Exam 13: Community Policing at the Crossroads

Correct Answer:

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Students should list and describe five of the following values:
$\bullet$ All people deserve a say in how they are policed, regardless of who they are or what position they hold in society.People have a right to decide both the objectives of the police and the means by which they achieve them;
$\bullet$ People-and not the police-have the ultimate power to control crime, enhance their own safety, and help improve the overall quality of life in the community.Community policing must empower groups that previously had little or no power and control.Mobilization of the community is a necessary aspect of community policing;
$\bullet$ People are not only vital to policing, they are the reason for policing.People are not problems; they are the solution to problems.To do their job, the police must have access to average people.Average people are no longer the passive recipients of police service, but important partners in the policing process;
$\bullet$ People in the community become important arbiters in determining the relative success or failure of local initiatives, and they have a major role to play in supervising and assessing police performance.Police must be held accountable to the people they serve;
$\bullet$ Police officers must be educated to see themselves as community leaders and builders, not just as crime-fighters.Within realistic limits, they must move beyond responding to calls as isolated incidents, to identifying and altering the underlying dynamics that create social problems-not just their obvious symptoms;
$\bullet$ Police executives must actively demonstrate their commitment to this new philosophy by delegating power and control to line officers and members of the community.Too many police executives are blinded, because of their isolated and privileged positions, to the needs of both line officers and average members of the community; and
$\bullet$ Police executives must shift to emphasizing trust while maintaining accountability, allowing all officers within the department the freedom and autonomy to move beyond responding to calls as isolated incidents, to managing social problems.