Community policing
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Community policing is a law enforcement philosophy that aims to improve the relationships between police and their communities through collaborative efforts between the parties. Core themes of community policing include but are not limited to:
- Building collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency and the individuals and organizations they serve to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police.[1]
- Creating an alignment of organization management, structure, personnel, and information systems to support community partnerships and problem-solving efforts.[2]
Background
Community policing is an approach to law enforcement that aims to build a bridge between police and their communities, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy described community policing as an alternate approach to broken windows policing, which argues that police officers should focus on addressing minor crimes to prevent more serious crimes from occurring.[3][4][5]
Origins of community policing
Harvard researchers George Kelling and Mark Moore argued in their 1988 article "Evolving Strategies on Policing" that police officers had become increasingly disconnected from the communities they served due to government efforts aimed at decreasing police corruption dating back to the early 1900s. These efforts rotated officers between communities and supported policing standards that encouraged distance from constituents. The researchers contended that the connection between police and the community further declined as increased technology facilitated police focus on statistics.[6]
A 1994 DOJ report titled "Understanding Community Policing" argued that social movements such as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and anti-war protesting in the 1970s shed light on dysfunction in policing. The community policing philosophy emerged as organizations like the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Urban Sheriffs’ Group of the National Sheriffs’ Association began researching new approaches to policing, according to the DOJ report.[6]
See also
- Police hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements by state and city
- States and cities with police union agreements
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, "Community policing defined"accessed January 28th, 2022
- ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, "Community policing defined"accessed January 28th, 2022
- ↑ Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, "Broken Windows Policing", November 21, 2023.
- ↑ NPR, "Broken windows policing" accessed January 28th, 2022
- ↑ PBS Frontline, "The Problem with 'Broken Windows' Policing," February 7, 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, "Understanding Community Policing", November 21, 2023.
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