What’s Not Community Policing
Tim Dees
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
Yesterday, I was editing an article by Bill Harvey, our leadership contributor. Bill was apparently inspired by the misfortune of another police chief who got the sack for not being sufficiently committed to the idea of community policing. That article won’t go live until Monday, but if you can’t wait, you can see it here.
As Bill said in his article, the bloom has faded from community policing’s rose. Between the mid-80s and 2001, you could get funding for a wood-burning stove if you could somehow glue a community policing label onto it. Anybody who wanted to be anybody in this line of work embraced the community policing philosophy, at least so far as their public persona was concerned. In 1995, I was teaching criminal justice in West Virginia with another masters-level instructor named Will Oliver. Will went on to earn his Ph.D., write several books, and secure a place on the faculty of Sam Houston State University, one of the finest criminal justice schools in the country. Community policing was his passion, but not because he was trying to get funding for something. He truly believed in it, and I expect he still does. We had a conversation where I asked him how much longer the community policing bandwagon would continue to lead the parade. Without hesitation, Will told me that it had maybe another five years, after which everyone would be more concerned with terrorism. Maybe Will was prescient, or maybe he’s just the smart guy I’ve always thought he was. In any event, he was right on the money.
As it was practiced, community policing was never going to have legs. Most law enforcement agencies made a big deal of their community policing programs, but in fact they continued doing things more or less the way they always had. The problem was that true community policing shifted the power structure too much for most of its practitioners to be comfortable with it. In a true community policing environment, the uniformed patrol officer runs the show. He or she gets as close as they can to the neighborhood where they are assigned, and develops a trust with the people there. The street cop identifies problems, then instead of looking for a crime associated with the problem that will lead to an arrest, tries to solve that problem using a much more global approach. He or she looks for ways to involve schools, businesses, churches, social groups, and individuals, as well as bringing to bear larger community resources such as health and sanitation, streets departments, building inspectors, and others to correct the problem permanently. The officer doesn’t rule out a pure law enforcement solution, but regards using the law as only one of many options.
This requires a lot more from the street cop. They have to know all of the things that street cops already know, plus be able to coordinate other non-police resources and have the patience to see a problem through, even though the solution might take months or years to implement. He or she has to work with their supervisor and the rest of the police infrastructure to make the most of available resources. Oh, and they have to take care of the day-to-day police stuff, too.
Cops aren’t always happy with this arrangement, preferring the see-crime-make-bust-drink-coffee approach, which requires a lot less cerebral effort. Those objecting will brand community policing as “social work,” a job they were not hired to do. The supervisors and executives aren’t always happy, either. Most were brought up in a structure where the patrol officer is told what to do and does it. Giving the officer the freedom to identify problems and act on them is contrary to their way of thinking. And detectives, who are used to having the glory jobs, don’t care for a situation where the patrol cops are the center of attention, and the detectives are merely a resource that is orchestrated by patrol.
If you take out most of the acronyms, trendy labels, and buzzwords, community policing is a return to the kind of law enforcement that was commonplace 50 or 75 years ago. The street cop knew everyone on his beat. He usually didn’t have a radio, so he was self-reliant and knew not to bite off more than he could chew. He could generally rely on the good people of the neighborhood to help him out if things went south. Truancy, vandalism, and other petty crimes were unlikely to result in an arrest, especially if they were first offenses. The cop would usually know who was responsible for what, and if he didn’t, someone would tell him. He (and it was almost always “he” back then) could then round up the perpetrator(s), put the fear of God into them, and get them to repair the damage or repay the loss under a threat of jail, or worse, telling their father. This description is a tad idealistic, but it is not far from the actual conditions in most American communities between World War I and Viet Nam. There wasn’t a big deal made about it - this was the job.
There are many cops today that would happily practice the community policing philosophy if they could, but instead they spend their working lives chasing the radio, documenting their activities, and defending their actions in court. And, ironically, that practice tends to make the community resent them instead of embracing them. Rather than be someone who solves problems by evicting the tenants of the crack house or seeing that the streetlights are repaired, the cop creates problems by putting the family breadwinner in jail for drunk driving, or costs Junior his job at the mall because he can no longer drive his car to work without license plates. So long as you only drive one car at a time, why have two sets of plates?
True community policing would probably save money, and improve the quality of life in most neighborhoods. But it would take so long to see the results that few cities are willing to weather the adjustments and excursions outside the comfort zone of so many power merchants with an interest in seeing things stay the way they are. It didn’t work in the 80s and 90s because there was no real change in the way things were done. The top brass sang the community policing song at every opportunity, while the street cops answered the radio, wrote their tickets, and filed their reports. There’s the kind of courage that it takes to wade into a bar fight, and a different kind that you have to show when you take on an entrenched system that is resistant to change. The latter variety is in short supply.
