NCJ Number
125418
Journal
MIS Report Volume: 21 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 1-14
Date Published
1989
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Community-oriented policing seeks to eliminate one of the three elements that create a situation in which crime is committed: a motivated criminal, a suitable target, and accessibility to the target. The benefits of this approach include better rapport between police and community, increased job satisfaction for individual police officers, and opportunities to implement more modern management practices.
Abstract
Community-oriented policing seems particularly effective in poorer urban areas and in public housing because relations between officers and minority citizens are improved. A successful program needs to be coordinated between the police department and all of the relevant local government offices. The problem-solving process involved in community-oriented policing consists of officer scanning for possible problems during their daily routine, in-depth analysis of the problem, implementation of a response, and assessment. Community-oriented policing programs in Morgantown (West Virginia), Madison (Wisconsin) and Houston have adopted this approach to varying degrees. In Morgantown, the police department has established communications links and relations with town business, student, and academic communities. The Madison police department has undergone an organizational transformation in the areas of service delivery and management; these changes have been overseen by a participatory officer advisory board as well as a planning group comprised of both commissioned and civilian department employees. When the Houston police department defined police/citizen cooperation, crime prevention, and use of police resources to reinforce community values as its top priorities, programs were created which included the Directed Area Responsibility Team pilot project, a fear reduction project, a Positive Interaction Program, and Project Oasis. 5 tables, 4 notes.