NCJ Number
162901
Journal
Focus on Police Research and Development Issue: 7 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 14-15
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Community policing has developed in the United States in recognition of the limits of traditional reactive, incident-driving methods of policing and an effort to include the complementary components of community engagement and problemsolving.
Abstract
The police now better realize that their effectiveness relies on and draws from the expertise and assistance of myriad government agencies and community resources and that problemsolving requires that police officers deal with the causes of crime and disorder rather than only the symptoms. Community engagement requires that police officers share their power and the proprietary interest in solving neighborhood problems. The SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and assessment) model of problem solving helps police identify the factors that cause crime and disorder. Community policing also recognizes that few of the problems that police are asked to handle require only a law enforcement response. Community policing provides law enforcement with an opportunity to form new partnerships and has the potential for long-term solutions to persistent problems. Photograph and case examples