Police and The Community

dentetitututiontommunities’. The less fortunate will be considered by way of the police maintaining their visible presence aPolice and the Community
Name of the student
Name of the Institution
Course
Student
Police and the Community
In the contemporary times, it has become a trend for police agencies to initiate community policing. Community policing is a value system that allows a complements a police department, in which the major organization goal is to work collaboratively with citizens of a society, and both private and public organizations to locate and resolve issues in the community. The police department understands the fact that it is essential to involve the community to deal effectively with issues in the society. The community shares a mutual responsibility with the police of ensuring resolution of problems (Hunt and Colander, 2008; Roleff, 2011). This paper will explore this aspect in a multifaceted way and how the police and community work corporately to maintain order in the society.
Community policing is an aspect that encourages prevention, identification of crime tendencies early enough, and intervention that is timely such that they tackle issues before they advance to unmanageable problems. The police department attempts to make aggressively citizens participants in its operations, through diverse ways. They do this majorly by way of recruiting volunteers, whether retired seniors or interns from colleges. The citizens are encouraged to make patrols and to implement prevention strategies of crime (Murphy, 2010).

The area commanders should have meetings with the members of the community to implore input and feedback from them. The internal committees that are made in the community should motivate the citizens to participate. Policy decisions literally incorporate opportunities that the citizens may give their input. The police department should have both formal and informal mechanisms to facilitate the input from citizens (Hunt and Colander, 2008).
For the effectiveness of community policing, the police have to improve some of their current policies in practice. They should have the tendency to spend substantial time and effort in initiating and fostering good personal relationships with citizens, businesses, community organizations and even schools (Roleff, 2011). Community policing demand much more than just enforcement of law. The promotional boards should be inclusive of citizens.
The police department should endeavor to educate the general public on how they can be involved as regards to police work. The various ways in which the community can be involved include: making publications, utilizing websites, or holding town hall meetings. The police department should even set up a public-access television. The department should be flexible to accept and motivate citizens to freely review its performance, as well as give their contributions (Ashbury, 2011). The community can be involved and engaged through social media. The less fortunate will be considered by way of the police maintaining their visible presence and strengthen such communities’ participation.
Community policing involves a gradual revolution from a style of policing that lays emphasis on the control of crime and “crook catching” to a style of policing that concentrates on citizen interaction and participation in solving of problems (Hunt and Colander, 2008). Community policing is a process that should be cultivated, developed and allowed to grow gradually. It should reach a point where the community and police as a whole own the system. The officers should be encouraged to have an intimate knowledge of their area.
Senior police managers should concern themselves with community affairs in a more way. They should adopt the habit of speaking out more often and freely on issues that concern the community (Ashbury, 2011). Police managers should consider important issues of the community with a personal sense. The police officers should even spearhead some of the meetings in community organizations. They can be allowed to serve in leadership positions. This trend will encourage that sense of belonging from the side of the community. The communication between the community and police will highly be boosted in this manner. The elected officials in the community should be encouraged to frequently consult with the police managers (Roleff, 2011).
The police should not restrict themselves to only high-visibility crimes, but also with minor offenses in the community that may raise tension. More precisely, if these minor offenses are neglected, it may affect the perception of the public in a more negative manner than usual. The public will tend to fear crime, and the neighborhood safety will be compromised hugely. Therefore, the police department should initiate a policy that will deal with any arising issues related to crime in a more wholesome way. The public perception should always remain positive. This will in a big way encourage the mutuality required as far as communication is concerned (Hunt and Colander, 2008).
In conclusion, it is unquestionable the positive impacts that are derived from community-based policing. The police departments in every state should consider applying conscious efforts to refine and improve the community-based approach to crime. The departments should capitalize on pushing for the involvement of citizens in their decision-making process. They should be patient will implementation of community policing since achieving excellence may delay for some time. Community policing will always continue evolving if the departments are wholeheartedly committed to it. So if there is to be a successful future as it regards to community policing, it ought to be by sustainability and innovation.

References
Ashbury, H. (2011). The gangs of New York: an informal history of underworld. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press.
Hunt, E. and Colander, D. (2008). Social science: an introduction to the study of society. 13thed. Boston: Pearson/ Allyn and Bacon.
Murphy, L. (2010). Decoding Crime: An Explanation of Criminal Behavior. Second Edition. New York: Pearson.
Roleff, T. (2011). Crime and criminals. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.