Community Policing This refers to the partnership between the police and the community in identifying and preventing crime in the community in all areas, be it drugs, murder, kidnapping or rape. It is perceived that crime will be prevented best in the society where the community and the police work together to reduce the rate of moral decay in the society. The aim of community policing is to personalise law enforcement by causing the officers to relate and interact more with the members of the community. There are several benefits of community policing.
Enhanced better relations with the minorities in the community
There has been tension in the relationships between the police and minorities for a long time. The African Americans and Hispanics have felt that the law enforcement officers use excessive force while relating with them (Burns & Thomas, 2005). Furthermore the police have been accused of racial profiling. With community policing, where the officers engage in foot and bike patrols, beat meetings and mini-stations, there is increased interaction between the police and the minorities. Studies conducted have shown that the majority of people with favourable perceptions of law officers are Caucasians. Community policing has enhanced a better relationship and increased the flow of information between the community and officers in fighting crime. The perception that the minorities are being hunted down is decreasing as the community seeks to have a better neighbourhood.
Enhanced flow of information
When the community understand that the objective of community policing is not just crime control but crime prevention, the people are more willing to share information with the police. The closer interaction provides an avenue or platform for the people to share information. The police are therefore able to gather intelligence from the streets even to prevent crime such as terrorism. The people are now actively seeking out the law enforcement officers to give them information (Schnebly, 2008). This shows the effect of community relationships on building good relations. The public are gradually stopping to view the police negatively. They begin to see themselves as partners with the police in the prevention of crime. The officers do not strain so hard in getting information on criminals. When crime is prevented or the criminals are caught, the people know that they contributed immensely to the positive outcomes. Community policing has helped to increase the rate of crime reporting among the people.
Shared Goals in Community Policing
When the police officers work with the community organisations it improves their relations since they are working towards shared goals. The community and the officers work towards decreased crime rates, less fear of crime and community empowerment in crime prevention. The people come to appreciate that the police are simply doing their job while in the streets. As they do their work, the community is benefiting by living in a safer and better environment. This helps the people remove the mentality that they are being targeted or that the police are not doing their work well (Mirsky, 2009). . Furthermore, the people are empowered even as they identify and deal with problems in their communities. Essentially, this is what the enforcement officers do all the time. With the community involved in crime prevention, the people begin to appreciate and consider the officers favourably.
Conclusion
Community policing helps in building tolerance in the relationships between the officers and the people. It greatly assists in reducing racial tensions, improves communication and helps the community appreciate the great work that the police officers do.
References
Burns, P. & Thomas, M. (2005) Repairing the Divide: An Investigation of Community
Policing and Citizen Attitudes Toward the Police by Race and Ethnicity. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice 3(1/2): 71-85
Mirsky, I. (2009). Community Oriented Policing. Internet Journal of Criminology. Retrieved
from:http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Mirsky_Community_Oriented_Policing.pdf
Schnebly, S. (2008). The Influence of Community-Oriented Policing on Crime-Reporting
Behavior. Justice Quarterly 25(2): 224-25
