A Comparison of Between Community Policing and Traditional Policing

Community Policing vs. Traditional Policing

The way we police our communities is ever changing in society. As we approach the twenty-first century, communities differ in the way they police. The trend in the nineties is community policing, but the traditional approach is still there throughout the United States. The push has been for community policing, but there are still a great number of departments who like the traditional approach. Whether traditional or community policing, both have some good and bad concepts about them. Although community policing has been the new police trend, and well liked by most citizens, traditional policing is less expensive and takes minimal time to implement compared to community policing.
Community Policing is a new philosophy of policing, based on the concept that police officers and private citizens working together in creative ways can help solve community problems related to crime, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and neighborhood decay.

Order custom essay A Comparison of Between Community Policing and Traditional Policing with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

The philosophy is predicted on the belief that achieving these goals requires that police departments develop a new relationship with the law-abiding people in the community, allowing them a greater voice in setting local police priorities and involving them in efforts to improve the overall quality of life in their neighborhoods. It shifts the focus of police work from handling random calls to solving community problems.
The Community Policing philosophy is expressed in a new organizational strategy that allows police departments to put theory into practice. This requires freeing some patrol officers from the isolation of the patrol car and the constant demands of the police radio, so that these officers can maintain direct, face-to-face contact with people in the same beat area every day.

The new Community Police Officer (CPO) has a mission, which includes new ways to address community concerns using the Community Policing philosophy. The goal is to allow CPOs to own their beat areas, so that they can develop the rapport and trust that is vital in encouraging people to become involved in efforts to address the problems in their neighborhoods. The CPO not only enforces the law, but also supports and supervises community-based efforts aimed at local concerns. The CPO allows people direct input in setting day-to-day, local police priorities, in exchange for their cooperation and participation in efforts to police themselves. Community Policing provides a new way for the police to provide personalized police service that offers every law-abiding citizen an opportunity to become active in the police process.

The traditional policing approach usually requires a call for service to trigger action, and this is called a reactive approach. The dispatcher receives a call that a serious crime is in progress and sends a motor patrol officer in response. In the traditional departments, motor patrol officers spend their time between calls involving serious crime on answering relatively minor calls and on preventative patrol. Those calls can involve petty theft, helping people who are locked out of their cars or homes, issuing a traffic ticket, or responding to a call about a loud party in progress. Most motor patrol officers see those kinds of calls as nuisance calls. If they have the luxury of time between even these kinds of nuisance calls, a motor patrol officer may cruise areas known for their open dope dealing and prostitution, knowing that the activity will continue once their car is out of sight.

The traditional police approach offers only limited opportunities for officers to tap the information that law-abiding people possess. Many times, the only contact that motor patrol officers have with law-abiding people is as part of a formal effort to gather information form victims or possible witnesses shortly after a crime has been committed. In such instances, people are often under an unusual amount of stress, which makes it even more difficult for them to share what they know with someone they may have never seen before. Another difficulty lies in the face that an armed, uniformed officer who is a stranger can seem intimidating and this is an image that many traditional police officers strive to cultivate. In addition, the unbalanced power relationship, where the officer appears to have all the power and the person has none, can make people feel there own power lies in just saying no.

In contrast, a Community Police Officer has numerous opportunities for formal and informal talks with law-abiding people in the community. During routine home and business visits, neighborhood meetings, and chats on the street, people can pass vital information without arousing suspicion that they are going to the cops. When CPOs follow up after a crime had been committed, they can often elicit more and better information from the victims and witnesses because they have already established a bond of trust.

In conclusion Community Policing is a philosophy that rests on the belief that police officers need to interact with citizens. This philosophy is the new trend as we approach the 21st century. The traditional approach is still the norm in many communities today but many departments are making the switch over to a policing that is better for our communities and will benefit us in the future.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer