NCJ Number
122427
Date Published
1989
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A former police officer describes the role of the police during his career and notes that some of the police tactics being promulgated today were also being used in the early history of policing, including when he entered the police service in 1938 as a patrol officer in Detroit after graduating from Michigan State University.
Abstract
The police in his agency in 1938 patrolled by walking one or more beats, usually in business districts but often in residential areas as well. The police role was similar to what is now called community policing, although it was not recognized as such and was not related to any departmental policy. The close relationship that the police officers developed with youth and families in the community demonstrated the importance of gaining the respect, trust, and confidence of community residents to help improve the quality of their lives. To achieve this kind of relationship, it is important to decentralize police agencies to promote the goals of community policing, require careful reporting by officers who patrol the streets, raise the standards for police recruits, and modify the reward system to recognize innovative and creative policing. Additional recommendations, narratives of specific incidents, and a list of publications from the National Center for Community Policing.