Mr. Dees,
You should write a book. It would sell like hotcakes. Dispense some on that knowledge you have to the rest of us.
I couldn’t agree more. I am a retired police officer, that not only worked in the schools but also was a community officer as well. I would get to know the neighborhood and the people and find out their problems and also the problems the neighborhood faced. You would understand that giving someone a ticket for DUS meant that he or she would lose their job, or that student because he forgot to get his plates renewed and you ticketed him, lost his afterschool job. By knowing the people and their families you knew not only how to help and handle them, but you also didn’t overload the system with useless citations and tickets that only caused more problems down the line. Sadly the idea of community police is evaporating except in the coffee and neigborhood meetings with the mayors and police chiefs when it sounds good.
Tim:
+1!
I’ve been “around” since before this buzzword took over. A rent-a-cop like me does see a lot more of this than the average “regular” LEO - particularly if we’re in the same spot all the time, and it _can_ work. But when the Officers are in and out of their vehicles only long enough to take a report or make an arrest, it just doesn’t happen.
Unfortunately, other than a few streetcorners (essentially the same as a rent-a-cop “post”), most municipal LE organizations won’t spend the money even if they could.
And none of that counters the “political” side that you covered so well either….
So, we ended up with Community Policing labels slapped on everything. Kinda like “Tactical” underwear nowadays….
Surveillance cameras, as much as many of us oppose them, may actually bring back some of it. Even though the Officer is miles away, he’s likely to develope a rapport with the situtation at the other end of the lens that a “radio car” is never going to get.
(Worse than wading into a bar fight is trying to make a seven-digit call to the PD for backup on a rotary dial mobile phone while one of the participants wives is beating you about the head and shoulders to hurry up….)
Regards,
Stu.
Tim,
Finally an honest article about community policing..No one wants to admit it has been a colossal failure,not because its not good, but because it was never implemented
Bullseye! Too True!!! I am one of those that strongly believed (and still do) in COPPS and was actively involved in what our dept called a “Community Car” concept. Though it existed for 15 yrs and was effective, it was negotiated away to save money and other beat officers cried fowl because these officers were given preference and resources not available to them.
Thank you very much for this sound observation concerning community policing. We are currently realizing the major shortcomings within our society as a result of inadequate management of community policing. I have worked at both the Federal and County level of Law Enforcement in confinement and see first hand who we are incarcerating and major changes would improve our Justice System. We absolutely cannot build our way out of what I have come to call the “incarceration syndrome.” I worked back in Louisiana with a District Judge years ago to help impliment an alternative incarceration program for female juveniles too reduce to
flow of incarceration with this segment of society.Simply put, major improvements are needed. It is
costing us all dearly through taxes.
Tim,
I believe you “nailed it”. Community Policing has always been more effective than the detached administratively heavy hierarchy in general use today. Community Policing uses social control, which is more powerful than our current justice system, to keep delinquent behavior in check. In my experience, officers who developed a rapport in their beat were most effective. They practiced minimum enforcement because THE LAW was only one tool in the toolbox.
I agree with Deputy Pacifico: You ought to write a book.
Lindsey
I read the article by Bill Harvey, just minutes prior to reading Tim Dees article and I must say that Mr. Dees wins by a landslide. I am what is known as a CRO, Community Resource Officer. My full time job as a certified police officer for my department is one of a social worker, police officer, counselor, crisis intervention team member, confidant, youth outreach member, community coordinator, liasion, crime watch organizer, and public speaker. Community Policing is not dead, it is alive and very well in the hands of those willing to take on the high level of responsibility it takes to master. I take pride in my job, and the positive changes it makes in our community. I certainly don’t do it for the money, as I don’t get paid a lot in the monetary sense…but rejoice in the huge pay off I get in thanks from not only community members but my city manager as well! Yes, I do implement ‘programs’ for my police department, but I truly do not think the programs ever end - they simply morph into the ever changing needs of the community that surround me. Yes, times have changed - but the ever growing needs of our residents do not change. They remain a constant, and it is our duty not only as members of our communities, but as public officials that have sworn to uphold and serve as a profession. Those individuals that believe that community policing was a failure, are the types of individuals destined to a lifetime of never finding true happiness. Remember these words…TRUE happiness is the fidelity to a worthy cause. My worthy cause is community policing.
