Community Policing in the United States

Description

This entry focuses on the relationship between police and the community with
recommendations for ways of working together to reduce crime. Emphasis is placed on
policing in a culturally-diverse society.

The COPS Office work

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) works, according to its literature, “to provide solutions to help law enforcement agencies and communities strengthen trust and collaboration, ensuring public safety through meaningful cooperation.”

Pillars of Community Policing, according to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services:

• Building Trust & Legitimacy Promoting trust and ensuring legtimacy through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles
• Community Policing & Crime Reduction Encouraging the implementation of policies that support community-based partnerships in the reduction of crime
• Policy & Oversight Developing comprehensive and responsive policies on key topics while also implementing formal checks/balances and data collection/analysis
• Training & Education Emphasizing the importance of high quality and effective training and education through partnerships with local and national training facilities
• Technology/Social Media Balancing the embrace of technology and digital communications with local needs, privacy, assessments, and monitoring
• Officer Wellness & Safety Endorsing practices that support officer wellness and safety through the re-evaluation of officer shift hours and data collection/analysis to help prevent officer injuries

(Officer Wellness and Officer Safety is also a source of concern to the COPS office)

Goals

The evolution of police community relations and community policing

This covers the following:

• Differentiate between human relations, public relations, and police community
  relations.
• Identify key points in the development of police community relations and
  community policing.

Compare and contrast traditional policing with community policing.

This covers the following:

• Differentiate between traditional policing and community policing.
• Identify the main components of community policing.
• Explain the SARA problem-solving model.
• Identify strategies for combatting the drug problem in neighborhoods

Examine discretion in police work and relate it to legal, operational, and ethical issues and problems

This covers the following:

• Identify reasons for police discretion.
• Identify factors affecting discretion by police officers.
• Identify problems surrounding the use of police discretion.

Examine the importance of professionalism and ethics in police work

This covers the following:

• The characteristics of the police subculture.
• Identify and describe factors that affect police image and professionalism
• Identify key provisions in the Law Enforcement Officers’ Code of Ethics.
• Identify ethical dilemmas in law enforcement.

Examine interpersonal and human relations skills needed in law enforcement.

This covers the following:

• Identify common barriers to communication.
• Identify strategies to improve interpersonal communication skills.

Examine police relationships with culturally diverse groups

This covers the following:

• Differentiate between prejudice and discrimination.
• Identify problems with policing a diverse society.
• Identify strategies to improve relationships with culturally diverse groups.
• Identify strategies for dealing with gangs.

Identify strategies for interacting with the physically and mentally disabled, the elderly, and crime victims

This covers the following:

• Identify different types of disabilities police officers frequently encounter.
• Identify physical and emotional challenges of the elderly.
• Identify common problems that crime victims experience.
• Identify strategies to improve relations with disabled individuals, the elderly,
  and crime victims.

Identify strategies for interacting with and improving relations with the media

This covers the following:

• Identify sources of conflict between the police and media.
• Identify strategies to improve police-media relations.

Examine different crime prevention strategies and programs

This covers the following:

• Describe traffic problems common to most communities and identify strategies to deal with.
• Identify strategies to address disorder and reduce fear of crime.
• Identify strategies to prevent/reduce crime and improve quality of life.

Examine police misconduct and corruption.

This covers the following:

• Differentiate between police misconduct and corruption.
• Identify factors that contribute to police misconduct and corruption.
• Identify the different types of misconduct and corruption.
• Identify strategies to prevent/reduce police misconduct and corruption.

Community Policing in the Criminal Justice System

This section covers the topics below related with Community Policing :

Law Enforcement

Operations in relation with Community Policing

Community Policing or Crime Prevention

Other Topics on Community Policing

• The Evolution of Community Policing.
• Police Agencies
• Problem Solving: Proactive Policing
• Early Experiments in Crime Prevention
• The Evolution of Community Policing Strategies
• Community Policing and Drugs
• Community Policing and Gangs
• Understanding and Preventing Violence

Role of

The COPS Office works to provide solutions to help law enforcement agencies and communities strengthen trust and collaboration, ensuring public safety through meaningful cooperation.
Building Blocks of Community Policing

Pillar 1: Building Trust & Legitimacy Promoting trust and ensuring legtimacy through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles
Pillar 4: Community Policing & Crime Reduction Encouraging the implementation of policies that support community-based partnerships in the reduction of crime
Pillar 2: Policy & Oversight Developing comprehensive and responsive policies on key topics while also implementing formal checks/balances and data collection/analysis
Pillar 5: Training & Education Emphasizing the importance of high quality and effective training and education through partnerships with local and national training facilities
Pillar 3: Technology/Social Media Balancing the embrace of technology and digital communications with local needs, privacy, assessments, and monitoring
Pillar 6: Officer Wellness & Safety Endorsing practices that support officer wellness and safety through the re-evaluation of officer shift hours and data collection/analysis to help prevent officer injuries

>> Review our Officer Wellness & Safety.

Resources

Miller, L., Hess, K., & Orthmann, C. (2014). Community policing: Partnerships for
problem solving (7th ed.). New York: Delmar Cengage.

See Also

• Law Enforcement
• Operations
• Community Policing orCrime Prevention
• Community Policing