Transcript Problem-Solving Policing

Chapter 12
Community Policing
Introduction
• This chapter deals with philosophical and strategic
issues about reducing crime and improving our
quality of life
• Community policing and problem-solving policing
have been practiced for more than a decade and have
proven to be tremendously popular with some
citizens, academics, politicians, and police chiefs
• Community and problem-solving policing emphasize
community involvement and the building of
partnerships between the police and the community
Corporate Strategies for Policing
• John F. Kennedy School of
Government
• New ways of
accomplishing the police
mission
• Strategic policing
• Community policing
• Problem-solving policing
Courtesy of AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News,Nick Tomecek
OVERVIEW
The Philosophy of Community Policing and
Problem-Solving Policing
OVERVIEW
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Abandonment of police foot patrols
Drastic demographic changes
Police no longer seen as members of the community
James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling
• Broken windows model
• PCR movement
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Community Policing
• Three kinds of violence need to be reduced
(according to Trojanowicz):
o Individual violence, civil unrest, police brutality
• Some benefits of community policing
(according to Goldstein):
o Realistic acknowledgment of police functions
o Less dependence on criminal justice system
o More effective use of personnel
• Computers and the Internet aid in efforts
Community Policing
o Promotes organizational strategies
o Departments have implemented special
units
o Community input encouraged
o More easily facilitated with technology
• Websites
• E-mail
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Problem-Solving Policing
Not just incident driven
• Involves officers thinking, not just responding
• SARA
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Scanning
Analysis
Response
Assessment
Courtesy of © Jeff Greenberg/Alamy
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Scanning
• Problem Identification
o A group of two or more incidents that are similar in
one or more respects, causing harm and therefore
being of concern to the police and the public
• Similar by various means:
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Behaviors (drug sales, robberies, thefts, etc.)
Locations (hot spots, cruising areas, housing areas)
Persons (repeat offenders)
Times (seasonal, day of week, time of day)
Events (spring break, sporting events, rock concerts)
Scanning (cont.)
• No limit on problems
o A series of burglaries from trailers at a construction
site
o Drug activity, drinking, and disorderly conduct at a
community park
o Suspected drug activity at a private residence
o Thefts from autos at a shopping mall
• Purpose of scanning
o To determine if a problem really exists and whether
further analysis is needed
o Initiates problem-solving process
Analysis
• Determining nature and extent of problem
o Identify seriousness of problem, everyone
involved, causes, and effectiveness of current
responses
• Identifying the harms (graffiti, drug sales, etc.)
• Seeking the “small wins”
o Karl Weick
o People look at problems on too large of a
scale
o Need to break it down
Analysis (cont.)
• Problem Analysis Triangle
o Three elements needed for a crime to occur:
• Offender (someone motivated to commit harmful behavior)
• Victim (a desirable and vulnerable target)
• Location (victim and offender must be in the same place at
the same time)
o Removing one element can stop crime. Find out as
much about the victims, offenders, and locations
where problems exist in order to understand what
can be done about it.
Problem Analysis Triangle
Offender
Problem
Place
Victim
Response
• Formulating tailor-made strategies
• Review findings and develop creative solutions
• Potential solutions to problems
o Totally eliminating the problem
o Reducing the number of incidents the problem
creates
o Reducing the seriousness of the harms
o Dealing with a problem better
o Removing the problem from police consideration
Assessment
• Evaluating overall effectiveness
• Traditional Measures
o Numbers of arrests, levels of reported crime,
response times, clearance rates, citizen complaints,
and various workload indicators
• Nontraditional Measures
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Reduced instances of repeat victimization
Decreases in related crimes or incidents
Neighborhood indicators
Increased citizen satisfaction
Reduced citizen fear related to the problem
Successful Examples of
Problem-Oriented Policing
PHILOSOPHY
• Emphasizes a partnership with the
community
• California farm laborers
• Achieving Community Together (ACT)
• Homeless Outreach Team (HOT)
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Community Policing Today
RESIDENT OFFICER PROGRAMS
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Multitude of programs
Department websites
True community policing permeates the department
University communities can also be involved
Officer Next Door (OND) program
Resident Officer Programs: The Ultimate in Community
Policing?
Federal Government and Community
Policing
• Crime Bill
o Signed into law by President Clinton in 1994
o Authorized $8 billion over six years for grants to law enforcement agencies
to reduce crime
• Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS)
o Established to administer grant money provided by Crime Bill
o Allocated funds in three ways:
• Three-year grants to hire police officers to work in community policing
initiatives
• Awarded grants for improved productivity through acquiring
technology
• Awarded grants to agencies for special programs attacking specific
crime issues
The Federal Government and
Community Policing
OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED
POLICING SERVICES (COPS)
• Established to administer grant money
• Advances the practice of community policing
• Funding continues to help police-community
partnerships
• Regional Community Policing Institutes (RCPIs)
Some Accomplishments
of Community Policing
OVERVIEW
• Broken windows theory
• Newark, New Jersey
• Denver, Colorado
• New Rochelle, New York
• New York City (mid-1980s)
• Surveys indicate that the public supports
community policing
Not All Agree with Community Policing
• Some believe new philosophies are merely rhetoric
• One problem is defining community
o Usually defined by administrative areas to allocate patrols
o Not usually defined by ecological areas with common norms, shared values,
and interpersonal bonds
• Some administrators uncomfortable with dividing
community into “parcels” that compete for funds,
services, etc.
• Negative effect on certain people who are
suspicious of intentions
• Biggest recent threat to community policing: current
inability to keep departments fully staffed
Homeland Security and the Future of
Community Policing
• Community policing can help in war on
terror
• One primary goal is prevention of terrorist
acts
• Many states and larger cities have created
local fusion centers to share information
• Federal, state, and county agencies are
joining together to integrate responses
• Partnership and trust with the community
contributes to keeping our homeland safe
Homeland Security and the Future of
Community Policing
OVERVIEW
• Prevention of terrorist acts
• Fusion centers
• Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT)
• International Association of Chiefs of
Police (IACP)
• Community policing awards
Summary
• Community policing and problem-solving policing have
been practiced for more than 20 years
• The three corporate strategies for modern policing are
strategic policing, community policing, and problemsolving policing
• The resident officer program is one particular form of
community policing that many cities are using
• The nature of community policing continues to evolve as it
is used to address new issues
• The future of community policing includes the area of
terrorism and the role that community policing can play in
homeland security