Community Policing: Principles, Misconceptions, and Improvement Strategies
In recent years, the transition toward community policing continues to gain prominence as police and community representatives seek more efficient strategies to foster public safety and improve the quality of life in the communities. Community policing is essentially a partnership between the police and the community to identify and solve issues within the community (Peak & Glensor, 2017). The two main components of community policing are community partnership and problem-solving. To form community partnerships, police must build strong connections with the community, engage residents in the pursuit of effective crime control and prevention, and pool their resources with those of the community to solve the most pressing problems of the community. Problem-solving involves the identification of specific community problems and the discovery of the most suitable remedies for such issues. Since the police are no longer regarded as the sole advocates of law and order, everyone in the community becomes an active participant in the endeavor to improve community safety and quality of life.
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Community policing, however, is distinct from conventional policing. Traditional policing views police as the principal advocates of public safety, with their main duties including responding to reported and seen crimes, conducting investigations, identifying suspects, and making arrests (Peak & Glensor, 2017). Furthermore, traditional policing is distinguished by an emphasis on eliminating crime through punishment, minimal community insights, poor community collaborations, and the deterrence concept. The notion of deterrence holds that criminal punishments not only punish criminals but also prevent others from engaging in similar actions.
What Community Policy Does Not Constitute
Despite the various benefits of community policing, there are several critiques of the approach. Hence, Kappeler and Gaines (2012) highlight some of the characteristics that community policy does not constitute. First, community policing is not public relations. Improved public relations is a desirable outcome of community policing, but it is not the sole or main objective. The fundamental idea had been that much displeasure with the police was due to individuals not understanding the police and the problems they face in enforcing the law. Police-community relations initiatives were viewed as a means of educating the public and reducing tensions between the police and the community. Community policing, on the other hand, improves the department’s reputation since it represents a genuine shift in how the agency engages with the general public. In general, community policing is substantive since it regards individuals as partners and forges a new bond founded on mutual trust and collaborative authority.
Subsequently, community policing is not a soft approach to crime. Critics argue that community policing’s main objective, the emphasis on community rather than a crime, and the use of measures other than arrest to handle crises divert attention away from genuine crime. However, there is mounting evidence that law enforcement can more efficiently prevent and regulate crime and disorder by resolving the underlying circumstances rather than simply arresting criminals. Officers must evaluate strategies and methods like arrest and suppression when conducting community policing. This does not imply that community policing is soft on crime; rather, it demonstrates that community policing is knowledgeable about crime and receptive to proposals for addressing greater socioeconomic issues that contribute to crime.
Measures to Improve Police-Community Relations
The US Department of Justice (2016) proposes five key measures to improve the relationship between the police and community members. One approach is by being transparent and accountable since healthy police-community interactions demand transparency. Whenever a major incident takes place agencies should endeavor to disseminate adequate information as soon as they can so that the public does not perceive that some details are being withheld from them intentionally. Secondly, the police should recognize and discuss issues of concern with the community. Inappropriate uses of force alongside other crises can wreak havoc on police-community relations. In certain scenarios, an alleged severe act of wrongdoing by an individual officer in a particular municipality not only harms police-community relations locally but can garner national interest and undermine public trust in the police. The police ought to consider the histories of racial minorities and various other groups that have endured police injustice. Police officers should never dismiss adverse incidents regarding individuals with the police.
Additionally, the police should uphold the value of collaborative effort, and be active in the community. The police must be active in communities and be familiar with the residents. Most individuals do not engage with police officers besides law enforcement situations. As a result, individuals may have unfavorable relationships with the police. Close relationships between police officers and residents of the community foster mutual trust, which is vital for resolving community problems and lowering crime. The other strategy would be to encourage diversity within the workforce and provide prospects for professional development. The department’s internal protocols for recruitment, advancement, and other concerns must remain clear and fair. Police officers are more likely to exhibit these attributes in their everyday dealings with the community when an agency establishes a context that encourages internal respect and equality.
Lastly, police officers should adopt initiatives to decrease prejudice and enhance cultural competency. Several prominent civil rights activists and police officials also advocate for inclusion, bias prevention, and cultural competency training for officers across all ranks. Most towns and cities contain populations with a diverse range of ethnic and racial origins and cultures, and officers must be well-equipped to interact successfully with and comprehend different groups’ customs and values.
References
Kappeler, V. E., & Gaines, L. K. (2012). Community policing: A contemporary perspective. Routledge.
Peak, K., & Glensor, R. (2017). Community and Problem-Oriented Policing: Effectively Addressing Crime and Disorder.
US Department of Justice. (2016). Importance of Police-Community Relationships and Resources for Further Reading. In justice.gov. Community Relations Services, US Department of Justice. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://www.justice.gov/file/1437336/download#:~:text=Be%20transparent%20and%20accountable.,being%20purposefully%20withheld%20from%20them.