COP - Public Expectations of Police on its Fight against Crime - Research Paper Example

Public Expectations of Police on War on Crime It is a general perception about the division of work that everyone should complete his or her own duty. But it’s a reality that each of our duties is closely inter-connected. This inter-connection can be highly complex. Lack of understanding of the complexity can prove to be very costly. The most visible example of this crude fact is modern policing system. Policing has been a reactive process as policing that we know generally cannot prevent mishaps. Now the people want more proactive role from the police. This increases the subjectivity of all the individuals of the society. As a result, how the community interacts with the police, will ultimately determine how successfully crime and other social issues can be addressed. Community Oriented Policing (COP) COP is a concept where all sections of a community can get together to strive for the overall welfare of the community. It is a kind of open relationship between the police and the community where they can work on common matters with the goal to solve all problems regarding crime and its roots. Here the police and the community remain responsible for their actions to each other (“Community Policing What is it?”). Community policing has become increasingly important in the modern times because of rapidly changing social environment. The police and the community at large share the common goal of enhancing the safety of the public and a peaceful environment in the neighbourhood. The senior police officials are working towards modifying their orientations and operations to improve their pattern of services that will benefit the communities. Community policing involves ‘philosophical and practical approaches’ towards eradication of crime. The strategies adopted by community policing may vary with the need and structure of the society, but there are certain common principles and factors that guide all community policing activities. It is with the mutual understanding and creativity that a successful partnership between the police and the community can be created (Community Policing Consortium, vii, 1). Roots of community policing The idea of community oriented policing generated from the unequal feeling and trust of different classes of people on the police and their activities. From a survey conducted in 1999 it was seen that only one-third of the American population has positive feelings towards the department of police. It was further concluded that while 85% of the white population was favorable towards police only 58% of African Americans shared the same opinion. The minority population complained about unfair treatment by law enforcement officers. This conclusion paved the way for COP. The police by adopting community policing strategies strive to improve the relationship with different sections of the community they serve. COP was initiated after the 1967 Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement with several recommendations to improve the feeling of trust in the minds of the minorities towards the police department. Further, COP was initiated to solve the problems regarding criminal activities which were increasing at an alarming rate because of ineffectiveness of the methods adopted by police in the late 1960s. During this time the police had to deal with many other issues like ‘racial conflicts, riots, civil rights demonstrations and political protests’ (Mirsky, 2-3). Community based enterprise The traditional methods of policing like “vehicle patrols and 911 calls” are not working in the modern scenario. Even though there has been an improvement in the reactive methods of controlling crime, still many crimes remain unreported and only 6 percent of criminals get caught. The main reason behind this is that reactive methods do not provide the incentive for the police to take action with urgency. Community based methods of policing whereby the police can work with the cooperation of the public to solve criminal matters can bring greater chance of success. The police needs to combine community based methods with reactive and specialized methods to maintain law and order in the society and to enforce police service. To get complete results from community based methods, it is necessary for the police departments to keep in view the needs and demands of the community before formulating plans and strategies. Community based methods are more effective in those places where crime is mainly due to community problems. The community policing departments uses two kinds of programs (Morison, 80). The partnership program Under this program, officers patrol on foot to look over areas for signs of crime and disorder. The officers communicate with the residents to learn about community problems. Based on this information garnered by the officers, the police department can make strategies to respond to those problems. Also, through these partnership programs the police can alert the citizens of any potential crime through meetings in neighborhoods, newsletters and the patrol officers (Morison, 80). The Wedge Program Under this program, the police department focuses more on illegal drugs and criminal gangs. The police ask for cooperation from the ‘individual citizens and community groups’ to provide them information about problems regarding sale and consumption of drugs in their areas. The police can also keep the citizens informed about any emerging problems so that the latter can remain alert and take necessary steps (Morison, 80). The Role of Community in Crime Prevention The traditional strategies of police activities have not been successful in achieving the desired goals of safety and well-being of the society. There is an urgent need of implementing innovative policies to curb crime and disorder in many communities. But as argued at the beginning of the essay, police cannot be successful without the active support of the community. There should be a proper feedback mechanism between the community and the police. Now there comes a bit of ambiguity when someone is asked to communicate with the community, because a community is neither a person nor an organization. So here comes the role of community organizations. It has been found through research that communities, where the number of organizations is less or the organizations are weak, are more crime intensive. Researchers from this school of thoughts conclude that community policing best be done by strengthening families, schools, churches and “improving community cohesion” by imparting the fundamental values. These small institutions are the building block for a safety net for the whole community. The stronger is the safety net; there will be less opportunity for crime. These institutions will be the “community eyes and ears” and they will co-ordinate with the local police. In reality, what actually happened is that these small building blocks themselves became the house of crimes and most of the drug dealers use them as channels (Roehl 243-244). In such a situation, police can’t do much to reduce crime rates. So the first initiative should come from such organizations and this demands a strong leadership from the institution managers. Conclusion Although community oriented policing is increasingly becoming an effective method for dealing with crime and drug problems still it is necessary to inform the public that successful results can come from long-term commitment and will require proper planning, time and patience (Community Policing Consortium, 53). With proper awareness and cooperation from the public the police can get the initiative to enforce law and police actions to deter crime and disorder. References Community Policing Consortium. “Understanding community policing: A framework for action”. NCJRS. August, 1994, April 1, 2012 from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/commp.pdf Mirsky, Ian. “Community Oriented Policing”, Internet Journal of Criminology, (2009) 2-3, April 1, 2012 from: http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Mirsky_Community_Oriented_Policing.pdf Morison, Kevin P. Blueprint For The Future: Final Report Of Trends And Issues For The 1990s, Illinois: DIANE Publishing, August 1, 1993 Worts, Philip. “Community Policing What is it?” Crossroad. 2000, April 1, 2012 from: http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/Community-Policing.htm Roehl, Jan, Civil Remedies for Controlling Crime: The Role of Community Organizations, Crime Prevention Studies, 9 (1998), pp. 241-259 from: http://www.popcenter.org/library/crimeprevention/volume_09/CivilRemediesCommunity.pdf Read More