Community policing may be defined, according to Leighton (1991), as a type of approach that involves the philosophy, organization and operations in urban policing. This approach gives premium to police-community partnership and solving problems. It takes a holistic approach in policing by establishing patterns manifested by the nature of criminality in a given locality (Grossman and Roberts p. 141). For example, if burglary is prevalent in a certain part of the city, the police look at the conditions of the area that makes it susceptible to the crime. A solution to this problem may include strategies, such as ‘target hardening,’ or making the area least attractive to burglars. More lights may be installed and police patrol may be tightened or its frequency increased in the area. The other important facet of community policing is fostering a close relationship between the police and the community. By inviting the public to share their perspectives of community problems, better and more effective solutions are reached to specific problems. This is underpinned by the idea that the residents of the community know the roots of their problems better and how they should be solved (Grossman and Roberts p. 142).
For the reasons described above, community policing is more effective in solving juvenile delinquency than traditional policing. Its holistic approach entails a scrutiny of the factors that accompany or cause the delinquency. A community-policing approach to juvenile delinquency implies that the police take a look at the socio-economic conditions that breed delinquency. Only a deep understanding of the causes of delinquency can lead to its eliminations and ultimately, the elimination or diminution of juvenile delinquency. Thus, the police do not only react to the crimes resulting from juvenile delinquency, but also work with the families, the neighbors and the community to eliminate the factors that nourish delinquency (Elrod and Ryder p. 155). This holistic approach has, thus, a better prospect of solving juvenile delinquency.
References
Elrod, P. and Ryder, S. (2011). Juvenile Justice: A Social, Historical and Legal Perspective. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Grossman, M. and Roberts, J. (2011). Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader. Cengage Learning.
