of crimes. The public can help police in other ways such as attending neighborhood watch meetings and learning more about how to protect their neighborhood and the citizens who live around them. Having trusting relationships between the public and police is very important so that the support have meaningful sharing information, responsiveness to community concerns and priorities, the reporting of suspicious activities that appropriately distinguish between innocent cultural behaviors and behavior that may legitimately reflect criminal enterprise or terrorism precursor activities. Law enforcement must establish legitimacy in the communities they serve if trusting relationships are to be established. For communities, their leaders and representatives must collaborate with law enforcement and share responsibility for addressing the problems of crime and terrorism prevention in their neighborhoods. It is important for law enforcement agencies to go beyond just community relations so that all officers understand how to engage with immigrant and minority communities and can thus provide a felt and positive presence in these neighborhoods.
Building relationships in these particular communities will build trust and respect for their line of work. By accomplishing this task they have a greater chance of catching crimes among minorities that typically would not come forward from fear of the police. By Becoming a part of the problem-solving process through community policing, the community share responsibility for addressing the problems of crime and terrorism prevention. If the public participates and contributions it will help other communities develop