Foundation Of Effective Community Policing Programs

By Brenda Thompson


Community policing is viewed as a security revolution. It has melted tension between police and communities and enabled them to keep neighborhoods orderly. However, one does not wake up one day and roll out a program. There are tenets that effective community policing programs must meet. These pillars have been under research and are ascertained to make the law enforcement easier.

The program should enhance trust between police and the community. Law enforcement agencies should trust in the words of the citizens and allow them deal with some of the issues. People should also trust that the engagement and information they give to police officers will enhance security and well-being in their neighborhood. In the absence of trust, there will be tussles with law enforces and people will fail to report crimes of confrontations.

The program should bring to fore the pillars of your community and make law enforcement aware of these values. Each neighborhood has unique cultures and routines that define coexistence. Some may be regarded as unacceptable in other communities. Unless the police understand your values and routines, it will be difficult to convince them that you are not engaged in criminal activities. The values are usually subtle and must never conflict with legal provisions.

Technology should form part of an effective program today. People should be allowed to call police and report incidences. Police should be ready to use body cameras to record incidences in order to enhance trust and transparency. Recorded videos should be admissible as evidence with a particular threshold. Technology makes everyone a partner in enhancing civility in the society.

Engagement between police and people in a neighborhood is inevitable if law and order are to be maintained. Continued engagement diffuses tension because the two entities are not strangers to each other when an incident occurs. Police will not be regarded as masters and neither will people be viewed as subjects. Continued engagement creates mutual understanding of the role of each individual in the society. It restores dignity and mutual respect.

Priority should go into awareness creation and training. People must know their role in keeping the society they live in safe. Police should also understand the rights of citizens and responsibility of a law enforcer in any situation. It means that each knows his or her boundary. Solving problems will be simplified and de-escalation of issues will be easier.

It is important to preserve the dignity of police by all means. This is a responsibility for people and the officers involved. Do not raise false alarms or risk the lives of police officers in the line of duty. Look at them as an institution and not individuals. When mutual respect exists, people will experience incredible tranquility. Police will take the final say in incidences with mutual respect. The police will also affirm their responsibility to law and superiors without ignoring the people.

Community policing is supposed to solve localized problem. At the bottom of your program, you should have the issues that bother your neighborhood in mind. Understand the role of police and responsibility of citizenry. When both parties are engaged, it is easier to develop an effective program.




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