Community engagement plays a major role in the community policing model. Unlike any other model or approach, the community policing model implies the contribution of the public in helping the police department maintain a peaceful order in the society. Also, this approach ideally comprises of partnerships in the community, problem solving engagements to produce great solutions, and conducting community policing activities with the help of different organizations (What is Community Policing? n.d.). In context, community policing is about serving the community in maintaining the best quality of life that community members deserve to have. It is also about implementing laws and detaining lawbreakers. While arresting suspects of crimes is the main role of putting law enforcement into practice, it’s not the most important of all. What is really essential is to determine how enforcers can become approachable and how they can interact with everyone in the community, making it a part of police work. Hence, this is called community policing (“A Call to Serve,” n.d.).
Partnerships in a community-oriented policing system are very important for it to gain positive results and productive outcomes. That way, police officers and the people in the community will have an understanding and a common goal that they need to work on together for them to move forward towards minimizing crimes and other inappropriate acts of violence in the community. The partnerships are formed to continue the crime prevention drive of the police department and the residents they are serving. Volunteerism is one of the acts that can be done to uplift the partnership between the police and the public. Volunteers may come from student interns, retired residents, jobless individuals, and housewives. This act of volunteering and people participation may well involve vigorous citizens’ involvement with the activities that will help uplift the welfare of the whole community (Docobo, 2005)
Meanwhile, the principles of this policing model are to sustain or withstand the respect for every individual regardless of their differences and to safeguard the rights of every citizen in the community (“Community oriented policy,” n.d.). Thus, the police department must be empowered and well motivated by their drive to achieve peace and order in their premises of service to the public. With the help of community volunteers and with the efforts of the people to instill in their minds the effects of their wrongdoings, the department can become crime-free and will have more disciplined officers. This will be the result of the suitable execution of community-oriented policing, which will also be based on the community participation performance and the consistency of the police department in conducting such contributions or involvement.
References
A call to serve. (n.d.). Retrieved fromhttp://discoverpolicing.org/why_policing/?fa=call_serve
Community oriented policy. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.police.uci.edu/safety/community_policing.html
Docobo, J. (2005). Community policing as the primary prevention strategy for homeland
security at the local law enforcement level. Retrieved from
http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=1.1.4
Maguire, E. (2003, Sept). Measuring the performance of law enforcement agencies.
Retrieved from http://www.calea.org/calea-update-magazine/issue-83/measuring-
performance-law-enforcement-agencies-part-1of-2-oart-articl
What is community policing? (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://discoverpolicing.org/whats_like/community-policing/
