Essay On Community Policing: Community Problem-Solving

đź“ŚCategory: Communication, Government, Law enforcement, Sociology
đź“ŚWords: 1002
đź“ŚPages: 4
đź“ŚPublished: 19 June 2021

Over recent years, the law enforcement profession has developed a concept of Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS). Community Oriented Policing and Problem-Solving philosophies are based on getting officers involved in the community so that relationships can be bridged between the law enforcement profession and the citizens of a particular community. Also, it will provide law enforcement to reduce their requirement of resources and the tools to combat repetitive issues. Supervision is benefitted from Community Oriented Policing and Problems Solving with increased productivity and active learning. Every community will have unique problems, and every agency has its way of community policing, but the philosophy is all the same. Community Oriented Police and Problem-Solving means that the law enforcement becomes involved in the local community and builds relationships to protect all the stakeholders involved.

Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving

For Community Oriented Policing to work, it requires shared ownership for everyone involved. Effective decision-making and holding all parties accountable with a commitment to combat crime benefits the entire community, citizens, and law enforcement (The City of Beavercreek, 2021). Law enforcement must gain the community's trust through personal interaction and turn officers into friendly faces. The community also holds responsibility in making Community Oriented Policing a viable philosophy with sustained commitment. 

For agencies to get a more significant long-term outcome of success, Peak (2015) suggests that they should employ the SARA model of policing. In the SARA model of police, the acronym stands for scanning, analysis, response, assessment. With SARA, the officer is given a "logical, step-by-step framework in which to identify, analyze, respond to, and evaluate crime, fear of crime, and neighborhood disorder."

History Shows a Significant Increase in Agencies Employing Community Policing

Because law enforcement seeks to confront criminal activity and the fear of criminal activity, they decided to confront the problem head-on with problem-solving strategies and a partnership with the police and the community they serve. In 1997 and 1999, Hickman and Reaves (2001) published the LEMAS findings of agencies that were participating in community policing. With the findings, Hickman and Reaves (2001) stated that the LEMAS study found that full-time community policing officers increased significantly from 1997 to 1999. During that time, "state and local law enforcement agencies had nearly 113,000 community policing officers or their equivalents during 1999, compared to about 21,000 in 1997." (Hickman & Reaves, 2001)

A Typical Scenario

Many officers across the nation face the same scenario of responding to repetitive criminal activity such as graffiti. When an officer is dispatched to the graffiti call, far too often, they will take photographs, look for any usable evidence, drive around the neighborhood with negative results and submit a written report without speaking to anyone. The same officer leaves the area and responds to another call for service, only to be called back to the original area for another report of graffiti. 

However, suppose the officer was to create a functional relationship with the community by conducting foot patrol of the graffitied area during a portion of his shift. In that case, that officer may have garnered a relationship with some of the citizens that provided valuable information. With interactions in the community that officers may have created, an instance where they knew there was a problem and confronted it before it occurred. Moreover, the officer could have developed informants through the trust of the community. While this may not be a practical remedy or solution to every criminal activity in a community, it can still build a valuable relationship instead of a "us versus them" situation because it garnered relationships that build trust that to solve problems.

Specific Agencies

In San Diego, California, they utilize the Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving philosophy, and they have had tremendous success with the program.  Because the area covers many square miles, they can receive thousands of calls for service daily.  However, not every call for service is law enforcement related and therefore could be handled by another agency which allows more valuable time for the police to handle more complex situations. Several examples of how the San Diego Police Department (The City of San Diego, 2018) has helped was to utilize: revamped Neighborhood Watch Programs which community coordinators, watch coordinators, and block captains began working towards a common goal.  In addition to the Community Watch program, the San Diego police have initiated "Safe Streets, NOW!" and "Drug Abatement Response Team (DART).

For over ten years, the Murrieta Police Department in Murrieta, California, has actively employed approximately 40 volunteers to promote their community policing efforts. Over 141 current full and part-time individuals work as a team to combat criminal activity and maintain their community programs. 

Downfalls of Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving

While there are many supporters for community policing, there are some that are opposed to the philosophy. These nay-sayers feel that if there are no crimes in the communities, officers do not need to be infringing on the affairs of innocent citizens. Also, the same groups feel that many of the "reported crimes" are not a police matter which can be handled at the community level or be overlooked by the police agencies (Miller, 2016). Many also argue that the police infringing on their privacy is unconstitutional.

Conclusion

Employing a community policing program requires firm commitments on both the law enforcement community and the community within the jurisdiction. It is imperative that the law enforcement community gains citizens' confidence through personal interaction and turns officers into friendly faces. Conversely, the community holds responsibility in making Community Oriented Policing a practical philosophy with a sustained commitment to backing the law enforcement community. Even though community policing has grown vastly since its inception in the late 1980s, and the crime rates have fallen within those areas, there are still people focusing on the negative side to community policing with the thoughts of its unconstitutionality. No matter which philosophy an agency chooses to follow, it is vital to commit to the program. Without the proper commitment, there will not be the genuineness to the efforts which will show through to the community.

References

City of Beavercreek. (2021). Community-oriented policing. Beavercreek, Ohio. https://beavercreekohio.gov/207/Community-Oriented-Policing#:~:text=Community-Oriented%20Policing%20%28COP%29%20is%20a%20philosophy%2C%20management%20style%2C,police%20philosophy%20of%20true%20police%20%2F%20community%20partnership

City of San Diego (2018). Community-oriented policing. San Diego, California https://www.sandiego.gov/police/about/community

Hickman, M. J. & Reaves, B. A. Ph.D. (2001, February). Community Policing in Local Police, 1997 and 1999. US Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cplpd99.pdf

Miller, B. (2016, September 9). 7 Pros and Cons of Community Policing. Green Garage. https://greengarageblog.org/7-pros-and-cons-of-community-policing#:~:text=%20List%20of%20Pros%20of%20Community%20Policing%20,are%20easier%20to%20be%20approached.%20That%E2%80%99s...%20More%20

Murrieta Police Department. (2021). Community Policing Team. Murrieta, California. https://www.murrietaca.gov/949/Community-Policing-Team

Peak, K. J. (2015). Justice administration: Police, courts, and corrections management, 8/e (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
 

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