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.

Trust is the foundation of any program involving law enforcers and communities they work in. Police are yet to be regarded as social partners. They are still viewed as persons searching for trouble even where there is none. Without trust, people will withhold information. Lack of trust makes police to regard every situation as suspicious. This is why small issues escalate into national debates. The program should find a way of enhancing trust between police and ordinary people.

Align the policies of your program with values of your community. Each neighborhood is unique. It values certain routines and levels of engagement. Officials should help officers understand local cultures and traditional values. Police should know issues to intervene and those that are solved locally. This knowledge helps them to understand a neighborhood better. However, these values should not violate national norms or be too extreme that they endanger the lives of other people.

Technology is at the center of any neighborhood policing initiative. People have cameras and can call police in an instant. They also want conversations and engagements with police recorded as proof and to justify their actions. Police officers are also required to keep their body and dashboard cameras rolling. Such technology simplifies resolution of cases and enhances trust because no one will claim discrimination.

Priority needs to be given to engagement with the people in the area. Engagement helps law enforcement officers to appear like ordinary members of the area. They will not be regarded as any superior or inferior. Police and other law enforcers also begin to see residents as part of their lives. This creates a great deal of cohesion and builds a society of shared values. The dignity of all members of this neighborhood will be preserved.

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.

The best community policing initiatives are designed to address local problems. Each program should pay attention to issues that bother the local community. Police and citizenry must exercise responsibility for any program to succeed.




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