There has always been a love-hate relationship between the public and the police. When called upon to help, they can be something sent from God, but when they are writing tickets, or taking a friend to jail, the view changes from a savior to a presence that is unwanted and often hated. An effort to improve the public view of law enforcement is being attempted by many departments. Using different styles of policing techniques, mainly community based policing, has proved to be the best way to improve the image of law enforcementCommunity based policing can best be defined as, a collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems (Willard Oliver). Community based policing is the idea that the role of the police is not that of catching bad guys, but more that of serving the public.
A senior police officer of the Hamburg police on a...
A police car in Washington, D.C.
Metropolitan Police carIn order for community based policing to have an effect, the presence of crime isnÃÂt needed, in fact itÃÂs often more effective without the involvement of crime, Modern police departments are frequently called upon to help citizens resolve a vast array of personal problems--many of which involve no law-breaking activity. (Tim Newburn). The role of the police officer in community based policing, is to have an active part in the community4. Would the community need to be involved in the design and implementationof community policing? If so, how?The community does need to be involved in the design and implementation of community policing, because it is a matter of safety. It should be important for the community to be involved, because it will, in some way affect them. The police and community need to work together, with cleaning up the neighborhood,