Community Policing

Community Policing

Community Policing is an effective way of preventing crime, by having officers collaborate with people in the community.   The only way to resolve specific problems that are going on in the town, is to work with people that live here and address the concerns that they have.   In 1994, Congress passed a 32 billion dollar Crime Bill in which 100,000 jobs for community police officers were implemented. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2007) The police department revealed a different image in which the public should feel safe in sharing information with the police and helping them solve problems the community was facing.   People received this image well, knowing that their police department had the same concerns that they had.   Community policing has since fallen off the map and it is now time to use this effective way of policing again in the community and have the public feel secure and ready to help.
Police officers should start “walking the beat” again.   In other words, officers need to get to know the community, including local business owners and parents that have their children in the town schools.   Stopping in stores and talking to parents, gives people a chance to voice their concerns to the police officers directly, showing the public that their concerns will be the concerns of the police department as well.   The Community Policing era in the 1980’s through 1990 showed the importance of citizen participation in solving specific problems in the community, such as drug use.   Police will have the chance to ask people directly, why is there drug use?   What is causing this drug problem? And most importantly, how can the police department and the community together effectively reduce situations that lead to drug use.  
In order to have an effective community policing program, the department must also have a sense of transparency to the public.   If the police department wants to have a full partnership with the community they much show it by letting the public...