Throughout history, communities have always had a bad reputation with law enforcement. But over time, law enforcement has sought to work with the community and its citizens to create a better society for both, so they can work in harmony. They have a philosophy, programs that help support the community and prevent crime, and promote studies to seek further programs to work toward youth, substance abuse, and societal problems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The philosophy of wanting trust between a community and law enforcement has been around for many decades. Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organized strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address immediate conditions that give rise to public safety problems. Such examples are crime, social disorder and fear of crime. According to Chapter 11 of the textbook, An Introduction to Policing, police community relations must be a two-way partnership. The more educated a community is about the role of police and the challenges police face in meeting multiple demands, the more supportive and helpful citizens can be. If a citizen believes an officer is corrupt or has a bad track record, that could reflect on the entire department. The PCR (Police Community Relations) movement began in the 1950s and 1960s. It involved assigning some officials in a department to be specialists in community affairs or community relations. They attended community meetings to try to reduce tensions between department members and the public. To establish trust within a community, police follow the philosophy of organizational transformation, community partnerships, problem solving, and the use of other agencies and programs. According to the definition of community policing, organizational transformation is the alignment of organizational management, structure, personnel, and information systems to support community partnerships and proactive problem solving. Management of the agency instills the ideals of community policing to foster trust between law enforcement and the community. They make a number of critical changes in climate and culture, leadership, formal working relationships, decentralized decision making and accountability, strategic planning, and the list goes on. Climate and culture mean supporting a proactive vision that values problem solving and partnerships. Formal changes should support informal networks and ensure communication occurs within agencies to support the vision. Leadership means that community leaders serve as role models for taking risks and working primarily with police leaders. They must emphasize and ensure that others are well educated on their task. Some programs and agencies were created specifically to help build a bond between a community and the police. One agency created was COPS, also known as Community Oriented Policing Services. Established by the Department of Justice, it reads as such on their website www.cops.usdoj.gov): The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component within the United States Department of Justice dedicated to the concept that trust and mutual respect between the police and the communities they serve.
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