Introduction
Community policing programs are extremely necessary and vital to keep communities and our youth and young adults safe. Without community policing, a lot of young ones would be more inclined to commit crimes and ruin their futures before it even starts. The point and goal of community policing is to instill trust in the communities towards law enforcement officers and to ensure that the communities are remaining safe. First and foremost, we must understand what community policing is. Community policing is a system that allows police officers to work with individual citizens, groups of citizens, and public and private organization to address and tackle issues that may possibly be a threat to the living conditions in neighborhoods, areas, or cities ("Community Based Policing," n.d.). It is a system that is often misunderstood by many and it is important that we bring back the real meaning of what community policing is and show communities that community policing programs are definitely effective.
First, I would like to start off with the youth because we have a better chance at saving their lives and their futures if we can direct their attention elsewhere besides the temptation to commit crimes. I would make a program effective in the YMCA which is an organization that is meant to bring men, women, and children of the community together. The YMCA offers extracurricular activities for youths and mostly for free. Starting a community policing program in the YMCA would be a great start because families would have access to the proper resources to find out what's going on in their communities and they would also know where to go for help if they ever needed any. However, my main focus would be on the children because they are the ones who are easily victimized by other groups such as gang members. This happens mostly in areas that are less fortunate. When youths do not have the guidance and the assistance and support of their elders, they believe they can make decisions on their own and those decisions usually don't work in their favor; sometimes, they even end in death. In order to prevent that from happening, the youth would need the undivided attention of law enforcement officers who are qualified and trained to work with them and tackle any issues that they may have.
Shelters
Not many people think about this but community policing should also be implemented in shelters. Shelters include emergency shelters, homeless shelters, and women's shelters to name a few. The main reason why people go to shelters is because they are in harm’s way. I would make it a priority to keep those shelters under surveillance for any wrongdoings and criminal activity. Too often, we hear about abused women who run away to the shelter only to be followed by their abuser without any protection; it is especially dangerous when there are children involved. Battered women need the protection of law enforcement to ensure that their lives are no longer at risk when they run to safety. My program would include more than enough officers on duty for all hours of the day. I would require them to be trained on how to handle domestic violence issues as well as many other issues. It would definitely help if some of those officers were women because women always find it easy to sympathize with other women, especially when it comes to abuse. Each month, the officers would have to report to the program director, which would be me, the amount of criminal activity or suspicious activity from outsiders that occurred.
Neighborhoods
Most importantly, neighborhoods need community policing. The point of community policing is to keep everyone safe, so I would make sure that those in unfortunate living areas are well taken care of. Poor neighborhoods are often ignored because a majority of people believe that preventing crime is inevitable and that is not true. We will never know what helps prevent crime if we do not try. Having a few police officers circle the neighborhood and communicating with the residents of the neighborhood helps instill trust, which means the most they trust the officers, the likely they are to report any strange occurrences. I would also require that the officers hold a mandatory meeting in a public building or facility that is easy to access, such as a church, and discuss whatever concerns the citizens may have and the changes that need to be made. The goal is to make sure the citizens feel included in their communities.
Conclusion
The ideas that I've mentioned would definitely be effective because once residents in the neighborhoods realize that their voices are being heard and they aren't being ignored, then good change starts to happen. The residents start to trust their neighborhood police department more and they are more likely to report whether something strange is happening. They would also feel more comfortable in the environment once they come to the realization that safety is nearby. It is important that police officers make attempts to bond with the community otherwise community policing would be ineffective. If I had a say in how current community policing programs should operate, I would make sure to implement those ideas for a better and safer future.
References
Community Based Policing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from
https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/police/cbp.htm
