NCJ Number
143360
Editor(s)
D Dolling,
T Feltes
Date Published
1993
Length
205 pages
Annotation
Sixteen papers presented at the International Symposium on Community Policing, which was held at the University of Heidelberg in September 1992, discuss the concept of community policing and describe community policing in the United States and some Eastern European countries.
Abstract
Among the characteristics of community policing noted in the papers are proactive crime prevention, greater visibility for police operations, the decentralization of police operations to meet the needs of various neighborhoods and constituencies, and more cooperation between the police and community residents. Another feature of community policing is "problem-oriented" policing, whereby a pattern of crime or disorder in a community is analyzed and a strategy developed and implemented to counter it. Overall, community policing establishes strong links between police and communities and increases the capacity of police to identify, analyze, and respond to community problems in systematic ways. One paper notes the limitations of community policing in crime prevention efforts and advises that community policing does not intend to address all policing problems, such as organized crime, white-collar crime, and environmental crime. Community policing focuses primarily on street and neighborhood crime and the maintenance of public order. Other benefits of community policing identified are reduction in the fear of crime, increased citizen confidence in the police, improved police job satisfaction, and improved strategies for countering community crime problems. Community policing is examined in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Poland, and Hungary. References accompany each paper.