Introduction
Community-oriented policing (COP) is a style that focuses on building relationships between the police and the community. The goal of community-oriented policing is to enhance public safety by collaborating with the community to identify and address problems (Dias Felix & Hilgers, 2020). One of the critical features of COP is the presence of officers in the community. This enables officers to become familiar with the individuals who reside and work in the community, fostering trust.
COP additionally involves proactive problem-solving rather than simply responding to crime after it has occurred. According to Dias Felix & Hilgers (2020), police are working to prevent crime rather than just reacting to it. Studies have shown that COP can effectively reduce crime and improve public perceptions of the police.
Crime Prevention
In COP, police departments are better equipped to prevent crimes and respond to community concerns. Ultimately, this results in a wide range of benefits to the community (Tillyer, 2018). COP recognizes that people and communities are integral to preventing and reducing crime. Rather than simply responding to calls for service, officers are encouraged to engage with their community and build relationships with members of the public.
Examples include conducting foot patrols, engaging in community dialogues, and attending local community events. These activities enable officers to get to know their community, identify potential problems, and develop effective solutions. COP also emphasizes the importance of a problem-solving approach (Przeszlowski & Crichlow, 2018). Officers are encouraged to seek ways to address the underlying issues that contribute to criminal activity. Ultimately, this could involve working with leaders to develop strategies for reducing crime or working with local businesses to create job opportunities for at-risk individuals.
The Baltimore Police Department’s Safe Streets program is an example of a COP initiative to minimize illegal gun ownership. This program emphasizes community ownership of the drive to reduce violence within the city. The program brings together community members, religious leaders, and law enforcement to collaborate on identifying and addressing the underlying causes of crime.
The Neighborhood Policing program of the city of St. Louis, Missouri, has been hailed as a “model for police-community relations“ by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Lee et al., 2019). Since the program was implemented in 2014, crime rates have decreased in neighborhoods where it has been adopted. The success of this initiative is primarily attributed to the relationships built between the police and the people, as well as the comfort this provides for residents.
The program requires officers to operate in various localities throughout the region. Officers assigned to the program must spend at least two hours a day on foot in the area, interacting with locals and becoming familiar with the neighborhood they are patrolling (Beck, 2022). By cultivating connections with people in the neighborhood, police can gain a deeper understanding of the situation on the ground, and their response is informed.
Missouri police have contributed to the community’s peace and prosperity, enabling businesses to thrive. People can walk in the streets without the fear of being ambushed by armed criminals. As was common before, there is an ease of business operation with minimal break-ins reported in the stores. This is attributed to the identification of criminal elements by the people to the police, and the implementation of preventive measures.
Improved Connections and Trust
COP is based on the idea that people are more likely to comply with the law when they feel a sense of connection and trust with the police. By building relationships with the public, officers are better able to build trust and understanding. In turn, this helps to create an environment where people are more likely to cooperate with the police and follow the law (Hu & Lovrich, 2020).
COP is effective in helping reduce biases and improve police-community relations. Officers can gain a deeper understanding of the perspectives and experiences of people from diverse backgrounds. Moreover, this bolsters a culture of respect and admiration necessary for effective policing.
The Tulsa Police Department launched the Neighborhood Policing Initiative in 2016, which has been credited with helping to reduce crime rates in the city. As part of the initiative, officers must spend time in patrol neighborhoods, interacting with residents and creating valuable human connections (Beck, 2022). The Tulsa Police Department Neighborhood Policing Initiative additionally encourages officers to “take a proactive approach to problem-solving“ by working towards prioritizing prevention (Lee et al., 2019). According to Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan, the program has been instrumental in reducing crime and building trust between police and the community (Lee et al., 2019).
The Philadelphia Police Department’s Neighborhood Resource Officers program is a vital model of COP. This program assigns officers to specific neighborhoods, allowing them to get to know the community members. The officers become fixtures in the area and develop relationships with community members, which helps them identify and resolve potential crime or safety issues. Moreover, this has decreased violent crime rates in the city and has been credited with improving the community’s overall safety.
