NCJ Number
156998
Journal
RCMP Gazette Volume: 57 Issue: 8 Dated: (August 1995) Pages: 6-10
Date Published
1995
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study tried to assess whether police officers in British Columbia are moving toward the goal of community policing by interviewing chief constables and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Officers in Charge about their visions of the future of policing over the rest of the decade.
Abstract
Fifty-two percent of the respondents to this survey voiced the need to move in the direction of community policing; a sizeable proportion noted the economic benefits of community policing for their departments. An additional 13 percent of respondents supported a regionalized form of community policing. Other respondents emphasized the need for more officers, technology, training, and equipment; attitudinal changes in government to increase support for the police; and reform of the entire criminal justice system. The benefits of community policing may include improved morale, enhanced career development, increased consensus, greater job satisfaction and professionalism, and cost containment. However, a move toward community policing requires the transformation of a hierarchical, conservative organization into one that employs the principles of strategic planning, participatory management, and decentralization of authority. 13 notes