NCJ Number
159193
Journal
Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 64 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1995) Pages: 5-10
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The history of crime and policing offers lessons for police administrators seeking to implement community policing, as well as those who consider it to be a totally new concept.
Abstract
Police administrators should acknowledge that crime is a natural condition of society and not a problem to be solved, because crime has changed little since the Industrial Revolution led to the urbanization of Western culture in the early 1800's. Thus, neither police administrators nor police personnel, political leaders, or the public should have unrealistic expectations about new programs. They must recognize that changes in their operations and their organizations are inevitable, but that few or none of these changes will be completely unprecedented. Organizational change in law enforcement agencies has been a constant theme of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, perhaps because it is one factor these groups can control. However, changes in policing strategies are not always determined through rigorous testing. Since the first police agencies were established, every new movement in law enforcement has been touted, with little supporting evidence, as the solution to the crime problem. However, none of them has lived up to such unrealistic expectations. Thus, those who learn from history will be better prepared for their leadership challenges in the difficult times ahead. Photographs and 7 reference notes