Community policing in the 21st century is a style of policing that evolved in the United States to help prevent crime, and help reduce the fear of crime. Community policing techniques have been used for over the past four decades in the Western societies, and the United Kingdom. The concept was formed due to a continued distancing of police and the public in an effort to improve the relationship between the public and police. As society has evolved through the late twentieth century, community policing has become an organized strategy to help and control crime by ways of police presence, and public cooperation (Douglas 82-83).
Various strategies were adopted in order to implement community policing. Departments would assess certain communities, deploy foot patrols, and identify areas of immediate risk in order to resolve issues such as crime, fear, and social disorders. Departments also adapted their policing methods based on their respective communities, allowing officers to tackle problems differently depending on situation. This was done in hopes to provide better problem solving, quicker resolution, and better community
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Building that trust, and communication with the communities is something that takes a lot of time, and effort from a police department. By use of community policing practices it becomes a police officers philosophy to become actively involved more in the community. This makes community policing a proactive approach when compared to traditional policing which is reactive. It provides the community a feeling of importance and hope, avoiding negative views such as the broken window theory (Hess and Orthmann 44-49). As police presence and trust in communities grows, there is a sense of feeling that someone does actually care. This in turn will bring more positive, proactive actions, decreased crime, and safer