Essay Example on Mutual Trust: Key to Effective Policing & Public Safet

Introduction

Mutual trust and a good relationship between the community and police agencies lay the foundation of effective policing and public safety (Kappeler et al., 2011). The police need to trust the information provided to be able to come up with measures to mitigate crimes. Similarly, the public willingness to share the data depends on the beliefs and perceptions they possess. Unfortunately, some ideologies and cultural perspectives act as a hindrance to a productive relationship between the community and the police. However, involving the community in policing helps them to identify and understand the difficulties and complexities of police work, which creates respect.

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Benefits of a Good Relationship between the Community and the Police

One of the benefits that result from a collaborative community and police relationship is the maintenance of harmony and good co-operation between the community and the police. Establishment of trust between the two groups lays the foundation for peaceful interactions, which allows the police to explain and associate themselves with the community initiatives (Palmiotto, 2011). The co-operation the police receive from the community helps them in performing their duties effectively as defenders of public safety. In my opinion, this is the most important benefit as it lays the foundation for the many other benefits that result from this relationship.

Another benefit is a reduction in crime. The police officers have many responsibilities, among them is to protect the lives and property of the citizens, catch lawbreakers, and ensure there are orderliness and peace. A proactive approach to policing with the involvement of the community ensures most crimes get prevented before they happen (Palmiotto, 2011). Members of the public are also confident when reporting lawbreakers because of the trust between them and the police.

Thirdly, the availability of communication lines between the community and the police ensures that problems get identified and resolved amicably. Active listening and the application of the transactional model of communication boost the relationship between the two groups, which reduces conflicts. It also ensures appropriate remedies are applied to decrease the problems, and the police are accountable to the citizens they are supposed to serve.

Fourthly, a functional relationship between the police and the community prompts the government to increase their support. The police benefit in terms of salary increments, whereas the public sees an increase in funds and resources for existing and new programs. Another benefit is improved working conditions. Police work involves a lot of risk-taking since most of the time, they are at the frontline with danger. A good relationship with the community helps them to prepare both physically and mentally when fighting crime.

Harmony between the community and police also encourages more people to enroll in the police force. The respect established helps breaks down the negative beliefs about the police force resulting in more young people motivated and influenced to join the police force. Lastly, a functional relationship between the police and the public makes police work more manageable. The building of grass-root support ensures the police get information in time and are well prepared to fight the crimes.

Impacts of Corruption in Public Perception about the Police

Although the opinion of the public concerning the police is not always right, corruption in the police force worsens the already existing problem. Crime in the police force refers to the abuse of power for personal gain (Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). When incidences of corruption are reported or rumored in the police force, the perception of the public changes drastically.

People tend to generalize information provided by the media concerning the police due to the negative perception, coupled with people's beliefs about the police. When one lousy incidence occurs, it tends to get generalized among the whole police force (Kappeler et al., 2011). As a result, the gap between the police and the community continues to widen.

Corruption also does not only generate mistrust from the community but also makes the judicial system to be undermined. For instance, when a police officer falsifies information in court, it destroys the reputation of the whole police force. The prosecutors and judges may choose to ignore some testimonies provided by police officers in court because of their association with a department that is corrupt.

Another way corruption affects the community's perception of the police is by breaking the trust between the two groups. One of the tasks of the police force is fighting corruption. Failure to acting with integrity leaves the public insecure and vulnerable. It also facilitates an increase in criminal activities by opening doors to the abuse of human rights, oppression, and an environment for organized crimes to flourish ((Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). However, some measures can help in reducing corruption, for example, frequent rotation of police officers, promotion of officers, and monitoring of their finances.

