NCJ Number
148176
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 61 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 28,30-32
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Problems with police attitudes toward community policing are discussed.
Abstract
This article addresses organizational cultural backlash when implementing community policing. The author divides such backlash into four specific areas: classic resistance to change, the mourning phase, professional jealousy, and staff development and recruitment. The community policing philosophy threatens the expertise of specialized groups entrenched within the organization and changes traditional policing practices. The patrol officer, traditionally not entrusted or empowered to make decisions and network with other segments of city government to solve problems, assumes a more integral role under a community policing philosophy. This results in the sudden loss of authority, power, and control of first-line supervisors and middle managers, who frequently feel the most threatened by the change. Professional jealousy can result when police officers and supervisors become heroes in their assigned neighborhoods while officers left to respond to 911 calls and file reports feel left out. Community leaders may become jealous of police chiefs who receive public adulation for their community policing efforts. A lack of uniform criteria for the selection and training of individuals suited for community policing assignments results in officers who quickly grow frustrated. Recommendations are made to avert or avoid these and other forms of backlash. These recommendations include implementing an appropriate hiring and training program, developing an open management style that encourages input from all members of the department, developing a strategic plan that recognizes that it will take 10 to 20 years to change to a community-oriented partnership, and involving community and political leaders throughout the process.