Community policing
Community policing could arguably be called the new orthodoxy of law enforcement in the United States. It has become an increasingly popular alternative to what many police administrators perceive as the failure of traditional policing to deal effectively with street crime, especially crimes of violence and drug trafficking. Although the concept is defined in varying ways and its and its ability to meet its goals remains largely untested, community policing has gained widespread acceptance. Community policing promotes mutual trust and cooperation between people and the police, at the same time it helps empower neighborhoods in danger of being overwhelmed by crime, drugs, and the poisonous mix of apathy despair and unrest. Many people would argue that the focus of Neighborhood Policing is simple problem solving. Instead, community policing allows law enforcement to get back to the principles upon which it was founded, to integrate itself once again into the fabric of the community so that the people come to the police for counsel and help before a serious problem arises, not after the fact. People will still respond to emergencies and other calls. However, many calls to the police are not police related and are more effecti
1. The police are having a very tough time dealing with crime all by themselves. In neighborhoods where the community policing has not been made available to them yet, the citizens sometimes develop a neighborhood watch program. Neighborhood Watch is a citizen's involvement program where citizens, in cooperation with the local law enforcement agency, directly participate in the diction and prevention of crime. Citizens involved in Neighborhood Watch are trained in how to recognize suspicious activities and report these to the Police Department. Neighborhood Watch citizens help keep the police well informed about the neighborhood and of any suspicious, criminal, or dangerous activities that may be occurring. On a national scale there is approximately one police officer for every 2,000 citizens. Obviously, there are many more citizens than there are police officers. Neighborhood Watch greatly reduces this ratio of citizens to police by having these citizens become an extension of the Police department's eyes and ears. Neighborhood Watch provides the community with unlimited availability of citizens to watch their neighborhoods for suspicious activities or crimes in progress. This helps to deter crime since the criminal must now be on guard against the entire community not just a police officer (Murray City PD). Community policing is a pro-active strategy that emphasizes community partnerships and focuses more on prevention of crime than on cleaning it up. Community policing brings new opportunities for success. Less crime, better living conditions and improved social harmony have been achieved through a community approach. If the police are truly interested in controlling crime, there is little question of the proper course to pursue. Community policing holds the key to more effective policing. If the police are to adopt a new strategy, the rank-and-file must perceive some benefit for change. Community policing can fill this need. Community policing not only better serves the community, it also better serves the police (Woods). The skeptic may ask what makes community policing so great. For starters officers speak to neighborhood groups and teach them how to be safer in crime prevention. The officers also participate in business and civic events, consult with special agencies and take part in education programs for school children. Foot, bike and horse patrols bring police closer to the community. Before this people only saw the police from patrol cars and thought the only time they would see an officer is if they called to report a crime. Now community members can see them on a day to day basis and become friends with them. 3. Public police are losing market share in the security business 2. Effective crime control depends on an effective working partnership between the police and citizens in the communities they serve. By developing this friendship between your community and the Police Department any one of the groups stated above can help reduce crime in their local area, improve communications between and them self and their community, deter criminal activity by increasing in the probability of apprehension, encourage the reporting of crime and suspicious activity to police, and improve the quality information provided to police. 6. The police are routinely held accountable for the fairness and economy with which they use force and authority, as well as money.
Some common words found in the essay are:
PD Scanning, Diego PD, Neighborhood Watch, Darrel Stephens, , BJA Potential, Network Center, Robert Peel, Force Academy, Glothian-Taylor Community, community policing, neighborhood watch, law enforcement, police community, people police, police agencies, controlling crime, question proper course, suspicious activities, san diego, diego pd, crime little question, proper course pursue, little question proper, law enforcement help,
Approximate Word count = 2338
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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