Term Paper on "Is Community Policing Effective Yes?"

Term Paper 17 pages (5738 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

community policing effective? Yes or no?

Is Community Policing Effective?

Community policing is not a novel idea. It is done in other countries and it has been done in this one in the past, it just was not called the same thing. It involves putting an officer or officers into a neighborhood or designated area of the city on a permanent assignment, instead of just sending that officer where ever he or she needs to go on each specific call that comes in. Once the officers are in the neighborhood, they spend time there, just patrolling and watching to see what kinds of things are going on in the community. They stay on that assignment indefinitely, and the people of the community get to know those particular officers. While many people are distrustful of police officers even if they have not done anything wrong, as time goes on they begin to get more comfortable with those particular officers that they see every day.

It is similar to seeing a police officer when one is driving a car. If one is driving down the road and one sees a policeman, one usually takes one's foot off of the gas pedal. Even if the car was moving along at the speed limit, it is a natural reaction for most people. However, if one has a friend who is a police officer and that officer happens to be riding in one's car, one might still speed because one is comfortable with that officer and feels that he or she does not pose any threat, even if one is breaking the law in a rather small way. Issues that are of utmost importance would be different. If one caused a traffic fatality because of the speeding, any officer, whether friend or not, would do his or her job.

Issues of community policing are much the same in that the residents come to trust the particular officers that they see every day, but they will never trust them completely because they know that under all the pleasantries, those officers still have a job to do, and they will do it, even if it causes a friend of theirs to have difficulties like jail time or large fines for whatever crime that they were involved in.

II. Presentation of Position "A"

Community policing has become more popular in recent years as police forces around the country strive to make communities safer, and their officers more trusted and understood. They are looking for ways to get their officers out there into the community and get the citizens used to seeing police officers patrolling the streets in the hopes that not only will crime go down, but citizen comfort around police officers will go up, making citizens much more likely to report a criminal that they are aware of. If they feel safe and protected by the police, they will likely turn to them in times of need instead of just assuming that the neighborhood criminal is not their problem as long as he or she leaves them and their family and belongings alone in favor of someone else's. Some people are not comfortable talking to a policeman that they have never seen before, but they are all right in dealing with the policeman who is always on patrol during a certain time each day in their neighborhood.

By having community policing, the police get to know the neighborhood and the people in it, and the people get to know the officers. If they are not friends, they are at least acquaintances, which is good in the prevention of crime and the comfort and safety levels of both citizens and police. This is especially true in some of the more dangerous and crime-ridden neighborhoods where people are often afraid to open their doors, even for the police, because they never know who is going to abuse them or cause them problems next. They are frightened and alone. Residents in the poorer neighborhoods, especially the minority neighborhoods, are scared. They often live that way most of their lives. The argument from some is that community policing can change all of that. The argument from others is that it will only make things worse by breeding distrust among neighbors as to who is telling what to the police, and who is being watched out for.

One of the main strengths of community policing is the fact that the same policemen are in the same area each day (Clearwater, 2001). They work a particular neighborhood or area on their shift, and sometimes they walk or ride a bicycle instead of driving a squad car and keeping themselves isolated from the rest of the world by their guns, bullet-proof glass, and radio equipment. They become more accessible to citizens by doing this, and they encourage more open communication when they are not in their squad cars, which often make police officers look very official and also very unapproachable. Community policing lets the officer really see the neighborhood, from the same kind of angle that a resident would. In some neighborhoods, especially those that are crime ridden or have other anti-law issues, community policing may be seen as a nuisance by the people who are not interested in being caught by police. This is actually good, because it works to protect the residents of the neighborhood who might otherwise not feel safe at all, especially at night, or if they live alone.

Another strength of community policing is that the neighbors get used to seeing the police around. It may not be the exact same time each day, but they will be seen on every shift, and it will be the same policemen. That is a good thing for the residents. Not only are they assured that help is not far away if they need it, but they also get to know the specific officers. Once they know the officers, they see them as being real people, instead of just seeing the uniform (Clearwater, 2001). In addition to giving the residents a higher feeling of security, it also allows the police to get more information from them about suspected criminals in the area. When the neighbors feel comfortable confiding in a policeman about some of the things they have seen go on in the neighborhood, the police department has gained a valuable tool in the fight against crime. Without the help of residents, little work gets done. Community policing is designed to be a team effort between police and residents.

Community policing is not just for fighting crime, however. Another reason for it is to give the policemen a little morale booster, which many departments around the country really need (Manning, 1998). When policemen patrol different places and work different shifts all of the time, they start to feel like they do not really belong anywhere. This is not good for their sense of self-worth or their morale on the job. They want to do everything they can to fight crime and protect the community. If they are good policemen, they truly want to make their city a better place for everyone to live in.

When they get a chance to get out on the streets and get to know people, they start to recognize some of them around town or around a specific neighborhood. They usually work with a partner, so they have someone to talk to in addition to the residents. It is almost as though they have been given a little corner of the world and told that it is theirs and they are to take care of it. They have a purpose to their job when they have somewhere specific to watch over. They get to know the area and they are often good at being on the scene very quickly if there is a problem because they have been around the neighborhood so many times that they usually know the streets by heart (Manning, 1998).

Getting to the scene of a crime quickly and helping out as much as possible is another boost of morale for the officers who do community policing. They do not have to worry about whether they can find the right street, or whether they have turned in the right direction. This is the neighborhood that they work in all of the time. They know where all of the streets are and they know what the landmarks look like, both in the light of day and after dark. It makes their job more fun and rewarding for them, which in turn helps the citizens they watch over by making the policemen better at their job.

Efficiency is also part of the reason that community policing is so important (Manning, 1998). When officers know the people they are dealing with and the areas that they are working in, they become much faster at finding out where they need to be and getting there. Not only do they know the streets and landmarks, as… READ MORE

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