Steps Followed In Implementing Community Policing

Community policing brings together the police and members of the community who work hand in hand to promote public safety. Traditional policing mainly involves law enforcement and responding to incidences of crime, but community policing aims at preventing crime from happening to lead to improved security in the neighborhood and improved quality of life. The steps involved in community policing implementation include the following:

Creating a Proper Climate for Change

Creating a proper climate for change requires measures being taken by administrators in the police department to market the change to all the stakeholders involved in the implementation. The police officers, police managers, police unions, community members, and opinion leaders in the community all need to be on board to realize a successful change. The training of the program participants enables them to grasp the main concepts of community policing and ensure that they are committed to its implementation. The police also need to be trained on new skills such as problem -solving skills, communication with members of the public, personnel practices, and leadership.

Diagnosing the Problem

Diagnosis of the problem is another step that is necessary for the effective implementation of community policing. The implementer must anticipate what sorts of issues are likely to be countered during the implementation of the change and put measures in advance to solve them. Some of the challenges to community policing include resistance from police unions, civil service contracts, government, and community expectations and opposition from specific community groups and neighborhoods ((Kappeler et al., 2011). It is also vital to ascertain how community policing will operate and how the product will look like in the end. The implementer should have a template of activities that will be integrated into the existing police structure to enable the implementation of change.

Determining and Operationalizing the Implementation Strategy

The implementer should first determine the strategy to be used to effect change. The changes can be implemented in phases or at once. A practical implementation strategy should be flexible and must involve line officers to identify problems and suggest solutions to the issues. They are also crucial in developing community partnerships since they are always on the forefront and continuously interacting with the community. Community policing is decentralized and less structured; hence it is essential for police officers to be adequately trained on how they can respond to problems and how their decision interacts with other departments within the police structure. They should also get trained on practical solutions to the various incidences they will encounter while on duty.

Evaluating and Modifying the Strategy

After the implementation of policy, monitoring, and evaluation follow to determine the effectiveness of the strategy and whether the approach achieved its desired outcomes. It also reveals the various challenges and problems encountered during implementation and ways to solve them. The information collected during evaluation is essential in providing continuous improvement to community policing

COMPSTAT and its Value to Community Policing Efforts

Computer or compare statistics is a program that effectively and accurately tracks criminal activities. The program involves weekly or monthly meetings by the unit commanders and the management staff to derive strategies to control crimes (Kappeler et al., 2011. Crime maps get used to identify areas of concern and to analyze incident patterns. One of the values of the program is making community policing efficient by providing information to decision-makers in real-time. As a result, proper measures can put into place to prevent the crimes or reduce the effects by responding to them promptly.

Secondly, COMPSTAT provides accountability. The weekly or monthly meetings provide a platform for the unit commanders, and the other department involves interacting and share information. The effectiveness of the tactics used to fight crimes and the overall performance gets evaluated, and new measures and initiatives for improvement discussed. It also allows the commanders to monitor and assess the skills of the officers operating in the field.

Another benefit of COMPSTAT is ensuring problems get monitored continuously, and the proper attention gets provided. For instance, knowing the movements and operations of the people involved in crimes aids the police in gathering evidence and additional information required to make arrests. The program also requires comprehensive reports to be made which are shared by the relevant participants. They include the Compstat report, which contains information on crimes and arrest, the commander's report which contains information regarding their units and their mode of operations in dealing with crime, and lastly, crime mapping report, which provides visual accounts of individual or major crimes over a while.

Conclusion

In conclusion, community policing plays a significant role in ensuring the police are successful in carrying out their duties of protecting the public. Even though some ideologies and cultural perspectives hinder useful community policing, involving the community helps them to identify and understand the difficulties and complexities of police work, which creates respect. The benefits that accrue from the relationship are vast both for the community and police. However, cases of corruption in the police force tend to change the perception of the police by the public.

References

Kappeler, V., Gaines, L., & Schaefer, B. (2011). Community policing (6th ed.). Anderson.

Palmiotto, M. (2011). Community Policing: A police-citizen partnership. Routledge.

Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. (2005). Determinants of Public Satisfaction with the Police. Police Quarterly, 8(3), 279-297. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1098611104271106.