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MODEL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM

MODULE 2

Community Policing

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Module 2 Topics

• History of Community Policing

• Community Policing

• Problem-Oriented Policing and Community-Oriented Policing

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History of Community Policing

• An outgrowth of two major forces in the 1960s:– Concerns about rising crime rates and– The national civil rights movement

• These movements lead to increased attention and funding for research and policy development

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History of Community Policing

• Also in the 1960s, a due process revolution was also occurring and the country was demanding:

– improved police-community relations;– increased education for officers;– diversity in the ranks, and;– controls on police discrimination.

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History of Community Policing

• Research– Congress allocated monies for research, which

produced the;• Kansas City Preventive Patrol Study• Rand Investigation Experiment.

– Response time studies suggested that police rarely respond to crimes in progress

– Evidence from these studies indicated that police were limited in their ability to affect crime levels

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History of Community Policing

• Implications of the Research Findings

– Increased interest in how to best involve citizens in the crime problem/solution

– Increased experimentation on methods for preventing crime, including a number of studies on the impact of foot patrol.

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What is Community Policing?• Community policing focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships.

• The community policing model balances reactive responses to calls for service with proactive problem-solving centered on the causes of crime and disorder.

• Community policing requires police and citizens to join together as partners.

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Some Core Elements of Community Policing

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COMMUNITY POLICING

Community Policing Definition

1. Agency has multi-disciplinary partnerships with indicated community partners, including other government agencies, non-profit and community groups, businesses, the media, and individuals.

2. Existing partnerships bring appropriate resources and level of commitment to community policing activities.

3. Level of interaction between law enforcement agency and community partners: communication, coordination, or collaboration.

Community Partnerships

Collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency and the individuals and organizations that serve or include anyone with a stake in the community.

Problem Solving Organizational Transformation

Community Policing Elements

The process and effect of problem solving should be assessed at each stage of the problem solving process.

1. Agency management• Leadership • Decision-making • Planning and Policies• Organizational evaluations• Agency Accountability • Transparency

2. Organizational structure • Geographic assignment of

officers• De-specialization• Flatten organizational structure• Resources and finances

3. Personnel• Recruitment, hiring and

selection• Personnel evaluation and

supervision• Training

4. Technology/information systems • Communication/Access to Data• Quality and Accuracy of Data

1. General Problem Solving Approach2. Problem Solving Processes

• Scanning• Analysis• Response• Assessment

3. General Skill in Problem Solving

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Other Ways of Defining Community Policing

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Organizational Elements

1. CP Philosophy is Adopted Throughout the Organization

2. Decentralized Decision-Making and Accountability

3. Fixed Geographic Accountability and Generalist Responsibilities

4. Utilization of Volunteer Resources/Services

5. Enhancers

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Tactical Elements

1. Enforcement of Laws

2. Proactive, Crime Prevention Oriented

3. Problem-solving

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External Elements

1. Public Involvement in Community Partnerships

2. Government and Other Agency Partnerships

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Philosophical Dimension

• Citizen Input - Police agencies need extensive input from citizens on problems, priorities, policies, etc.

• Broad Function - Policing is a broad function - it is much more than just law enforcement.

• Personal Service - Policing works best when officers know citizens and deliver personalized service - the opposite of “stranger” policing.

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Strategic Dimension

• Re-Oriented Operations - Police look beyond traditional strategies of routine patrol, rapid response, and detective investigations and utilize proactive strategies and tactics.

• Prevention Emphasis - Whenever possible, police should emphasize preventing crime rather than simply reacting after the fact.

• Geographic Focus - Policing should be organized and deployed to maximize the extent of identification between specific officers and specific neighborhoods.

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Tactical Dimension

• Positive Interaction - Police should positively interact with all segments of the community - especially since the nature of police work guarantees that some negative interaction is inevitable.

• Partnerships - Police should partner with the community to deal with crime/problems, including collaborating with public and private agencies.

• Problem Solving - Police and citizens should take every opportunity to address the conditions that cause incidents and crimes.

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Organizational Dimension

• Structure - Police agencies should re-examine their structures to assure that they support and facilitate community policing.

• Management - Police agencies should re-examine the way people are supervised and managed to assure consistency with community policing.

• Information - Police agencies should re-examine their information systems to make sure they support and facilitate community policing.

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Variations in Community Policing

• Community policing varies from one community to the next.

• Community policing in a large, metropolitan city may be different than community policing in a small, rural area.

• Community policing is dynamic and it changes with the community, crime rates, mobilization of citizens, region of the country, and other social and environmental factors.

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The 1994 “Crime Act”Community Oriented Policing

Services (COPS)• COPS Mission - Advance the practice of

community policing to improve public safety.

• Provided grants to hire and train community policing professionals, improve technology, and develop innovative strategies.

• By 2005, COPS had invested $11.3 billion to add 118,768 community policing officers and deputies to the our streets and schools

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Problem-Oriented Policing and

Community-Oriented Policing

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Selected Comparisons Between Problem-Oriented Policing and Community Policing Principles

Principle Problem-Oriented Policing Community-Oriented Policing

Primary emphasis Substantive social problems within police mandate

Engaging the community in the policing process

When police and community collaborate Determined on a problem by problem basis Always or nearly always

Emphasis on problem analysis Highest priority given to thorough analysis Encouraged, but less important than community collaboration

Preference for responses Strong preference that alternatives to criminal law enforcement be explored

Preference for collaborative responses with community

Role for police in organizing and mobilizing community

Advocated only if warranted within the context of the specific problem being addressed

Emphasizes strong role for police

Importance of geographic decentralization of police and continuity of officer assignment to community

Preferred, but not essential Essential

Degree to which police share decision-making authority with community

Strongly encourages input from community while preserving ultimate decision-making authority to police

Emphasizes sharing decision-making authority with community

Emphasis on officer skills Emphasizes intellectual and analytical skills Emphasizes interpersonal skills

View of the role or mandate of police Encourages broad, but not unlimited role for police, stresses limited capacities of police and guards against creating unrealistic expectations of police

Encourages expansive role for police to achieve ambitious social objectives

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POP and COP

• Historically, many considered these two concepts to be mutually exclusive.

• Police leaders and academics tend to agree that these concepts overlap in philosophy and practice.

• Bottom line – It’s not one or the other, it’s one and the other…