Throughout history low-income community members have been distrustful of police and their ability to reduce crime. This tension between community members and police is fueled by police misconduct or incidents where police actions are called into question. For example, the 2009 New Year’s Day shooting of an unarmed Oscar Grant by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle sparked an up roar within the low-income communities of Oakland and increased the community’s fear and distrust of police because they saw the incident as unjustified (Tucker, Zito, & Knight, 2009). According to Rahtz author of Citizen Police Academy (2005), when police take extreme or questionable actions the public becomes very skeptical and quickly conclude that the incident was the result of police brutality and incompetence because they do not have a concrete understanding of the incident or the requirements of police work (p. 48).
To better connect with the community and build relationships with community members many police departments practice community policing. According to Friend and Martinez (2010), community policing is a style of policing which focuses on crime prevention, building community relationships, and creating trust between the police and community members. This is accomplished by assigning police officers to specific communities where they are required to work closely with the community members in an effort to determine what problems are facing the neighborhood (Friend & Martinez, 2010). Then these officers must develop a plan to solve these problems (Friend & Martinez, 2010). Community policing has been proven to be very effective at reducing crime and improving the relationships between police and low-income community members. This is why according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 65 percent of police departments with more than 100 officers reported having officers assigned to community policing (as cited in Harris, 2009). However, as the current economic crisis grows and government budgets continue to be reduced many law enforcement agencies are forced to stop practicing community policing.
Law enforcement agencies throughout the country currently have to make tough decisions on what services can be stopped and how many police officers can be laid-off in an effort to keep spending within their lean budgets. A study conducted by the United States Department of Justice found that budget cuts have resulted in fewer officers patrolling the streets which prevent officers from practicing community policing because much of their time is spent handling calls for service (Diamond, 2009). The reduced number of police officers has married officers to the radio. This prevents officers from developing any sort of relationship with community members because they must process the call as fast as possible since there is a constant backlog of calls (Diamond, 2009). A Lieutenant in the Contra Costa County Sheriff Department stated in a personal interview, that budget cuts have virtually eliminated the opportunity for community policing because street patrols have been reduced to only three two man cars for the entire county during slow nights. The department has been forced to lay-off or reassign officers who once filled resident deputy positions. These positions were established to provide low-income communities with a deputy who works closely with the community and has intimate knowledge of the problems facing the community. This allowed community members to build relationships with the officers and feel more comfortable reporting incidents which resulted in a reduced crime rate (personal interview, 2010).
The elimination of these community policing officers or resident deputies is not as cost effective as it may appear. This is because patrol officers only deal with calls for service and do not attempt to solve the root cause of the crimes. Officers assigned to community policing are required to be problem solvers and search out the root cause of the problem while developing a plan to remedy the problem (Harris, 2009). This results in reduced calls for service, crime, and an overall reduction in cost associated with prosecutions (Harris, 2009). In addition, these officers transform the image of the department in the minds of community members through their close interaction which builds trust and establishes a sense of safety among the involved community members (Friend & Martinez, 2010). According to Carroll the Chief of Police for the West Goshen Township Police Department in Pennsylvania (2010), the consequences of eliminating community police officers is an overall increase in crime and less secure communities. Community members do not feel as comfortable reporting a crime when they know street patrol officers will handle the case in the most time effective manner (Carroll, 2010).
Due to the value, importance, and success of community policing practices local governments and the federal government have made a collective effort to fund the programs. Some local police departments have developed creative ways to fund community policing for example in Pomona, California, the city council allowed the police department to use over $111,000 in funds from its overtime account to pay the salaries of two community policing officers (Harris, 2010). On the federal level the passage of the Recovery Act provided over $1 billion to the United States Department of Justice which must use the money to fund community policing programs on the local law enforcement level (Friend & Martinez, 2010). The Recovery Act funds are intended to be used to hire new officers and prevent lay-offs due to budget cuts (Friend & Martinez, 2010). Overall, community policing is a very effective tool for police departments because it helps to improve community relations which leads to more confidence in the police and reduction of crime within low-income communities.
References
Carroll, M. (2010). Police Chiefs Lead in Challenging Times. The Police Chief, 77(1), 6. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from ProQuest Database. (1967874611).
Diamond, D. (2009). Community Policing: Looking to Tomorrow. U.S. Department of Justice: Department of Community Oriented Policing Services. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
Friend, Z. & Martinez, R. (2010). Preserving Community-Oriented Policing in a Recession. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 79(11), 10. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from ProQuest Database. (2187090401).
Harris, P. (2009). What’s a Crime Prevention Officer Worth?. Sheriff 61(6), 18. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from ProQuest Database. (1871741921).
Rahtz, H. (2005). Citizens Police Academy. Law and Order, 53(4), 47-51. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from ProQuest (835664071).
Tucker, J., Zito, K., & Knight, H. (2009, January 2). Deadly BART Brawl. SF Gate. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/01/BAB9152I2Q.DTL
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