Essay Sample - Community Policing Evaluation Model for Law Enforcement Strategy

Introduction

Police are an instrumental institution in society and act as significant visible figures of security organs (Manning, 1983). Next to this, their functions and responsibilities impact the wellness of the citizens. As societies are changing through immigration, globalization, secularisation, gentrification, and individualism, new crime cycles and patterns are emerging - enabled and driven by the evolution in social and technological changes (MacDonald, 2002). It is therefore equally important that the security docs generate and initiate new forms of curbing crimes and evils in the communities. Community policing is a comprehensive approach to policing that establishes and recognizes the independence and cooperation of the community and the police in creating a safe and stable environment for society (Moore, 1992).

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The strategy aims at building an equal and active relationship in the community through which the public issues and crimes can be adequately discussed (Moore, 1992). As a matter of fact, within the context of security reforms, the police are required to display a high level of complete attitudinal transformation and make a shift from the past to work with communities and bolter (Manning, 1983). Therefore, the following paper is a discussion of the aspects of the strategy to its effectiveness in the community.

Pros and Strengths of Community Policing

Educative

Police officers can educate the citizens about their responsibilities and the expected contribution to creating a crime-free community (Lumb & Breazeale, 2002). On the other hand, when the police are in a position to educate the public about their inalienable rights and privileges, people tend to mind and respect one another (Lumb & Breazeale, 2002). For example, through Police Community Support Officers, the officers can offer education and instill awareness to the public.

Crime Deterrent

The visibility of the security organs and the oneness of the community help curb crime in society (Greene, 2000). Nevertheless, to effectively deter crimes in the communities, good interaction between the police and the society occupants is essential. As a result, community policing boosts the cooperation between the community members and the police enabling them later access to firsthand information from the ground - thus facilitating community integration, which assists in terrorist and criminal isolation (Greene, 2000).

Enhances the Commitment to the Community

The community members are in a position to communicate their problems to the police officers, which tends to trigger the required responsibility through police legitimacy (Lumb & Breazeale, 2002). For example, in communal functions, people air their grievances, providing the police with crucial data about crime scenes thus increasing responsibility to the public.

The Cons and Weaknesses

Power Struggle

Some people might engage in community policing forums to fulfill their gains - not all citizens are civic-oriented or minded. As a result, there ensues a struggle of power among the community members with the aim of securing such positions (Square-Smith, 2017). For example, the appointment of community leaders may involve corrupt activities and lead to conflicts.

Creates Deviance

Philosophically, without crimes in the community, it is not worth it to create community policing or such type of action (Square-Smith, 2017). As a result, crimes that could have been handled without the input of police officers (overlooked in some cases) become the reason for creating community policing (Square-Smith, 2017). For example, the punishment of an offender for a less severe crime may make the situation worse or ensure hostility and conflict between the offender and the offended.

Impact on Law Enforcement

The law enforcement body has a simple time allocating resources for security purposes since statistical data about the potential areas that need more policing is available (Hoover, 1996). On the other hand, enables law enforcement agencies to determine where to deploy more officers and where not to thus avoiding emergency reimbursement and backups which might lead to losses.

Impacts on the Community

The community ends up being its own "police" and security since the members are always mandated to pinpoint crimes and report them to the police officers (Greene, 2000). As a result, the community members are more vigilant and motivated to obey the law with the consent that, in case of retraction from the rules and regulations, the people are on watch and it shall be reported to the police officers.

Impacts on the Crime Analyst

Community policing enables crime analysts to develop and decipher more reliable data since the information collected from the field can be correlated with that obtained by police officers in the same arena (Hoover, 1996). As a result, more accurate information about a particular crime scene is recorded with fewer errors, thus enabling the crime analyst to work with law enforcement agencies and execute duties efficiently (Hoover, 1996).

Assessment and Conclusion

The community policing strategy rests on the fact that the citizens and the police should develop more supportive and nonthreatening interactions to foresee a secure environment for the well-being of everyone. Next to this, community policing works to reduce crimes in society - the members of the community can liaise with the police officers and provide efficient information that enables the police to deter crime and educate the public on how to respond or ask for help in times of challenges. Similarly, through the approach, law enforcement agents are made more vigilant when allocating resources for security purposes. However, though manageable, some drawbacks arise from the strategy when dealing with crimes. Nonetheless, community policing stands out to be one of the promising enforcement strategies in the US.

References

Greene, J. R. (2000). Community Policing in America: Changing the. Criminal justice 2000: Policies, processes, and decisions of the criminal justice system, 3. JR Greene - … justice 2000: Policies, processes, and decisions of …, 2000 - books.google.com

Hoover, L. T. (Ed.). (, 1996). Quantifying quality in policing. Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum. LT Hoover - 1996 - ncjrs.gov

Lumb, R. C., & Breazeale, R. (2002). Police officer attitudes and community policing implementation: Developing strategies for durable organisational change. Policing & Society, 13(1), 91-106. RC Lumb, R Breazeale - Policing & Society, 2002 - Taylor & Francis

MacDonald, J. M. (2002). The effectiveness of community policing in reducing urban violence. Crime & delinquency, 48(4), 592-618. JM MacDonald - Crime & delinquency, 2002 - journals.sagepub.com

Manning, P. K. (1983). Community policing. Am. J. Police, 3, 205. PK Manning - Am. J. Police, 1983 - HeinOnline

Moore, M. H. (1992). Problem-solving and community policing. Crime and justice, 15, 99-158. MH Moore - Crime and justice, 1992 - journals.uchicago.edu

Square-Smith, D. R. (2017). Police and Citizens' Perceptions of Community Policing in Richmond, Virginia DNR Square-Smith - 2017 - scholarworks.waldenu.edu.