NCJ Number
108978
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1987) Pages: 384-400
Date Published
1987
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article identifies an often overlooked benefit of a community approach to crime and policing and describes the historical development of the relationship between community policing and crime control in Great Britain.
Abstract
Part of the attractiveness of community involvement in social control is residents' sense that crime is being addressed and is under control. This increases residents' sense of control over community life and reduces the fear of crime, even though the actual incidence of crime may not be reduced. The management of crime is distinguished by three historical periods. The first period was before the development of the modern state and its police. In this period communities managed crime and antisocial conduct themselves. This was followed by a period in which the modern state, particularly the police, assumed responsibility for controlling crime and maintaining order, but with considerable informality. The most recent period is characterized by the erosion of community and an emphasis on individualism and the acquisition of civil and political rights in the context of affluence and the development of the welfare state. This development has made policing doubly difficult, because it has increased the expectations of due process and formality, while community involvement in informal social control and support for formal police intervention has eroded. 14 footnotes and 40 references.