History of Law HISTORY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

Law Enforcement & Report Writing Phase 1 Task 1 DB

History of Law Community Policing Community policing is a policing model; a plan which describes what to do in terms of the particular strategy to be used. Community policing is also backed by many theories from criminologists and sociologists. There is no standard model that will work for all cases and they are or should be set up and implemented on a case by case basis however there are various core proponents to most models (Foster, 2005). One area may not need certain portions of a program while the other area may need all of the services offered from the program. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the definition of community policing is defined as a philosophy which is supportive of and promotes organizational strategies aimed at addressing the causes and reducing the fear of crime and social chaos. The COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) program lends basic guidelines to the community policing model.

According to DOJ, organizational elements, tactical elements and external elements are the three unique categories in which you see the ten core elements of community policing. Law enforcement agencies are expected to put such models in place/ or improve upon their community policing strategies that would illustrate partnerships within the community, problem solving as well as organization commitment (Foster, 2005). The Need to Revive Community Policing With the soaring crime rates and unemployment rates I would say that there is a dire need to revive community policing. The barbaric murders that are taking place on a daily basis amongst the various street gangs, the home invasions and armed robberies that are occurring at alarming rates within our inner cities and slowly moving toward our suburban communities is a prime example of this reality. We also have to take a look into the fact that after so many natural disasters that have taken place across the country that have left millions of people homeless and having to move to different parts of the country and start over has also increased not only our

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population but our crime rate. Many people have lost their jobs, which in turn has caused them to lose their homes, their vehicles and their livelihood. Another premise for the increase in crime in areas where the overall crime rates may have been relatively low is due to the removal of many housing projects. Not all people from housing projects are bad people yet you do have some that have succumbed to the negative elements that develop from living in those circumstances however tearing down these human warehouses means that the residents are moved around to other areas across the city. In doing so, the individuals who were of the negative elements are not going to discontinue their way of living just because they are no longer in the projects therefore whatever criminal behavior/activities they were already involved in will now be carried over into the new area in which they have been moved to. If they were into gangs and drugs and the area in which they are moved had little to no drug/ or gang activity, will now have to deal with this element. If the new neighborhood already had drug/ gang activity and someone from a different faction moves into this area this area could become a war zone. These are just a few of the things that I have seen, not in my current neighborhood but in areas where I grew up and these are things that are currently taking place. The hardworking and law abiding residents of these communities should not have to live in fear and our children should not have to worry about dodging bullets as they go to and from school or even being shot. In many communities, children cannot go outside to play in their own yards or sit on their porches because of horrid elements that lurk within these areas. We are losing our children daily to gun violence and we have to do all that we can for as long as we need to in order to combat this problem. Just because it is not happening in your neighborhood doesnt mean that it cant or wont.

History of Law There are a few community policing efforts that would be crucial to see more of and most importantly, for these efforts to come alive, community involvement is a must. The first one

would be that of regular community meetings (i.e.; town hall meetings) where the police, business owners, mayor (or representatives), community leaders, churches and the residents gather together and discuss the needs of the community and their concerns. Here too is where the police can get the perspectives of those that live in these areas and have to deal with the unwanted elements that plague their area and based on these things they have a heads up on the things and areas to place more patrols, etc. In a forum such as this, the police can also introduce the idea of community volunteer programs; citizen patrol, peace officers, etc. The program would have qualification requirements as well as regular training sessions. Another program that I would like to see implemented would be one like that of the Community Police Liaison program out of Winston-Salem, NC. This particular program was implemented in the efforts to create communications between the community and the police on a constant basis; any time of day or not to assist in preventing crime. Having the community involved and creating a more positive image of the police whereas they were not looked at as the enemy but those that were there to help them when they were in trouble and those they could trust and depend on. The concept of the program included a unit of the police department (the Community Unit) that would handle child neglect situations in terms of the causes and conditions leading to the crime, they would handle delinquency, search for truant children as well as work inside the centers where the children would play (Boys and Girls Clubs, recreation centers, etc.) (Trojanowicz, Pollard, Colgan & Harden, 1986). I believe that a program like this would be a valuable tool in helping many of the single mothers in these areas (working and non-working mothers). Having been a single mother for the majority of my childrens upbringing, I know

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personally just how difficult it is to have to work long hours and many times multiple jobs just to ensure that youre able to provide your family with the basic necessities and try to be there for the children in terms of school, extracurricular activities, problems, etc. It can become quite overwhelming and very quickly. Many times the simplest of things can go unnoticed, like a childs truancy. Having meetings and talking to the adults of the community is one thing that is important but what is equally as important is talking to the youth in the communities. I would love to see some form of program implemented in the school system that would allow the children and the police to have a platform in which to engage communications in terms of wants and needs in their communities. The children can voice their fears in terms of the dangers they have to endure within these crime ridden neighborhoods; the forced gang initiations, drugs, the shootings, etc. It would be a class as well as a forum in which both sides are learning from each other. Nowadays, many of our youth having no respect for themselves, very well have no respect for authority figures and in this instance it would become possible for them to also gain the trust of the police as well as the police gaining theirs and both parties seeing the other from a different set of eyes. With the whole STOP SNITCHING campaign that has ravaged the American youth, it is crucial that they too develop a trusting relationship with the police and feel comfortable with helping them to help them take back their communities. Within this forum, the police can also introduce and be able to implement yet another program; the Explorer Program. This program is offered in several cities across the country. The program allows boys and girls

History of Law to study law enforcement and community service. In a program such as this, the children will also learn structure, discipline and character development. Those active in the program are also physically involved in law enforcement efforts such as fingerprinting juveniles, passing out flyers and information, local missing children searches, etc (ci.santa-ana.ca.us). Their

involvement in programs like this can be used as education credits as well as awesome activities to list on college applications and job resumes. I have seen various types of programs that I would love to see implemented and these are just a few. I would like to see male and female officers of various ethnicities in these communities and not just African-American officers only in the communities with predominantly African-American residents. We are a diverse people and if all of us come to realize and understand the different cultural backgrounds and issues from one another, that also leads to better communications. I believe that having these or similar programs like those Ive mentioned will open the lines of communication between the community and police and establish a level of trust on both ends. Once the foundation is built and we have members (adults and children) of the communities actively involved, it will show the negative elements that We are taking our streets and our children back. We will not continue to be afraid and we will make sure that youre arrested when we catch you in our neighborhoods with your criminal activities! Within six months to a year of having such programs, I would hope to also have many of the criminals who have been protected by the Stop Snitching street code to be incarcerated and

History of Law for some (non-violent criminals) they would be required to do community service in these communities; the communities they once terrorized with their criminal behaviors. I would also hope to have achieved a significant drop in our cities crime rates as well as a multitude of sponsors and grants for more programs and even jobs for our citizens. References ci.santa-ana.ca.us. Police explorer program. Retrieved from http://www.ci.santaana.ca.us/pd/explorer.asp

Foster, R. E. (2005). Police technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Trojanowicz, R. C., Pollard, B., Colgan, F., & Harden, H. (1986). Community policing programs; a twenty-year view. Retrieved from http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~people/cp/20year.html