NCJ Number
187334
Date Published
June 1992
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This discussion explains 10 tactics that chiefs of police who oppose community policing sometimes use to impede the use of community policing and that can result in serious harm.
Abstract
Any of these tactics can successfully thwart community policing when used alone. The first tactic is to oversell community policing as the panacea for every crime problem and adverse social condition that plagues the city, the country, and civilization. Using this tactic increases the expectations of the public, the press, politicians, and police administrators and sets the stage for attacks on community policing when it does not solve these problems. A second tactic is to avoid defining terms such as community and collaboration and to use such terms indiscriminately. Additional tactics are to create a special unit or group to handle community policing, to create a soft image of community policing, and to leave the impression that community policing is intended only for minority neighborhoods. Further tactics are to separate the community policing officer from regular police work, to obfuscate means and ends, to present community members with problems and plans, and never to try to understand why problems occur. The final tactic is never to publicize a success. These 10 tactics can subvert community policing and prevent the agency from being influenced by positive police reform. They can also be harmful.