Community Oriented Policing

Community policing is the most effective method of policing and bringing the police and citizens together to work as a team, helping create a safer and more civil society. Community policing as a philosophy and a working model is very important to the communities as a whole.  It gives the police a means to be teamed up with the citizens of the communities. Together the police and citizens can address the quality of life issues that affect them all where they live and work. The citizens can voice their concerns about crimes that are occurring in their communities and inform the police as to people that they are aware of who are or may be involved in criminal activities as well as affecting the over all quality of life. The citizens and police officers can get to know one another on a personal level that traditional policing doesn't allow the time for. The citizens also have a chance to see and learn that the police officers are genuinely concerned with the criminal activity and quality of life issues in the communities that they service. The police and citizens working together can help to reduce the crime rate and bring criminals to justice as well as help them to achieve a common goal, bettering the quality of life. The police and citizens can help one another to identify the disadvantages of community policing so that the changes can be made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the police department as a whole. The citizens can also help the police to see who they are leaving out of the efforts to improve the quality of life, expressing their concerns about the children and teens in the communities who are many times over looked as being assets to the team. The police and citizens can brainstorm and network to create programs designed to help the youths of the communities to resist violence and drugs, programs that will keep many of the youths off of the streets committing or becoming victims of criminal activity. One of the overall advantages of community policing is that either some of the citizens as well as some of the police officers many times know business owners or even other sources that can help to provide private funding,helping start and continue youth based programs to help in mentoring and keeping the youths out of harm and trouble. For all of the disadvantages that there may be in community policing, the advantages and benefits of the philosophy far out weigh them. This is because as a team the police and citizens can work together to turn the disadvantages around and cover the gaps that are discovered. Police officers who work for a department that is involved in community policing have a definite advantage over officers who work for a department that is involved in traditional policing, especially if they are working in the communities where they live because they will be able to have already laid the ground work with their neighbors. They will already be known by their neighbors who most likely know many more citizens in the communities. The citizens that they know will be able to be made aware that the officers are concerned about the quality of life in the communities and are also living where they patrol. The citizens in these communities will also have the advantage of knowing the officers and knowing that they can feel free to express their concerns as well as report criminal activity. Knowing that the issues will be addressed even if no action can be legally taken.

 Community policing is a philosophy and practice with great promise, it is not perfect by any means but has the potential to be nearly perfect because of the team that is put together to create that safer and more civil society that everyone dreams about and knows can be a reality if we just work together to create it. If for no other reason then to give our children and their children's children a better and safer environment to grow up and live, play, work and learn in in the future.