The Idea of Community Policing

The Idea of Community Policing

The Concept of Community Policing

Community policing is a modern invention that dictates police activities within society. It is a bottom-up approach where the police actively engage the community in matters concerned with societal welfare. Community policing empowers the nation rather than the traditional dictatorial approach the police deployed to the members of the public. Kappeler and Gaines (2011) state that by working with the people, the cops achieve a more significant impact on enriching the lives of the citizens. It is only by the active participation of all stakeholders in the society does the community attain better quality lives.

For almost a century, the police have embraced the concept of community policing (Kappeler & Gaines, 2011). This concept is a professional model of police conduct that broadens the mandate of the police department. The police now have a broader scope of control and operations. They now have to focus on creative alternative solutions to community trepidations rather than the sole traditional focus on criminal activities.

For the tenets of community policing to influence quality living in the community positively, both the police and the society need to effect structural adjustment to the police organization. The structure of the police department needs to embrace the bottom-up approach. This structure implies that the police have to consider opinions from society on how best to conduct police duties.

Community partnerships come into play for the practical realization of the goals and objectives of community policing. The organizational and personnel requirement for such an undertaking necessitates proper realignment of the police workload. Community policing mandates restructuring of geographic focus and ownership as the first facet of this philosophy.

The persons concerned with structuring the police department have to decentralize police service and realign patrol activities (Skogan & Hartnett, 1997, as cited in Kappeler & Gaines, 2011). The focus of community policing is for the police to work with the people. The personnel requirement of community policing entail creating awareness for police work. Such interventions see the police working in direct contact with the members of the public.

The easy access to police services facilitates progressive interaction between the police and the community, hence generating a conducive environment where the police and the public work in unison to govern the community. There also needs to be a philosophical twist in the perception of how the police view their work (Kappeler & Gaines, 2011). Members of the community, too, need to embrace the new shift in interaction with the men and women in uniform.

It is encouraging that most individuals have heard about community policing and that most police departments have adopted it. Still, few people understand the mechanisms within which community policing operates (Chappell, 2009, as cited in Kappeler & Gaines, 2011). Stakeholders have to revamp awareness campaigns to inform the public and community police officers about the philosophy of active community policing.

Community Police Officers’ Agenda

The concept of community policing brings on board all stakeholders in matters of community development to work together. A single department or cluster of individuals in the society cannot singlehandedly deliver efficient and effective realization of the goals and objectives of community policing. In as much community police officers have the mandate to look after the society, delegating the execution of this philosophy to the police department alone demeans the concept of community policing.

Repeatedly, the media shows the police department engaging in public relations stunts. However, the application of proper community policing interventions is not amongst the number of times the media portray the police in a bad light. Community policing is not a public relations stunt, and neither does the police employ this philosophy as a public relations technique.

Also, community policing cannot be a social work event. The application of the philosophy of community policing is an engaging process rather than a one-time undertaking. Constant redevelopments have to be put in place periodically as the need arises. At the backbone of community policing are the needs, desires, and general concerns of the public.

Likewise, as these needs and desires change over time and seasons, so does community policing need to be dynamic. Community policing is continuously evolving to match the needs and desires of the community. Kappeler & Gaines (2011) state that community policing is a development from the traditional problem-oriented policing approach. The modern community policing perspective has developed to engage the community in the policing process.

The essence of collaboration is to consider the changing societal needs and desires of the people in the community. Community Policing Officers also need to be flexible and quick to respond to dynamic societal needs and expectations. All the previously mentioned are not realizable when individuals and the police personnel work individually at own accord. There needs to be collaboration and mutual understanding and partnership between the police department and community members.

Community Policing vs. Traditional Policing Models

The first significant difference between community policing and the traditional policing models is the distinction for the responsibility of law enforcement. The conventional model principally segregated this duty to the police department. The new community policing initiative, on the other hand, acknowledges that responsibility for law enforcement is a duty to everyone, police, and the citizens alike. Such is the focus of community engagement as a pillar of the philosophical dimension of community policing. This dimension dictates that the community becomes responsible for their own safety; citizens must embrace the idea that crime prevention is not solely the mandate of the police or the government.

The traditional policing model had conflicting priorities with the other departments of the government. With community policing, Sparrow (1988, as cited in Kappeller & Gaines, 2011) states that the work of the police department is among more significant initiatives that aim to improve the lives of the citizens. All public service departments work to enrich the lives of the members of the community. Besides, the community policing differs from traditional policing on the dimension of focus. The conventional policing goals focused on solving crimes related issues alone. Now, community policing embraces a broader approach towards problem-solving initiatives to provide solutions to the diverse problems affecting the community.

The metrics to measure police efficiency have also changed. How people measure police work in the traditional policing context and the modern community policing philosophy is different. Detection and arrest rates were the measures for conventional policing. The new concept, however, utilizes the absence of crime and disorder in the community as the measure of effective policing. This element aligns with problem solving and situational crime prevention as the facets of community policing. On the same, there is no measure of priority concerning the highest or lowest form of crime. In community policing, and in connection with community focus dimension of community policing, whatever ails the community is the most top priority of police work.

On strategic focus, crime intelligence was the hallmark of traditional policing. The new perspective focuses on criminal knowledge where information is about criminal individuals and groups, and not just a series of particular crimes or a series of crimes (Sparrow, 1988, as cited in Kappeller & Gaines, 2011). The community focus dimension emphasizes local accountability. The initiative to solve community needs is no longer highly centralized. Community policing empowers local enforcement authorities to device specified measures to ensure law and order within their geographical reach.

Community Policing and Homeland Security

Community policing and homeland security are interrelated. The tenets of community policing are to ensure the community has better quality lives. The same is the function of homeland security, as with no peace and order within the borders of a nation, then there cannot be quality living within such states. Community policing is essential to homeland security. When the police endear themselves to society, it becomes second nature for the community to offer information regarding terrorists and potential terrorist attacks.

There is a looming danger when the police have a narrow focus on terrorism. A narrow focus on terrorism implies that the homeland department solely focuses on terrorism activities. At its basic operational level, homeland security focuses on preventing and disrupting terrorist attacks, protecting the people of America, American infrastructure and critical resources, and to respond to disasters as well as continuing to strengthen the organization for long-term success.

However, when the homeland security department focuses solely on these mandates without actively associating with the community to solve societal problems, the organization loses public goodwill. This fact implies that the community members will not be that forthcoming with information about terrorisms. Resultantly, terrorist preventive measures are harder to execute when there is no collaboration between the homeland security department, the police, and the members of the public. The hardship is as compared to instances when the security apparatus could be involved and working amicably with the community to alleviate community problems and eventualities.

Summary and Conclusion

Since the start of the previous century, police conduct and administration has witnessed resounding changes. Law enforcement has shifted from a conventional policing approach to community policing. At present times, the police and the public work alongside each other to alleviate problems in the community. Crime prevention is now not only a facet of the police department, but also other state organizations as well.

The police ease their workload when they collaborate with the pubic. Information is more forthcoming with proper community policing. Effective and efficient application of all the facets of community policing commendably reduces crime rates. It also empowers the community to be goodwill ambassadors of the police, and this interrelation works to the advantage of all parties as there is smooth collaboration in the execution of police duties and enriching lives within the community. A quality life is the hallmark of community policing.