Chapter 13: Community and Problem-Oriented Policing Study Guide

Since the $1970s$ , law enforcement agencies have moved toward an increased engagement with communities. This shift was designed to foster trust and cooperation between the police and the public to ensure effective public safety.
The primary focus of this modern orientation involves a shift in policing values and a reconsideration of what constitutes police effectiveness.
Before the $1960s$ , the prevailing logic was that policing was strictly necessary for crime control, characterized by a reactive model.
Reactive policing was defined by a specific set of responses, primarily preventative patrol and rapid response to calls for service.
The eventual rise in crime rates highlighted significant issues with this reactive model, prompting a re-evaluation of police strategies.

Historically, police departments adhered to Classical Organizational Theory, which utilized a military or bureaucratic model.
A core tenet of this model is that a clearly defined chain of command is necessary for institutional function.
There are $6$ foundational principles of organizational theory applied to policing: - Principal of hierarchy: A structured rank system and levels of authority. - Division of labor: The assignment of a limited number of specific tasks to individual units or officers. - Policies and procedures: Standardized methods of operation. - Written Rules: Regulations and rules must be recorded in writing to ensure consistency. - Authority: The official power to act and make decisions. - Qualifications: Requirements for employment and advancement based on specific skills and knowledge.

Through the period of the $1960s$ , police departments were overwhelmingly comprised of white male officers.
During the $1970s$ , changes began to occur in the racial and gender composition of departments driven by Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws and affirmative action programs.
These changes were foundational for moving toward community-oriented models that required departments to more closely reflect the populations they served.

Definition: Community policing aims to build relationships between the police and the public to achieve crime control. While it was born in the $1970s$ , it reached peak popularity and implementation during the $1990s$ .
Tactics: Specific methods include foot patrols, neighborhood watch programs, and role modification for officers.
Decentralization: This involves moving decision-making power away from a central authority to individual neighborhoods or districts.
Co-production of crime prevention: This concept states that police and citizens share a mutual responsibility for the prevention of crime; it is not the sole burden of law enforcement.
Ethos of service: Community policing is a defined set of values serving as an ethical and moral foundation. It requires a culture of service to be maintained within the agency.
Core Values: - All members of the public deserve a say in how they are policed. - The public has the right to be included in identifying police objectives and the methods used to achieve them. - The ultimate power to control crime resides with the public, not the police. - Trust is the variable that increases public cooperation with the police. - The model must empower groups that historically had little to no power or control by giving individuals a voice.

National Neighborhood Foot Patrol Center: Focuses on localized, visible policing.
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): Established in $1994$ , this office provides funds for the development of community-policing and fosters its implementation.
Training Impact: Currently, over $90\%$ of recruits receive training specifically in community-policing concepts.
National Night Out: A specific community event designed to foster relationships between neighbors and law enforcement.

Broken Windows Theory: This theory posits that criminal behavior is the result of disorder and anonymity in a neighborhood. If minor signs of disorder (like broken windows) are left unaddressed, they invite more serious crime. - This theory has historically been interpreted to encourage a "zero-tolerance" approach, which has sometimes led to over-policing.
Disorder, Crime, and Economic Disadvantage: Research shows a weak direct link between disorder and crime; the best evidence suggests both stem from underlying economic disadvantage.
Collective Efficacy: Defined as the cohesion among residents combined with shared expectations for informal social control. It is the efficiency and usefulness of a community in keeping public spaces safe and working with law enforcement, which in turn supports trust.
Goal of Reducing Fear: One major objective of community policing is to lower citizens' fear of crime. High fear often leads to extreme protective measures by citizens, which can isolate them from the community.

Community policing assumes that more positive interactions will lead to citizens engaging in more lawful behavior.
Procedural Justice: This refers to the public’s perceptions of fairness in the processes used by police. It is built on four pillars: - Fairness - Transparency - Voice (allowing citizens to speak) - Impartiality
Police Legitimacy: The belief that police are allowed to exercise their authority and that their actions are justified.
Demographic Variance: Research indicates that white citizens' attitudes toward the police are generally more positive than those of minority groups.

Developed in $1979$ by Herman Goldstein, this model emphasizes the importance of citizen-police cooperation but is more focused than general community policing.
Focus: It focuses on solving particular issues that affect the quality of life of residents. It seeks to address the underlying "problems" rather than just responding to "activities" or calls.
Process: The agency must define and research a problem before responding to it.
The SARA Model: A systematic four-step process for problem-solving: - Scanning: Identification of community problems and specific hotspots. - Analysis: Determining why a problem is occurring. - Response: Identifying whether the police or other public agencies should respond to the issue. - Assessment: Examining the activities and outcomes after responding to the issue to determine effectiveness.

While POP is systematic and research-driven, it is difficult to implement. There are $9$ primary reasons why departments may fail to engage in effective problem-solving: 1. Police officers often lack the analytical skills required to analyze problems effectively. 2. Managers and supervisors do not always know how to foster an environment for problem-solving. 3. Police agencies tend to resist organizational change. 4. High workloads prevent anything beyond a superficial analysis of problems. 5. There is too little community involvement, and communities may fail to cooperate. 6. Local government agencies provide insufficient support. 7. There is a lack of knowledge regarding what works under specific circumstances. 8. The established problem-solving process is often linear, while real-world problems are nonlinear. 9. A lack of understanding of the actual problem prevents the development of a solution ("We do not know how to solve problems because we do not understand the problem").