NCJ Number
141724
Journal
Police Times Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Dated: (Holiday issue, 1992) Pages: 1,6,22
Date Published
1992
Length
3 pages
Annotation
While many police chiefs strive to exert a strong police presence in their communities to fight rising crime rates, they also cannot ignore the many negative aspects of police- community relations that exist today.
Abstract
Several experts believe that police professionalism, improved through training and recruitment, is the key to better police-citizen interactions. There are two general approaches to police professionalism. The "by the book" approach focuses on the department's command structure, assuming the individual officer's behavior can be monitored by his superiors. The second orientation recognizes the need for the exercise of broad discretion by officers in the field and thus places additional responsibility on individuals. Entrenched police attitudes can impede professionalism by encouraging promotions based on attrition and political affiliation, resisting change, and failing to appreciate the value of training. Professional training is the single most effective way to enhance the police image and improve the force's efficiency.