Seventh, the police are members of the public who discharge their official duty to secure the welfare of the public (2002). Ultimately, the police must maintain the public’s best interest at heart. The eighth states that “The police should always direct their actions toward their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary by avenging individuals or the state, or authoritatively judging guilt or punishing the guilty” (2002). The police are there to enforce laws and not exercise the right to impose punishment. Last, the “Test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it” (2002). Although society has changed greatly since 1829, the nine principles have not. These principles are what Robert Peel envisioned the police to stand for and to this day, the nine principles are considered to be the basis of police work and law enforcement.
The concept of broken windows is “That patrol had only limited deterrent effect on crime, that faster response times did not increase arrests, and that the capacity of detectives to solve crimes was limited” (Walker & Katz, 2008, p15). The “Broken Windows” theory is a metaphor used to describe what happens to a neighborhood when social disorder takes over and it is left unattended. Unattended social disorders such as drugs, public drunkenness, vandalism etc,. lead to fear of crime in addition to more serious crime and ultimately neighborhood decay (Sousa & Kelling, 2004). Wilson and Kelling acknowledged that to reduce and solve crime it was necessary to start by controlling disorderly behavior. The “Broken Windows” theory suggested that “police officers get out of their cars and get into the neighborhoods in partnership with citizens and other community organizations” (Sousa & Kelling, 2004). Police could not fight crime by themselves, they needed to integrate the use of citizens and seek a new approach.
The new approach to policing is known as community policing. It focuses on fostering relationships between the community and police officers by placing officers directly in neighborhoods as they become familiar with the people and any criminal activity. In acquiring officer visibility the goal is to discourage criminals from committing crimes in that area. Community policing empowers communities in danger of being overwhelmed by “Crime, drugs, fear of crime and neighborhood decay to improve the overall quality of life in the community” (Policing and Society, n.d.). Community policing empowers people to work with the police to effectively address crime, as well as other pressing community issues including abandoned vehicles and buildings, etc. Community policing involves a “Philosophy that aims to bring police and community closer, to decrease community fear of crime, and to increase the sense of community and community cohesion” (Policing and Society, n.d.). Community policing also makes being tough on crime smarter and creative because it alleviates the effects of crime before it even begins. It is important for citizens and police officers to continuously collaborate and work together to maintain order and improve the quality of neighborhoods.
Community policing at its fullest potential is The Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS). CAPS functions on the notion of “The whole police department and not just a specialized unit should become intimately involved with a partner in the community” (Walker & Katz, 2008, p15). CAPS is a “Proactive, problem-solving approach that addresses issues of concern to community members, as well as responds to and solves crimes” (2000). CAPS divides patrol officers into beat teams and rapid response teams. Beat teams spend the majority of their time working their neighborhood beats, whereas the response team focuses on 911 response calls. Monthly meetings are held in which it brings the police, community and other city agencies together in prioritizing, planning strategies and executively dealing with problems related to neighborhood crime (City of Chicago, n.d.). CAPS reorganized community policing around smaller communities and beat teams. It “opened up a dialogue between the police and community” (City of Chicago, n.d.) that led to “greater citizen involvement with the police, improved cooperation between the police and other government agencies, a decline in neighborhood problems, and improved public perceptions of the police department (Walker & Katz, 2008, p16).
Another important aspect of the policing field involves problem orientated policing. The Problem oriented approach was proposed by Herman Goldstein in 1979 and involves “Identifying recurring problems and developing strategies to reduce or eliminate those problems” (Walker & Katz, 2008, p14). Goldstein proposed that “Instead of thinking in terms of general categories of crime and disorders, the police should identify particular kinds of crime (drug dealing, drunk driving) and disorders (rowdy juveniles, chronic alcoholics in the neighborhood) and develop appropriate responses” (Walker & Katz, 2008, p14). Goldstein’s model of problem orientated policing first occurred in Newport News, Virginia in the mid-1980s. The program “focused on burglaries in the New Briar field apartments, one of the worst low-income housing units in the city” (Walker & Katz, 2008, p15) Police specifically focused on attacking the crime of burglary and viewed the crime as something that not only causes harm to the police but also to citizens. Addressing the problem required more than just a quick fix. Officers should tackle the root cause of crime and other related incidents, rather than continuingly addressing only the surface issue. It involves going beyond 911 response calls and actually dealing with the conditions that create the problems.
Problem oriented policing continues to serve as a major change in policing because it “shifts the focus from internal police management to effectively dealing with substantive-community-rooted-problems” (Policing and Society, n.d.). Police officers are taking more of a proactive approach and are no longer just responding after the incident has been reported. Police are now actively trying to put together strategies to solve and analyze the problem. Problem oriented policing presents an alternative approach to policing and how police can be more effective.
Policing involves more than patrolling and answering 911 calls. Policing reform has proven that policing is always changing, adapting to incorporate the most effective methods. The history of policing illustrates the extent to which aspects of policing endured and remain today. Policing involves public trust, it is important to establish and maintain trust in the police, otherwise public safety suffers. Several reforms have taken place throughout history to improve policing. Among them are modern day policing, community policing and problem orientated policing. Modern day policing began the creation of change in law enforcement. Now, community policing has proven to endure the test of time and continues to remain part of law enforcement today. All of these reforms have lead to a more effective way to enhance public safety as well as quality of life in the community.
References
Sousa, W.H, & Kelling, G.L. (2004). “Broken Windows” Criminology and Criminal Justice. Retrieved May 16, 2010 from nograffiti.com/docs/SousaKellingfin1.doc
Walker, S,. & Katz, C.M. (2008). The Police in America. An Introduction (6th Ed.) New York,
NY; McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
(2008). Justice Department Evaluates Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy. PR Newswire,
Academic One File
(2002). A history of the nine principles of policing. Retrieved from www.magnacartaplus.org
City of Chicago. (). What is CAPS?. Retrieved from http://www.cityofchicago.org
n.d). Policing and Society. Retrieved from XRefer XML database.
