NCJ Number
174124
Date Published
1998
Length
467 pages
Annotation
After profiling the concept of community policing, this book details the evolution of community policing, its administration, and the ways it addresses various public-safety problems.
Abstract
Community policing, the first major reform in policing in a half-century, changes the way police think and act. This revolutionary movement broadens the police mandate beyond a narrow focus on fighting crime to include efforts that also address fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and neighborhood decay. The community policing philosophy provides an organizational strategy that challenges police officers to solve community problems in new ways. Under community policing, police must form a partnership with people in the community, allowing average citizens the opportunity to have input into the police process in exchange for their support and participation. Community policing rests on the belief that contemporary community problems require a new decentralized and personalized police approach that draws citizens into the process of policing themselves. This book also details the evolution of the Community Policing Officer, who acts as the police department's community outreach specialist. Chapters in this book focus on the changing meaning of community, how community policing addresses crime and the fear of crime, and the management of community policing. Other topics addressed are new approaches to urban policing, police methods for identifying community problems, community policing and drugs, community policing and special populations, community policing's new breed of police officer, and community policing at the "crossroads." An instructor's guide accompanies the textbook. Case studies of community policing and a subject index