Community Policing

Policing Policies- Community Policing

CJA/580 Public Policy Issues

November 21, 2011

Professor Joseph Gutheinz, Jr., J.D.

Policing Policies- Community Policing

This country has a system that operates and helps maintain rights and protection of the citizens. This same system also punishes those who violate the laws and policies set forth by the government. This system is the criminal justice system. As a previous subject in this course, there are three main branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial, play a major role in the criminal justice policy process. The executives are the advocates of policies and budgets to implement these policies; legislatures create the policies and laws; and judicial officials are those who handle those in violation of these policies. Within the criminal justice system is law enforcement (e.g., police officers), court systems (e.g., judicial officials), and correction (e.g., jails and prisons). Each sector plays a major role in the enforcement of the law, protection of rights, and to ensure that justice is for everyone. The main focus of this paper is police officers. Police officers carry many roles and responsibilities. “Police agencies are those government agencies that have some responsibility for enforcing the law and providing protection to our local communities” (Marion & Oliver, 2012, p. 304). In this paper the subject to discuss is community policing.

What is Community Policing?

Community policing can be defined as the action taken by law enforcement officers to mend relationships between the community and the police by providing specific services throughout the communities. Some roles that police officers take on in community policing is “encompassing high-visibility policing with problem-solving, peacemaking, and interagency work and active involvement of community members” (Bartkowiak-Theron & Crehan, 2011, p. 17). Marion and Oliver (2012) identified three categories that...