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Introduction
Community policing aims at working in close coordination with the local community, involving citizens in all the aspects of law design and implementation. The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, established in 1994 as part of the U.S. Department of Justice especially supports such strategies. As against conventional reactive strategies, this is a step towards a proactive strategy consisting of community partnerships, organizational transformation and solving problems before they assume larger dimensions. As Maximino points out, the need for new approaches to police community relationships is evidenced by the violent shooting incidents in the US in the past two years. In essence, the police should be able to defuse dispute and discontent before they assume gigantic proportions, and for this they have to be in close communication with people at all levels in the community (par. 2).
Community policing necessitates partnership between citizens and the police, and this fosters better understanding and more cordial relationships between the two. When they work together for the common good, the community emerges stronger and more cohesive. Community and neighborhood watches ensure that the law enforcing machinery is always near at hand. This will deter criminals from attempting crimes in such neighborhoods. People are more watchful and share their knowledge with the police freely about unusual activities in the neighborhood. Police officers are able to educate the community better about the methods the criminals use and also the precautions that can be taken to avoid being a victim. The patrolling police officers become familiar with the local citizens and are more approachable. The commitment levels of the police are also increased as they befriend many of the local citizens. The police tend to advice the kids against doing mischief rather than arrest them at the slightest pretext. This improves their standing with the members of the local community. The majority, who are good people, tend to trust the police and co-operate in bringing criminals to book. (NLCATP, Par. 2-3).
Though there are documented evidences of some successes, the COPS program cannot be considered to be a sweeping success by any stretch of imagination. The shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the uproar it created show that the protectors and the protected are not so comfortable with each other. In spite of technical and social advancement, racial stigma is still evident in interpersonal interactions, and the whites have a definite edge when dealing with police officers. Community policing, in most cases, fails to incorporate its core principles, namely, community partnerships, organizational transformation and problem-solving. According to Dennis P. Rosenbaum, “American police has not yet moved away from the reactive, call-driven system that defined traditional policing.” (Moraff, Par. 5). The flexibility and individualized policing that community policing advocates itself creates wide disparities in the way it is implemented. In most cases, it is limited to patrolling on foot. The substantial federal funding for COPS program has prompted many police departments to host community picnics, just to get the funds.
An evaluation of the operation of the Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act passed by Oakland voters in November 2004 is presented in a report authored by Lawrence, S. and McCarthy, B. of Warren Institute (2013). Many police initiatives under this Act have been very successful. In 2010, the police department in the city of San Francisco successfully trained civilian investigators to perform tasks such as taking victim information, collecting evidence and creating reports for further investigation by officers. A neighborhood service center opened by Naperville Police Department in 2002 became extremely popular, with hundreds of residents utilizing their services within a few months of its opening. The SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment) model was applied to 22 of Jacksonville’s criminal hot spots for a 90-day period on a trial basis. The problem-oriented-police officers working under the program took up creative and preventive ways to address crimes such as repairing damaged fences, installing or improving street lighting, meeting with business and home owners to improve security measures, graffiti removal and park cleaning. At the end of the study period a 33% drop in street crimes was recorded vis-à-vis areas with traditional policing.
Another success story of community policing is that of the Police Department of Macon, Georgia. The department shifted its Bike Patrol Office to the heart of the town where the traffic and pedestrian density was very high. The office was given an artistic look, more like a commercial establishment rather than a police office. The overall effect was that of a community- friendly, inviting place where visitors and community members could interact with the law-enforcement authorities in a non-traditional manner. In the weekends, trained local ambassadors gave information on what to eat and where to shop. The impression that a customer gets was one of a helpdesk or information center rather than a police post (“Community Policing Success Story: Macon, Georgia, Police Department,” Par. 5).
The negative results of community policing are actually due to poor implementation rather than due to conceptual flaw. It is possible that the police may misuse their authority and spoil their credibility. Some powerful elements in the community can use the police to fulfill their private objectives. They may then cause more harm than good by marginalizing the vast majority of the citizens. Similarly there will be some miscreants who would rather not join the community watch program. Sometimes there is a tendency to maintain a certain level of crime just to ensure police presence in the community. Another negative aspect of community policing is that even many law abiding citizens may find the constant presence of police oppressive and against constitutional values (NLCATP, 2015).
Moraff (2015) reports that four of the cities where the most controversial police killings have occurred in the recent past- Cleveland, Tulsa, Charlestown, S.C and Baltimore have received millions in COPS grants over the years. In Cleveland alone $ 7 million was used to deploy more officers on the street and among them was Timothy Loehmann, who shot dead 12-year old Tamir Rice for holding a BB gun in a park (Par. 6). What this goes to show is that more number of incompetent people means more harm than good. Community policing, per se is not to blame, but indirectly the funds released for the purpose are being misused.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, it can be concluded that community policing as an ideology is certainly adorable. However, at the strategy level, it needs to be more clearly defined. Currently, the initiatives under COPS are more or less left to the individual police departments. The funds obtained under the scheme are used to host community events or just to recruit more patrolling officers. The basic philosophy of community partnership, organizational development and problem solving are not implemented. The emphasis of community policing initiatives should be on engaging positively with the community, building trust, especially, with the ethnic minorities and collectively addressing the problems that lead to delinquent behavior. Positive results of community policing have been achieved by departments who have innovatively designed programs to help and support people, that is, when police presence is perceived to be of material value to the community. The increased presence of police, in such a case, may not be resented. Above all the police must treat all citizens alike irrespective of their color or ethnicity.
Works Cited
“Community Policing Success Story: Macon, Georgia, Police Department” . COPS US. 2011. Web. http://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/07-2011/macon.asp [accessed 24 June 2016].
Lawrence, Sarah and McCarthy, Bobby. “What Works in Community Policing? : A Best Practices Context for Measure Y Efforts.” University of California Berkeley, 2013. Web. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/What_Works_in_Community_Policing.pdf [accessed 24 June 2016].
Maximino, Martin. “Community-oriented policing strategies: Meta-analysis of law enforcement practices.” Journalists’ Resource, 2015. Web. http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/the-impact-of-community-policing-meta-analysis-of-its-effects-in-u-s-cities [accessed 24 June 2016].
Moraff, Christopher. “Community Policing: Promise and Failure.” The Crime Report, 2015. Web. http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2015-05-community-policing-promise-and-failure [accessed 24 June 2016].
Moraff, Christopher. “Why Community Policing Is Still a Good Investment.” Next City, 2014. Web.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/community-policing-efforts-success-failure [accessed 24 June 2016].
NLCATP. “9 Major Pros and Cons of Community Policing.”. NLCATP. web. http://nlcatp.org/9-major-pros-and-cons-of-community-policing/ [accessed 24 June 2016].
