NCJ Number
159219
Date Published
1995
Length
125 pages
Annotation
Based on the author's experience as a police officer and police chief, this manual is intended to answer the questions most commonly asked about community policing techniques and to enable agencies to establish and operate a successful community policing program.
Abstract
Directed to individual police officers as well as police agencies, manual was designed to be portable and easy to use while in a police vehicle or other location. The text emphasizes that community policing is neither a new idea nor a solution to all the problems facing police today. Instead, it is activity in which police and their clients actively cooperate to attain a stated goal; all efforts at planning and operating a cooperative program must revolve around a common interest or common concern among those involved. It relies on both common sense and citizen cooperation. Planning, designing, and operating any community policing operation involves five basic steps: (1) problem identification, (2) organization/planning, (3) personnel selection, (4) community preparation, and (5) operational evaluation and modification. The manual provides instructions for each step, together with practical suggestions on the use of technology, training, discretion, and other approaches and descriptions of specific strategies.