Community Policing

Paper Summary:

This article examines the practice of community policing, that involves putting an officer or officers into a neighborhood or designated area of the city on a permanent assignment, instead of just sending an officer whereever he may need to go according to a specific call. The writer maintains that community policing has become more popular in recent years as police forces around the country strive to make communities safer, and their officers more trusted and understood. The writer discusses the advantages and disadvantages of community policing. Further, the writer examines the effectiveness of such policing methods within minority communities of the city of Los Angeles.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Strengths of Community Policing
Weaknesses of Community Policing
Community Policing and Minority Relations
The City of Los Angeles
Is Community Policing Meeting Its Objectives?
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Community policing has become more popular in recent years as police forces around the country strive to make communities safer, and their officers more trusted and understood. They are looking for ways to get their officers out there into the community and get the citizens used to seeing police officers patrolling the streets in the hopes that not only will crime go down, but citizen comfort around police officers will go up, making citizens much more likely to report a criminal that they are aware of. If they feel safe and protected by the police, they will likely turn to them in times of need instead of just assuming that the neighborhood criminal is not their problem as long as he or she leaves them and their family and belongings alone in favor of someone else's. Some people are not comfortable talking to a policeman that they have never seen before, but they are all right in dealing with the policeman who is always on patrol during a certain time each day in their neighborhood."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Banta, Bob. (1998, October 31). Promote minorities, ex-police chief says. The Austin American-Statesman. Metro/State.
• Bittner, Egon. 1972. The Functions of the Police in Modern Society. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: National Institute of Mental Health.
• Clearwater Police. (2001, October 29). Community Policing History. Retrieved December 3, 2002, from http://www.clearwaterpolice.org/cp/cp_history.html
• Greene, J., & Mastrofski, S. (1988). Community policing: Rhetoric or reality. New York: Praeger.
• Gittel, R, & Vidal, A. (1998). Community organizing: Building social capital as a development strategy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

More papers on Community Policing :

• Analytical Essay # 138300 : "Community Policing: An Assessment of Two Articles"
• Article Review # 140638 : "An Article on Community Policing"
• Essay # 86946 : "Community Policing"
• Analytical Essay # 123986 : "Community Policing: A Radical Approach"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: