NCJ Number
139164
Date Published
1993
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Based on discussions held in the Executive Session on Policing sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, this paper describes the effect on the individual police officer of the adoption of the philosophy of community policing, which involves problem-solving techniques, strategic use of resources, and increasingly sophisticated investigative capabilities.
Abstract
Community policing is also based in a different view of the status and role of community institutions in guiding and assisting police operations. Overall, community policing requires that police agencies become proactive organizations that address a variety of conditions that tend to disrupt community peace or adversely affect the community's quality of life. Under such a regime, the individual police officer becomes a thinking professional who uses imagination and creativity to identify and solve problems, instead of a reactor to events that have already occurred, limited by rigid guidelines and regulations. In community policing, the police officer is encouraged to develop cooperative relationships in the community, guided by values and purposes, rather than constrained by rules and excessive supervision. To facilitate such policing, thought must be given to the design of the structure of police organizations and to recruiting, selecting, training, and supporting officers in the field. Changes must be made in all of these areas to create a new police professionalism. 45 notes