This publication features key principles in the development of relationships of trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, and examples are provided of model initiatives in community policing in diverse jurisdictions.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) identifies three pillars of community policing: partnerships, problem-solving, and organizational transformation. All community-policing approaches involve reliance on community members to identify problems in their neighborhoods; to decide, in conjunction with police, which problems require a law enforcement response and what the response might involve; and to develop responses that include cooperation among police, community leaders, and other public and private agencies. This model requires the building of trust among three entities: police line officers, who have daily interactions with community members; community leaders, who listen to residents' concerns about security and other issues and then communicate these concerns to police-community liaisons; and other government personnel and contractors, including fusion center personnel, who provide guidance and resources to local, State, and tribal police agencies. In the model programs presented, communities have succeeded in developing structures of interaction among these three entities in diverse communities. These are approaches that could be considered for replication in other communities. A key element to any change effort for building trust is a commitment by the most senior executives to make the building of relationships of trust a high priority for the law enforcement agency. Appended supplementary information on model initiatives, sample police accountabilities, and sample command staff liaison responsibilities