Finally! A meaningful piece of writing on “community policing.” I hate it when this buzzword is dropped and no one really knows what it means. Around here, it’s usually interpreted as “learn people’s names” and “don’t write them tickets.”
Community policing is like officer safety. It’s an inherent part of the job, not some “program.” The buzzword mentality needs to stripped from this phrase.
You certainly know what you’re talking about. The community policing initiative has been a great disappointment. Not because of flawed philosophy, but because of lack of buy in from the top on down. After working as an SRO for 5 years I can tell you that to make a difference in society we have to start with the neighborhood approach. With my department, officers soemtimes live two counties away from where they work. We ride around all day in air conditioned police cars and have little postive contact with the people we took an oath to serve. I’ve lived in “MY” city the 12 years I’ve been a police officer. I’ve had to pick up litter out of my yard a couple of times - so what! Nieghbors have questions and want my answers, shouldn’t we all help our neighbors regardless of wether we are cops or not? Corrupt cops are always in the news and articles about them are listed on line on this site and others. Psychological separation makes it easier for these cops to violate laws and trusts. Is it harder to steal from a stranger or a friend? It is so easy to give in to the “us vs. them” mentality that permeates the police culture. Just like the children in school, young officers should be taught involvement and just not the ABC’s of police work. Tradition and fear of change are the toughest obstacles we face. Our generation of cops may never see a change but maybe the next generation can see it through if we point them in the right direction. God bless!
Kudos for a great article and many valid insights into the widespread untimely demise of community policing. One aspect of your article that deserves emphasis is the need for a higher quality of patrol officer to comprehend and follow through with the more complex tasks of community policing vs. traditional “incident driven” patrol. For many of us in small-town and rural areas, these personnel will rarley be available unless agency pay scales improve sufficiently to attract and retain these individuals in law enforcement. For many of those we want to recruit, the demanding work, slow promotions and low salaries put us far down on their list of desirable employers. Thanks again for the article!
Poor community policing.
“Oh its not a fad,” the people touting it said 10 years ago.
“Its the way we used to do things.” They said.
“We’ve lost touch with the public. We just want to arrest people. We just answer call after call. We’re so reactive.” The hand wringers whine.
“It only fails because people don’t do it right.” is the excuse.
Fact #1: Sorry folks. It was a trend. It was indeed a fad. Stuff like this comes and goes. Increasingly departments seem to be going back to the core service they provide, law enforcement. Although we might help out, wish you luck and refer you to experts in the fields; we are the police. We will not raise your kids. We will not clean your streets. We will not find you a job. Look into yourselves and do these things.
Fact #2 Sure, an officer used to walk the beat. And the cops knew a lot about the areas they patroled. And they did not arrest everyone. And Johnny might be sent home for a minor incident with a warning.
BUT response times for emergencies were huge. Parents had better control. And there was extra-legal street adjustments that involved beating the crap out of the offender. And the culture was such that a ‘tut-tut’ from the police was not viewed as weakness.
GOOD cops will know thier areas and players, and it shows. To condemn the profession as out of touch is ridiculous. If they live next door or two counties away.
Welcome to the 21st century, like it or not. We can’t go back. Your Hollywood view of the ‘good old days’ is gone, lost in litigations and lawsuits, if it ever really was.
Fact #3: We love our country and our good citizens. So much so that the best among us are willing to lay down our lives, loose sleep and forego normal family life. We care about good community relations as a nessesary tool to protecting the public. We do NOT like to go to repeat calls, but only can use the tools we are given. Treating the public with dignity and respect, and the dividends it reaps is one of those tools. But it is not the only tool.
Fact #4: Community policing fails because its not implimented right, or the brass won’t give up power, or cops hate change, or cops are too macho.
Saying you are redefing law enforcement, or the role of the police will be doomed by the very people who you serve. They WANT us to be the police. If they want someone to discuss Johnny’s bad childhood, they can call social services.
If only they had done it right…I heard the same thing about the USSR.
But back to policing:
Well, gosh, didn’t anyone do it right? it seems that many agencies continue to mumble in best ’stepford wives’ fashion that they are committed to community policing; but they are drifting back an emphasis on law enforcement. Why? Its what we do. We are the police.
I have one thing to say to these people:
Welcome Home.
Organic, decentralized, generalist, partners with the community,proactive,etc. The reformers can call it what ever they want. But let me tell you what it is. For the most part it’s a thankless job. People don’t want to know who we are and they don’t want us sticking our badges in their business. All they want is your badge number.