NCJ Number
129969
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 58 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1991) Pages: 17,20-23
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Community oriented policing is a concept based on employee participation in organizational decision making. The three major steps toward a community policing approach are vision, leadership, and problem solving.
Abstract
The organizational vision is developed through an assessment of employee needs and the needs of the citizens, formulation of agreed-on goals and mission statements, and identification of organizational goals. Leadership among police forces is attained by improving the quality of work life for those inside the organizations and then by improving the quality of service provided to the public. Quality leadership is typified by a belief in teamwork, a commitment to the problem-solving process, attention to employee input and needs, and a customer orientation. The problem-oriented approach favored in community policing embodies a concern for substantive community problems and searches for alternative responses that employ many community resources. The Madison (Wisconsin) police department used these concepts to develop the Experimental Police District; increased job satisfaction among officers and increased public satisfaction are the two major results of this program.