NCJ Number
160718
Date Published
1995
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Recent policing innovations in the United States include community policing which involves reforming decisionmaking processes and creating new cultures within police departments rather than being a specific tactical plan.
Abstract
Community policing is an organizational strategy that redefines policing goals in order to guide the future development of police departments. In the United States, these goals are called mission statements, and police departments throughout the country are rewriting their mission statements to conform to new ideas and values that should guide policing and the relationship between the police and the community. Community policing follows four general principles: (1) relies on organizational decentralization and patrol reorientation to facilitate two-way communication between the police and the public; (2) assumes a commitment to broadly focused, problem-oriented policing; (3) requires that police be responsive to citizen demands when they identify local problems and set priorities; and (4) implies a commitment to helping neighborhoods solve crime problems on their own through community organizations and crime prevention programs. Some critics of community policing claim it is just rhetoric, but evidence from many U.S. cities indicates the public is receptive to the idea of community policing and welcomes increased police presence in communities. The origin of community policing in the United States is examined, and the effectiveness of community policing in Maryland, California, Alabama, Wisconsin, Texas, and New Jersey is discussed. Challenges to community policing are identified that focus on implementation, effectiveness, legal issues, and corruption. 27 references and 1 table