Example essay on pros and cons of Community Policing

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1. Explain community-policing. List the benefits and disadvantages of community policing. Detail the two most points that are important police agencies in utilizing this perspective.

Community Policing brings police and citizens together to avoid crime and solve neighborhood problems. The emphasis is on stopping crime before it happens, not responding to calls for service after the crime occurs with community policing. Community policing gives citizens more control within the standard of living within their community. Community policing means police become an element of the neighborhood. It will help police get a far better sense of resident’s needs and assists residents to produce greater trust in the police. In essence the grouped community joins the police department. Those “who believe that community policing is practiced within their neighborhood are more likely to express favorable opinions of the police.”(Weitzer & Tuch, 2006, p. 45) Together, in partnership, the city and police department come together to achieve a goal that is common of safer, better location to live. It is “democracy in action.”(BJA, August 1994, p. 4).

Community policing is observed as an effective option to promote public safety also to boost the standard of living in a community. Community policing plays a role that is pivotal the two defining elements of policing: police-community relations and problem-solving. “First, it will broaden police organization goals …Second, it should alter the way police are organized to perform their goals.” (Weisburd & Braga, 2007, p. 47) Active participation is required through the local government to the average citizen in order for community policing to work. Everybody is responsible for safeguarding the welfare regarding the neighborhood. Unlike traditional policing methods, the goals of policing are expanded as well as the perception of community is changed. Traditional policing assumes that the problems of society are not inside the world of law enforcement department. Traditional police departments are strictly reactive and don’t look beyond efficiently resolving the immediate incident in front of you. Police officers are linked with the dispatcher and rarely have enough time to complete a lot more than answer one call after another. The police department, as a company, separates itself through the populous city’s infrastructure and from city services.

Implementing community policing changes the dwelling of policing and exactly how it is managed. Community policing helps build up and strengthen the community. It links the police additionally the community together. The partnership that develops with time can ultimately assist the police find the underlying causes of crime within the neighborhood. Through getting the community involved, the police do have more resources available in their mind to greatly help in crime prevention. By familiarizing themselves with all the members of the community, officers are more likely to obtain valuable information about criminals and their activities. They are also almost certainly going to obtain a reliable evaluation associated with the needs of citizens and their expectations for the police.

As previously stated, community policing plays a major part in police-community relations and problem-solving. In order to develop a partnership utilizing the community, first the authorities must form a great relationship with the area. The police must you will need to involve the area in its pursuit to manage crime. Most community concerns and solutions are identified through problem-solving. The objective is always to to lessen crime and disorder by diligently examining the attributes of concerns in communities and then using the best suited solutions that are problem-solving.

With any method of policing you will find going to be advantages and disadvantages. One of many main advantageous assets to community policing is the fact that it reduces fear in the community. The residents feel more secure with an increase in police presence in the neighborhood. This feeling of security helps the police establish trust in the community essay writing service. As citizen be much more active in taking good care of their community, they start to know very well what officers actually do on a day-to-day basis. This improves police-community relations. Ultimately, well being for the community improves and crime is reduced. An additional benefit is that grouped community policing is flexible and with the capacity of changing. The solutions and strategies change while the grouped community changes. If a plan works in one community it doesn’t imply that it will be able to work in all communities. Community policing allows the city to create solutions which will work in their own neighborhood and to change or eliminate those that usually do not work. Community policing may be implemented in a number that is limitless of. This is especially valid of problem-solving. They both are only limited by one’s imagination. Community policing offers an array of benefits. Making use that is effective of talents and resources available within communities can help extend severely strained police resources. Also, reduced levels of crime will allow more police resources to be allotted to services that have the greatest impact on the quality of community life.

A major disadvantage is that the only way that community policing is by using community involvement.

There should be a proven partnership between the police officers plus the community. Any attempts at community policing will fail without the trust and involvement of the community. “Police and there partners that are would-be not necessarily value the same, or even compatible, things” (Thacher, 2001, p. 766). Effective community policing requires a long-term commitment from everyone involved. It’s not a fix that is quick. Ongoing relationships should be established and maintained. Another disadvantage to community policing is ensuring that the right folks are heading within the project. The main focus should really be of enhancing the community and not utilising the program to advance their own career that is personal agendas. Also, programs like community policing could be regressive. Oftentimes if you have an issue that will require assistance from the community it look like the same people always step forward. These are often the homeowners which have longstanding ties into the community. Community policing requires everyone’s involvement, not merely the home owners.

“Over ten years after it had been first introduced, community policing remains the most innovation that is important American policing today.” (Forman, Autumn 2002, p. 1) some great benefits of implementing community policing still outweigh the disadvantages. Having the community on there side can only benefit law enforcement in their aid to regulate and steer clear of crime. Also, using the police more involved in the daily activities for the grouped community will assist in the revitalization of this community. This could only happen if both law enforcement as well as the community are able to place in the time, effort, and patience that is required when implementing the community program that is policing.