Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper on a successful community policing initiative.
Identify a specific community policing initiative that led to a reduction in crime. Detail the specific initiative and how the community Helped law enforcement in solving the problem. Do not use single instances of particular crimes, such as domestic violence issues; this must be a crime problem that affects the community as a whole. This also cannot be just “community policing;” there must be a specific, targeted program that leads directly to a reduction in crime. You must identify the source of your information as well as the required minimum number of peer-reviewed references.
Include at least three peer-reviewed references, none of which can be more than 10 years old that discuss criminal justice in the United States. Additional resources are highly recommended.
Community Problem Solving
Introduction
Deviant human behavior tends to be structured within a particular geographical set up characterized by socio-economic and demographic aspects. The tendency to engage in criminal activities is caused by a determined offender, availability of a target, and the lack of guardianship. Arguably, crime is not uniformly distributed as it varies between communities depending on the economic activities, the social interactions, and the demographic factors such as age. Communities that have huge socio-economic gaps between the affluent and the poor are likely to have more criminal activates taking place. Likewise, communities with more young people without employment are more likely to be characterized by crime. It is in such situations that the police are forced to redesign their policing strategies and include the members of the community in order to have a clear understanding of the root cause of criminal behavior and leads on which group is more likely to be committed what kind of crime and in what region within the community.
There are different initiatives in community policing which apply to different communities based on the particular community-related issues in a given region. Before embarking on any uniquely designed program, the policing department has to measure the level of social disorganization in the community. Understanding the degree of social disorganization contributes towards the establishment of faults within the social ties and informal controls inclusive of collective efficacy and cohesion. It is only through effective community policing that members of the community will feel responsible for their own safety and will unite to help the police in creating a conducive environment for conducting day to day socio-economic activities.
Problem-Oriented Policing
Among the notable community policing programs is the application of the problem-oriented policing model towards community policing. In many cases, policing involves the reactive crime-response model where the police take action only after a crime has occurred and community members have already suffered the aftermath of crime. The problem-oriented policing initiative is more of a proactive approach towards policing that majorly focuses on efforts made to prevent crime before it even occurs through identifying social issues that are predisposed to criminal activities such as lack of employment among the youth. The problem-oriented policing strategy encourages a high level of cooperation between the police officers, the community member, and data analysts who work together to assess the root cause of the social issues and working together towards addressing the issue. Studies have proven that the application of the POP has had a notable impact when it comes to improving public safety (Weisburd et al., 2010).
As one of the most widely used strategies within the American policing system, problem-solving policing makes use of the SARA model that stands for Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment. The application of the SARA model has proven to minimize the rate of crime in regions where it has been applied (Gill et al., 2014). For example, according to a 2010 summary, the SARA-based problem-oriented policing led to a significantly notable decline in crime rates between 1993 and 2002 (Weisburd et al., 2010). The police identify the underlying problem and describe it during the scanning stage. One of the most common problems is robbery and theft in most regions hence denying the community members the peace to run businesses that help to sustain their livelihood. The second step that the police carry is identifying the persons involved in the criminal activities, documenting the scope, determining the cause of their action, and describing the setting and social context. It is at this stage that they intensify the use of community members in identifying the suspects. The police talk to community members through social forums and home visits to derive the causes of criminal activity. For example, finding out the reasons why the identified persons may be engaging in robbery activities. It is through the interaction that the police get to understand faction such as broken family ties, poor economic status of the perpetrators, and drug abuse among others may be contributing to the robbery.
The third step in the SARA model is a response which involves discussing with the community members on the possible solutions to the problems. Instead of the police coming up with intervention measures on their own which would be in most cases to sentence the perpetrators to jail, the police consult the community members. Some of the most impactful solution such as the construction of more drug and substance abuse rehabilitation centres, creation of more jobs for the youth, and hot spots policing. Community members feel more responsible for their safety when they are given a chance to contribute to solutions that make their communities safer. The last step involves Assessment where the impact of the implement solution is evaluated. The assessment aims to identify whether crime rates reduce given the creation of more job opportunities, and hot spot policing among other identified solutions. According to a Campbell systemic review on the effectiveness of POP in reducing crime and disorder, a positive impact of the method was noted. The application of the POP method resulted in a decline in crime and disorder in 43 out of the 45 pre/post studies conducted. The crimes covered were inclusive of neighborhood disorder and homicide among a range of crimes. Crime reduction is, therefore, more of a preventive measure than a reactive measure which has to involve the participation of both the police officers and the community members.
POP and Hot Spot Policing
One important aspect that comes up is the integration of the POP method with hot spot policing which involved increasing security measures in small regions where crime is believed to be concentrated. Information from community members helps the police to identify the crime hot spot areas. One of the aspects of hot spot policing is place-based policing where security is increased in a given region that is suspected to have high rates of crime (Weisburd & Telep, 2014). In Jersey City, New Jersey, a three-step program very similar to the SARA model was implemented in the Drug Market Analysis Program Experiment. The program involved identification and analysis of problems, development of response, and maintaining control of crime. The results were a notable decline of problems at the drug hot spots. In the same region, the POP method was solely used in a region that involved violent crimes and a decline was noticed.
Conclusion
Application of problem-oriented policing to diverse group issues such as crime recidivism and violence in drug market hot-spots leads to a significant decline in the identified crime. The government need to invest more in community policing and more specifically in the problem-oriented policing as it has in multiple cases proved to lead to a notable decline in criminal activities. Community participation in their safety is hence more efficient in crime prevention, unlike the traditional policing method which is more focused on dealing with the aftermath of crime.
References
Gill, C., Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., Vitter, Z., & Bennett, T. (2014). Community-oriented policing to reduce crime, disorder and fear and increase satisfaction and legitimacy among citizens: A systematic review. Journal of experimental criminology, 10(4), 399- 428.
Weisburd, D., & Telep, C. W. (2014). Hot spots policing: What we know and what we need to know. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 30(2), 200-220.
Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., Hinkle, J. C., & Eck, J. E. (2010). Is problem‐oriented policing effective in reducing crime and disorder? Findings from a Campbell systematic review. Criminology & Public Policy, 9(1), 139-172.
