Who Ya Gonna Call? The Police as Problem-Busters (From Public Policy, Crime, and Criminal Justice, Second Edition, P 187-202, 2000, Barry W. Hancock and Paul M. Sharp, eds. -- See NCJ-183970)

• NCJ Number: 183960
• Author(s): John E. Eck; William Spelman
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice-Hall, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from John E. Eck and William Spelman, "Who Ya Gonna Call? The Police as Problem-Busters, " Crime and Delinquency (Vol. 23, No. 1), pp. 31-52, 1993, Sage Publications, Inc.

Annotation

The increased interest in social order and community policing is the latest development in a continuing discussion about the role of the police in the community.

Abstract

Largely as a result of civil disturbances and riots in the 1960's, police agencies began to examine their ties to the communities they served. Also from the 1960's on, researchers began to examine the ability of the police to control crime. Community policing, crime control policing, and problem-oriented policing models emerged as effective approaches to crime control. Actual cases in Baltimore County, Maryland, and Newport News, Virginia, indicate that problem-oriented policing in particular can be applied to a wide variety of problems. Problem-solving can assist in the resolution of neighborhood problems, and problem-oriented policing relies on and supports community policing. Problem-oriented policing, however, is not synonymous with community policing. The case examples also indicate that training and management direction can improve the ability of police officers to diagnose and analyze problems and that differential patrol response, investigative case screening, and similar practices can free up time for non-traditional police activities. Long-term considerations associated with the implementation of problem-oriented policing are noted. 38 references and 4 notes