NCJ Number
150283
Journal
American Journal of Police Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 1-16
Date Published
1993
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article identifies the challenges to police managers posed by the need to balance and integrate police proactive and reactive responses in promoting and ensuring public safety.
Abstract
The current emphasis on proactive community policing has worried many police officers, who fear that the capability of police to respond to emergency incidents will be compromised. This article emphasizes that police managers must not make proactive and reactive policing an "either-or" choice for their departments. Rather the challenge for the police manager is to structure the organization, as well as select, train, and allocate personnel, so as to achieve the appropriate balance and integration of the two types of policing in accordance with the particular jurisdiction's public-safety needs. The author advises that the rapid- response function should not be separated from the primary thrust of community policing. The theoretical foundation of community policing and problemsolving policing is that daily disasters and victimization befall citizens, and these are linked with the patterns, norms, values, traditions, feelings, and well-being of the broader population. Problemsolving or community policing units must also be responsible for emergency intervention. Preserving the rich information interchange and close cooperation between the emergency and proactive functions of the police is essential to the effectiveness of both. This article provides some practical suggestions for how police managers can achieve this. 11 references