Free Essay Sample on Community Policing

Community policing is a strategy that supports and promotes the regular exercise of partnerships and trouble solving systems, to tackle practically the immediate situations that provide an increase to public safety concerns. The conditions range from the fear of crime, social disorder, and crime. This policing and its precursors appeared due to discontent with major factors of the professional model of policing. Amongst the sources of dissatisfaction is evidence that major components of the model not practiced. It involved arresting people; the deterrent effects of both visible patrol, specialization of detective work and rapid response were not having more impact on the crime rate. The big city demonstrations of the past decades were also a prompt that the professional model wasnt attaining the needs of important parts of the inhabitants. Residents progressively more disaffected from the criminal justice structure. Nevertheless, no evidence explains community policing as the best professional model. The paper is aimed at explaining the pros and cons of community policing and advice on the course of action to take in the bid to mitigate criminal activities in the society.

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Community policing lessens crime, assists reduce the fear of crime, and improves the quality of living in communities nationwide (Espejo, 2014).The achievement of community policing lies in the improvement of trust-based organization amongst law enforcement groups, local government administrators, and citizens. It is a joint effort in which law enforcement and society inhabitants identify, prioritize and tackle crime and turmoil problems. The consequence is strong and high societies. Community policing identifies that the police cant efficiently deal with crime and turmoil by only reacting to particular incidents (Fischer, 2014). It widens the police command beyond small targets of law enforcement as a conclusion in itself. It identifies the importance of the police in developing and sustaining the initiative of the community.

Community Policing seems to be important. A society having a police officer walk the beat is an application that has extensively apprehended in major cities (Fischer, 2014). Having an officer walking around is a custom in many societies but does it outweigh the disadvantages of walking around the society? There are pros and cons to society policing actions. It also entails the rapid creation of a positive partnership with members of the society on a group as well as on an individual basis (Espejo, 2014). It may be achieved through conveying officers to geographic regions on a consistent basis, so that through the stability of assignment they have the chance to know the members of the neighborhood. It can also support the use of programs such as Colorados law enforcement immigrant Advisory Committee and Eagle County. This category of policing also entails involvement in community associations, local gatherings, and public service events.

To be most successful, community policing also needs joint partnerships with agencies past law enforcement, like Philadelphias Successful Police Diversion Program. This affiliation with other stakeholders extensively reduced the figure of arrests of minority youths for trivial offenses. Police officers who guard a community are friendlier as they educate the community (Espejo, 2014). It involves citizens through neighborhood watch information can educate citizens on crime avoidance and report. Community policing also fosters a stronger intelligence of accountability to the community. When a community monitored by similar people and other associates of the community finds out, it can alter the perspective they have concerning policing activities. It involves the officer treating children politely where the kids and parents change their perception from cops arresting people to cops protecting people (Marks & Sklansky, 2012).Community policing also creates trust in the community as the inhabitants feel that their properties are secure and are willing to share information about the criminals (Espejo, 2014). Another feature of community policing is problem solving. Issues ought to resolve in partnership with cooperation and trust. Community policing places focus on prevention and intervention during problem-solving with the creation of collaborative partnerships amid the police, social services, schools and other stakeholders (Fischer, 2014). It improves community safety and also enhances economic strength and social connectivity that increases community resilience to crime.

Some citizens get concerned with community policing for all the wrong or negative motives. It takes an individual on power to corrupt a community, on the whole, information that the officers are in the society to help. To show the presence of an officer in a community, there has to be assured a level of crime. Without the crime incidences, there is no necessity for community policing. Crimes that ignored or handle in the absence of police may become a justification for bringing law enforcement into the community (Marks & Sklansky, 2012). Some individuals think that police force presence in the society is not only unnecessary, but it is useless. As when the police place checkpoints each person need to stop whether a suspect or not community policing is similar. Crimes can anywhere, but this does not imply that the police must have the right to be there just in case.

Police Units have been challenged to attain completely the pledge of community policing as it purposed for various reasons. Primary, resource shortages have made constantly continued community policing attempts difficult or impractical in many departments (Marks & Sklansky, 2012). The units continue to handle more responsibilities, making it had to recruit and maintain the expertise and resources necessary to tackle issues affecting individual communities. Also, numerous law enforcement heads assert that time on assignment to carry out community policing plans is often longer than traditional policing plans, taking up employees and resources (West,2001). When community policing implemented properly, it reduces crime thus reducing the time required to take on traditional policing plans. Community policing tasks regularly sacrificed when funds reduce. These resource challenges have a say to inconsistencies in continued community policing attempts.

Community demographics and alterations in societies make it hard for many police units to find ways to partner with different sectors. Nearly every jurisdiction is undergoing increased diversity, becoming dwelling to people of every ethnic group, culture, and religion. In many circumstances, communities are also becoming less consistent and more insecurely coupled making a challenge for the organization of a police unit to effectively engage (West, 2011). Also, its hard for police units to associate with community divisions and individuals who have shown interest in harming the police and other society groups. Community groups or persons that focus on intimidation and fears to involve police create a dilemma for law enforcement heads as they try to build relationships.

The need for a complete comprehension and engendering of a community policing beliefs have stifled the capability for law enforcement to reach the pledges of building ties of respect and confidence with all divisions of the community completely. While thousands of units have executed community policing plans more than the two decades, not all have incorporated community policing into their units customs. This lack of incorporation of community policing rules into the character of law enforcement bureaus hinders proper community police structure, being a challenge to police and community heads alike.

Some technological aspects impact the manner in which the police associate with their community. It can both facilitate and reduce building community ties. While privacy anxiety looms with consideration to video recording the public, the drive for law enforcement bureaus to invest in body wear cameras to record officer conversations with the public proceeds (West, 2001). Traditional and social media also have a powerful manipulation on how communities and the nation view police. Practical communities frequently created and suspended within the issue of days or weeks in reaction to a news story occurrence, can leave permanent scars on the reputation of the police. Also, police bureaus that exploit traditional and social medium to converse and educates about the task that they carry out to keep their societies secure, can encourage understanding and their position with the community.

To this end, the advantages of community policing outweigh the disadvantages or the negative perception of the society. It is important, therefore, for the police officials to implement community policing in the society as a strategy of curbing crime. While development has succeeded, Police units must continue to reinforce sustainable confidence with communities, particularly those groups of people within those societies that feel physically abused or disenfranchised. The suitable time for self-expression and development of community policing is not when a trouble presents itself or when citizens complain. It needs to be active, ongoing commitment that should infuse all stages of the police organization. For that reason, now is the time to restart, rebuild, reinstate, renew, reinvigorate and reevaluate ministerial labors to build big community police affairs. It is time to bring to an end community policing and to start the procedure of institutionalizing strategies that will create cultures of trust and insertion. In the end, the method for meaningful change will be the community itself. Good dreams are born and fade away but an assembled and informed community prepared around an agenda for change is the solution to sustained change.

References

Espejo, R. (2014). Community policing. Book review

Fischer, C. (2014, March). Retrieved from www.policeforum.org/.../Leadership

Marks, M., & Sklansky, D. A. (2012). Police reform from the bottom up: Officers and their unions as agents of change. London: Routledge.

West, M. (2011). Community-Centered Policing: A Force for Change | policylink.org. Retrieved from http://www.policylink.org/find-resources/library/community-centered-policing-a-force-for-change