Policing in the 21st Century: What Works and What Doesn't

• NCJ Number: 190954
• Author(s): Lorraine Mazerolle
• Date Published: June 2001
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the 4th National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia, "New Crimes or New Responses," held in Canberra, June 21-22, 2001.

Annotation

After identifying four major deficits of policing in Australia, this paper describes several policing strategies that hold some promise for policing Australian communities into the 21st century.

Abstract

Four major deficits in Australian policing are an unhealthy social distance between the police and the communities they serve; the reluctance of many police to directly and effectively deal with quality-of-life concerns as a priority issue; the ongoing emphasis on traditional, reactive policing tactics; and the lack of adequate information technologies to support proactive, preventive policing. Regarding the first deficit, the police in Australia seem unable to bridge the gap with youth, migrant, and indigenous communities in particular. Regarding the second deficit, police continue to hold the outdated attitude that quality-of-life concerns are not the types of problems to which the police should give priority. Regarding the third deficit, the police continue to ignore research that shows traditional policing, notably random, preventive patrolling and rapid response to calls, is an ineffective approach to crime control. Regarding the fourth deficit, many State police communications and computer-aided dispatch systems are out of date; similarly, police management information systems are inadequate for proactive, preventive policing. Some contemporary policing strategies that show some promise for the future are directed patrols, problem-oriented policing, third-party policing, and performance outcome reviews.