Community Policing, a relatively recent addition to law enforcement, aims to increase interaction and cooperation between local police and the people and neighborhoods they serve. It's goals are to reduce and prevent crime and to increase feelings of safety among residents.
Community Policing is not just an operational style but a philosophy. The philosophy is:
- A new way of thinking about police service
- A look at delivery of service from the customer (citizen) perspective
- from doing for people, to doing with people
For Community Policing to work a mutual trust must be established. That is a two way street involving constant communication and elimination of "us" versus "them" syndrome. A partnership must be made based on equality, not authority with both sides accountable to the other.
Utilizing Problem Solving as a process through which specific concerns of community members are identified and appropriate remedies are sought. Concerns of the community are also addressed, such as fear of crime, quality of life, and community values.
Empowering the community police officer reflects the trust that community leaders have in their officers to make appropriate decisions and to perform their duties in a professional, productive, and efficient manner. For this to work the community leaders must be clear and direct when they empower an officer to work as a commmunity police officer, and questions are answered dierctly by executives.
The patrol officer acts as a "Manager" of the area he/she is assigned to. The officer works beyond the confines of the patrol car. The officer will keep in communication with the community and works as a problem solver, planner, and community organizer.
The supervisor assists the officer by providing training, coaching, coordinating, and evaluating. The supervisor of course must be a leader, have the ability to influence others, and be a team builder. The supervisor must also be able to motivate, resolve conflicts and be a communicator.
Management's key responsibilty is support. They must lead by example, encourage, and recruit. Management must also develope an overall stategy with the entire department the community, and the media.