Benefits to the Police
COP benefits police officers by easing their workload and minimizing the risks they face while on duty. COP is also cost-effective as less money is ultimately utilized by the police in maintaining law and order (Przeszlowski & Crichlow, 2018). Potential money-saving avenues by the police with the adoption of COP include reduced fuel expenditures when chasing criminals.
The personal harm incurred by the police, including debilitating injuries and loss of life, is minimized through the adoption of COP. These cost savings enable police departments to allocate more resources to crime prevention and community outreach. The funds are directed toward creating a society that cooperates with and appreciates the role of the police through events and initiatives.
The Los Angeles Police Department has implemented the “Smart Policing Initiative,“ which uses a data-driven approach to crime prevention. This program uses data to identify areas of the city with higher crime rates and assigns officers to those areas (Peyton et al., 2019). The police collaborate with local citizens to identify the root causes of criminal activity and devise plans to tackle them.
This strategy has been praised for decreasing crime levels and strengthening the bond between law enforcement and the people they serve. The approach has been hailed for reducing overall expenditures in crime combating, which was the norm before. The police can now avoid dangerous situations with criminals, bettering the quality of life these officers lead, with minimal injuries.
Improved Image for Law Enforcement
COP is beneficial for improving the overall image of law enforcement. By engaging with the public, officers can demonstrate that they are approachable and care about the community. This is essential for effective policing because community members are more likely to report crimes (Przeszlowski & Crichlow, 2018). COP is the most effective among all other policing styles because it effectively reduces crime, improves public safety, and enhances police-community relations. By addressing the underlying causes of crime, officers can create an environment where people feel safe and secure.
The Chicago Police Department has implemented the CeaseFire program to reduce gun violence in the city. This program brings together law enforcement, community members, and social service providers to identify potential sources of violence and develop strategies to address them (Hu & Lovrich, 2022). The implementation of COP has had a positive effect on the city, resulting in a decrease in gun violence and a better relationship between the police and the public. This demonstrates the success of this strategy in reducing crime and fostering cooperation between law enforcement and the public. By building relationships with community members, law enforcement can better identify and address the underlying causes of crime, ultimately creating safer neighborhoods.
Conclusion
In conclusion, COP is an incredible tool for empowering citizens and improving public safety. It enables police officers to establish relationships with the public by engaging directly with individuals while patrolling. It also helps to increase public trust in the police and create a safer environment through problem-solving and conflict resolution.
The police have benefited from a safer working environment and minimized risks to their lives while discharging their mandate. COP effectively improves the quality of life in communities, as evidenced by the trust accorded to the means in many American localities. COP enables communities to tailor the mechanism to their diverse needs, as demonstrated by the various examples provided, and this is a significant factor in its success.
References
Beck, B., Antonelli, J., & Piñeros, G. (2022). Effects of New York City’s neighborhood policing policy. Police Quarterly, 25(4), 470-496. Web.
Dias Felix, A., & Hilgers, T. (2020). Community-oriented policing theory and practice: global policy diffusion or local appropriation? Policing and Society, 1-9. Web.
Hu, X., & Lovrich, N. P. (2020). Electronic community-oriented policing: theories, contemporary efforts, and future directions. Lexington Books. Web.
Lee, H. D., Kim, D., Woo, Y., & Reyns, B. W. (2019). Determinants of citizen support for community-oriented policing. Police Practice and research, 20(1), 34-47. Web.
Peyton, K., Sierra-Arévalo, M., & Rand, D. G. (2019). A field experiment on community policing and police legitimacy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(40), 19894-19898. Web.
Przeszlowski, K. S., & Crichlow, V. J. (2018). An exploratory assessment of community-oriented policing implementation, social disorganization and crime in America. Social Sciences, 7(3), 35. Web.
Tillyer, R. (2018). Assessing the impact of community-oriented policing on the arrest. Justice Quarterly, 35(3), 526–555. Web.