Neighborhood Policing: Report on a Belgian Experiment (From Police and the Community: Contributions Concerning the Relationship Between Police and the Community and Concerning Community Policing, P 145-161, 1990, Thomas Feltes and Erich Rebscher, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 129781
• Author(s): C Hendrieckx; E Enhus; C Eliaerts
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Felix-Verlag
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: German
• Country: West Germany (Former)

Annotation

Observations of 7 community police officers in a large Belgian city during a total of 67 hours formed the basis of an analysis of the daily activities of community police officers in Belgium.

Abstract

During the study period, 134 interventions were observed. These consisted mainly of information gathering, responses to citizen requests, and preventive actions. The officers had earned citizen confidence, so their questions were readily answered and they received confidential information concerning suspicious persons or drug abuse. Citizens requests generally related to minor offenses such as vandalism, stray animals, and noise. Preventive actions dealt with trash removal, the security of children, traffic issues, and attention to elderly, homebound persons. Although their activities resembled those of regular police officers, the motorized patrols were preoccupied with crime control and reluctantly responded to citizen requests that they regarded as trivial. The program appeared successful, although problems included lack of training, lack of community need for community officers, and community officers' feelings of isolation and even resentment from the rest of the police force. Tables