NCJ Number
197213
Journal
Sheriff Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2002 Pages: 36-37
Editor(s)
Mike Terault
Date Published
September 2002
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the various aspects of community policing relevant to "homeland security" discussed at a 4-day conference entitled, "Community Policing Keeps America Safe" held in Washington DC.
Abstract
Conference speakers agreed that the community should be involved in countering any chronic crime problem facing the community. Community members should be involved at the beginning of crime analysis and be trained in ways to target and address problems. Whenever possible, the community should be empowered to take specific action on problems. One conference seminar involved a description of King County's (Washington State) successful collaboration with the community to reduce firearms crime in the county. All of the seminars had the common theme of motivating the community to work in partnership with law enforcement. In delivering the keynote address at the conference, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft noted that the agents of terror who committed the atrocities of September 11, 2001, lived in local communities for many months, moving unnoticed in neighborhoods and public places. He emphasized that citizens must become active stakeholders in securing their own safety by being trained by police agencies to become alert observers of dangerous signals, which can result in the supplying of valuable information to law enforcement agencies in their preventive efforts.