Community policing is an approach to public safety built around cooperation between police and the people they serve. This lesson introduces its central ideas and traces how the approach developed over time.
Community policing is a philosophy and organizational strategy in which law enforcement works with community groups and citizens to produce safety and security. Rather than treating the public only as recipients of police services, this approach seeks to involve residents as partners.
All flashcards
What is community policing?
A philosophy and organizational strategy in which law enforcement cooperates with community groups and citizens to produce safety and security.
What does community policing aim to change about public perceptions?
It seeks to improve perceptions of police intentions and capacity so residents may be more willing to cooperate. It also aims to influence officers’ attitudes and increase accountability.
Which Peelian principles are especially relevant?
The principles of seeking cooperation from the public and prioritizing crime prevention are commonly linked to community-policing values.
What were Peak’s three generations?
Innovation (1979–1986), diffusion (1987–1994), and institutionalization (1995 to the present day).
What was the significance of the 1994 COPS legislation?
It established the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in the U.S. Department of Justice and provided funding to promote community policing.
Quiz questions
What is the central idea of community policing?Answer: Police and residents share responsibility for addressing safety concerns.
What is beat profiling?Answer: Learning about a beat’s residents, crime patterns, and safety concerns.
How does Electronic Community-Oriented Policing apply community-policing ideas?Answer: It uses online communication to engage the public beyond a geographic beat.
What did a randomized trial of brief, positive door-to-door police visits find?Answer: The visits improved residents’ attitudes toward police, including perceived legitimacy.
What concern follows from the ambiguity of the word “community” in community policing?Answer: It may be unclear whose views count or who is represented.
Based on the Wikipedia article Community policing, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.