The Key Elements Of Oriented Community Policing
By Dr. Gary Cordner, Eastern Kentucky University
Philosophical Dimension
- Citizen Input - Police agencies need extensive input from citizens on problems, priorities, policies, etc.
- Broad Function - Policing is a broad function-it is much more than just law enforcement
- Personal Service - Policing works best when officers know citizens and deliver personalized service-the opposite of stranger policing
Strategic Dimension
- Re-Oriented Operations - Police need to look beyond the traditional strategies of motorized patrol, rapid response, and detective investigations
- Prevention Emphasis - Whenever possible, police should emphasize preventing crime and other problems before they happen-rather than simply reacting after the fact
- Geographic Focus - Policing should be organized and deployed to maximize the extent of identification between specific officers and specific neighborhoods
Tactical Dimension
- Positive Interaction - Police should take every opportunity to engage in positive interaction with all segments of the community-especially since the nature of police work guarantees that some degree of negative interaction is inevitable
- Partnerships - Police should engage the community in a partnership to deal with crime and related problems. This includes collaborating with other public and private agencies in tackling problems
- Problem Solving - Police and citizens should take every opportunity to address the conditions that cause incidents and crimes-instead of merely handling one call after another as if they are unrelated
Organizational Dimension
- Structure - Police agencies should re-examine their structures to assure that they support and facilitate community policing
- Management - Police agencies should re-examine the way people are supervised and managed to assure consistency with community policing
- Information - Police agencies should re-examine their information systems to make sure they support and facilitate community policing