Community Oriented Policing Term Paper

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Community Oriented Policing

new and comprehensive strategy against crime: Community Policing:

For the purpose of reducing neighborhood crimes, creating a sense of security and reduce fear of crimes among the citizens and improving the quality of life in the community, the community policing strategy will be proved to be the most effective one. The accomplishment of all these objectives to develop a healthy and clean society can be done by combining the efforts of the police department, the members of the community and the local government. "The concept of community policing is not very new however it has gained attention in last few years. It is an approach to make a collaborative effort between the police and the community in order to identify and solve the problems of crime, societal disorder and disturbances. It combines all the element of the community to find out the solutions to the social problems. Its foundations are laid on the basis of close and communally beneficial ties between the police and the members of the community." (Gordon, 141) The strategy to adopt community policing will help in finding a way to reenergize the communities. It is apparent that a strongly built and self-sufficient community will be extremely helpful in creating an atmosphere in which serious crime will not flourish.

By following the approach of community policing we will be able to seek the input and ideas of all community members in an effort of preserving our neighborhoods. Moreover, there is a need to promote the concept of community policing, by our leaders at the highest levels of government. Hence it will also play an important role in directing the way government services are provided at the community level. "As in this approach the police department and the community will work together towards a common objective, the idea of crime prevention will gain new importance. By working together they will be able to cope up more effectively with the problems of disorder and neglect that can give way to serious crimes in the society." (Gordon, 45-150) Crime prevention takes on renewed importance in community policing as the police and the community become partners in addressing problems of disorder and neglect that can breed serious crime. With the strengthening of the relationship between the police and the community, they will be able to better focus on the issues relating to the causes of crime. The most beneficial aspect of the strategy of community policing will be that it will recognizes the fact that involvement and participation of the community members will facilitate the process and will provide new ways for controlling of crime. At the one hand the police department will keep focusing on handling crime fighting and law enforcement activities, and on the other the police and community will work as partners to improve conditions so that they can avoid such situations that can encourage criminal behavior. This will allow paying attention on crime prevention on a large scale by using the available resources of the community. In this effort the patrol officers and deputies will be the main responsible figures in providing community policing as they usually handle the policing needs of the community on a day-to-day basis.

The Future of community policing:

For defining the future of community-based policing it is recommended to define a procedure of how will it be implemented. The primary aspect of community policing is an action plan or a set of beliefs and objectives which provides the path to follow and move towards a certain goal by implementing the objectives in the form of actions. Community policing itself is a vision which becomes reality when objectives are defined and goals are achieved according to the unique needs of a particular community. The values and objectives should be kept in mind while trying to achieve the goal of developing a clean system of community-based policing so that it may help in reaching a certain point of success. "For the purpose of evaluating and analyzing the system of community policing and defining its success there is a need to adopt some measures. One is to conduct a day-to-day evaluation of the community policing strategy and this evaluation process is required to be changed to adjust with the objectives of the community policing. Moreover, the strategy of community policing should be accepted by all and a commitment should be made to increase the strength of the system when it is felt to be necessary." (Gordon, 45-150)

There is a distinct difference between community-based policing and other models of policing and that is the way we can measure success, "measures such as crime rates, arrest rates and response times are obsolete, A (Moore)"these numbers have little to do with community needs and they only represent serious committed crimes and not the increase of public disorder (or fear) or other so called non-priorities"(Kelling, 21-22)

To analyze the performance of community policing and to find out that whether it is working as an effective solution, it will be required to find out that are the actual problems be addressed or are we reacting to them? Is there any significant level of encouragement given to the police officers to cooperate with the general public? Have we successfully built an environment of streets free of drug dealers, bandits, looters, disruptive teenagers, begging prostitutes, or drive by shooters? In a nut shell the purpose of community-based policing is to develop and grow a highly self sufficient and strong community where there is no question of crime and social disorder.
(Gordon, 141) The effective implementation is going to bring sufficiently positive impact to reduce neighborhood crimes, helping in reducing fear of crime, and enhancing the quality of life in the community. This is accomplished by combining the efforts and the resources of the police, local government, and community members. Following all these guidelines and values at least a new sense of community and commitment to the society can be attained and at the most the true vision of community can be achieved. "It should be understood at the outset that the object to be attained is the prevention of crime. To this, great and every effort, of the police is to be directed. The security of person and property and the preservation of a police establishment will thus be better affected than by the detection and punishment of the offender after he has succeeded in committing the crime"... (Gordon, 45-150)

Keeping a Balance:

For achieving effective community policing, the best level of contact and cooperation between patrol officers and community members is needed so that the officer develops an intimate knowledge of the daily businesses of the community and becomes a familiar figure to community members. As it is the core of the strategy of community policing, to develop a significant level of trust, to establish and maintain mutual to achieve the objective of community partnership. The feeling of trust between both the parties will provide the police an opportunity to gain greater access to valuable information that can lead to the prevention of and solution of crimes. This will also help in facilitating the crime reduction process and achieve support for police activities and provide a basis for a productive working relationship with the community that will find solutions to local problems. As there is a considerable level of distrust among most of our counties and communities with respect to the attitude of the police, the police department will have to make highly concentrated and strong efforts to develop a sense of trust and form a bond of understanding and cooperation among the members of the community. This effort will not stop at any given point and will needed to be continued on a permanent basis but it is very essential for effective community policing. This requires a balance to be made between the objective to wipe out the crimes and to respect the individual's freedom and rights given by the law. However, one thing should be clear in every one's mind that community policing will not provide an immediate solution. Instead, a long-term commitment is needed in this regard on behalf of the police in order to work with community members to reach mutually agreed-upon goals. This goal of forming lasting partnerships to fully wipe out and erase the underlying causes of crime and social disorders will take a significant deal of effort, time and patience on the part of all involved. In addition to this the law enforcement authorities have found and strongly believe on that in addition to bringing police closer to the people, community policing brings other several noticeable benefits. By effectively using the available talents and resources within the communities, the society will be able to help extend severely strained police resources. "With the increase in police interaction with the community to a more and more positive level the police will be able to form a productive partnership and this will lead to greater satisfaction with police services among the community and….....

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