NCJ Number
139218
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 3-4 Dated: special issue (July-October 1992) Pages: 461-478
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Organizational demands of the native policing environment in Canada affect not only native policing arrangements but also constraints and linkages that govern innovation and reform in policy and program development.
Abstract
The author argues that, as environmental conditions vary, existing methods of organizing and delivering native police services will become an increasing problem. Available data on police work in native communities and with native people in general suggest that the crime control model does not offer a promising or practical approach to policing and may even be an impediment to improvements in police services for natives. The data may be interpreted in terms of the following concerns: variation in local policing circumstances, police emphasis on crime control and law enforcement, contingent or narrow definitions of police roles, community dependence on the police, and cross-cultural policing and indigenization. Community-based policing is discussed as a policing strategy that may uniquely serve the interests of particular native communities. Since its principles of organization are flexible and pragmatically oriented, community-based policing is more likely than the crime control approach to reflect the social, political, economic, and cultural conditions of a wide range of native communities. 34 references and 5 notes