Understanding community policing: Community partnerships, Problem solving, Organizational transformation, Advantages and disadvantages of community policing (Essay Sample)

Community Policing
Name
Institution Affiliation
Community Policing
Introduction
Created 63 years ago, the Virtual City Police Department has become a popular policing agency in the United States of America. Studies show that the greatest challenge that police departments are facing is to engage the community through social media as well as modern technology advancements. Various police departments in the US have taken up the challenge and have decided to implement policing models that includes the participation of the community. One effective technique of community policing that they have implemented is the use of social media and other new technology to reach out the people. Following the Mayor’s interest of introducing community policing in my city’s police department, I will present to her the issues surrounding the operational approach. The paper will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of community policing. I will thereafter give my recommendation for the same.
Background information
For the last few years, community leaders, politicians, and the police have shown a great interest in looking for other ways of promoting public safety effectively and enhancing people’s quality of life. Currently, sheriffs, mayors and other officials are assessing what operational or organizational changes would be effective in benefiting the people through their services. It is important to note that the strategies of community policing depend on the responses and needs of the community being served. However, there are basic approaches that are similar to every effort on community policing. Initially, there were no efforts to study and learn the concepts of community policing. Today, the U.S Bureau of Justice Assistance has mandated the Community Policing Consortium to design a framework that agencies could utilize in adopting and implementing community policing. The main reason for this is, to create a learning experience that will allow community members, the policy makers and the police to evaluate the reliability and effectiveness of community policing in dealing with issues such as crime and violence in the cities.
Understanding community policing
Experts define community policing as a philosophical approach that enables police agencies to apply or use problem-solving and partnership techniques to address issues that infringe the safety of the public. The integration of the social media in community policing strategies enables the police department to incorporate the view of the people, thus creating an interactive and sustainable model for carrying out police services. To better understand the concept of community policing, it is important to discuss its components. Community policing involves problem solving and community partnerships (Kappeler and Gaines, 2015).
Community partnerships
Building community partnerships is basically having collaboration between the police agency and the organization or community members they serve. The core purpose of building a healthy partnership is to find solutions to issues facing the people and ensure their trust in the police (Kappeler and Gaines, 2015). In this case, the role of the public is to prioritize the issues affecting their safety. A good example of a community partnership is the partnership between the law enforcement agency (police) and other government agencies. The police department can partner with a government agency to identify the concerns of the community members and offer solutions. Examples of government agencies that the police department can partner with include ordinance enforcement, schools, and legislative bodies among others. The police department can also partner with other groups with special interests in the community. Such groups include activists, tourists and community leaders among others (Kappeler and Gaines, 2015).
Problem solving
Under the model of community policing, police officers should be skilled and proactive in identifying problems and their respective solutions. Officers should take measures to prevent the occurrence of safety problems rather than just responding after the problems occur (Kappeler and Gaines, 2015). For example, the agency should not view making an arrest is the only solutions to all problems. Instead, the agency should encourage the police personnel to identify other innovative ideas for of problem-solving.
Organizational transformation
The effectiveness of a community policing strategy solely depends on how the law enforcement agency is managed. Organizational transformation promotes the application of effective management strategies that boost the efficiency of the agency. In other words, the agency should change or improve on its organized and how the personnel work. For example agency should develop an organizational structure that ensures officers to have authority in decision-making. The structure should also hold the police accountable of their actions. Also, the agency should incorporate community policing principle in the selection, recruitment and hiring of police personnel.
Advantages and disadvantages of community policing
Advantages
One of the major advantages of having community policing is that, it reduces fear of the community members (Lyons, 2002).It’s now clear that community policing brings together the police and the members of the community. Therefore the presence of the police among the citizens reduces fear and the community members feel secure. The interaction between the two parties also helps in strengthening the community. As such, it becomes easy for the police to collaborate with the citizens in identifying key problems that are threats to their safety. With collaboration, the community members build trust in the police, hence more willing to contribute in, for example, giving information on criminals suspected to cause chaos in the community (Bruhn, 2007).
Another crucial benefit of community policing, it helps in promoting public safety and improve the people’s quality of life (Lyons, 2002). Safety could only be achieved if we identify existing problems and finding their solutions. Problem solving, as a component of community policing, involves the proactive measures taken by the police to identify issues that may cause chaos in the city. Such issues may include violence, robbery and rape cases among others. The police in this case, will engage the community members to give their perception and views regarding the problems facing them. As such, both parties will work together to promote safety in the neighborhoods (Lyons, 2002).
Community policing is an important tool for transforming the police department. In the traditional policing, citizens were not involved in the identification and solving of problems facing the city. Under the model of community policing, the police are now involving the community members through the social media and other modern technology channels (Bruhn, 2007). Organizational transformation also includes changes in the selection, recruitment and hiring of the police officers into the department. With community policing, agencies seek to change and improve their services to the people by selecting qualified police personnel who latter undergo a training program to familiarize themselves with the duties and responsibilities of the police in dealing with criminal activities in the city.
We know that if people have a negative perception of the police, it is less likely for them to contribute in cracking down criminals to save the community. The involvement of the citizens in community policing creates an understanding of what police work entails. In other words, the community members begin to understand what the officers do daily, by getting more involved in protecting the entire community. For example, if the people understand that the work of the officers is just to crack down criminals and prosecute them with evidence, they will give valuable information that would help the police to find the hiding places of the criminals. Ultimately, people’s involvement in community policing helps in reducing crime in the city.
Under the policing model, police officers are able to apply solutions that work to solve problems and eliminate those solut...