Community Policing

938 Words4 Pages

2. Literature Reviews
2.1 Perspectives on Community Policing
This section provides a review of the relevant literature that underpins this study. As argued in the previous paragraph, the concept of community policing, its drivers and purposes can be considered as key unresolved issues in the literature. In this sense, two background questions have guided this literature review section – these being: i) what is community policing; and ii) what are the key drivers for the development and application of community policing?

As already suggested, this study starts from the argument that the meaning of community policing is rooted in particular contexts . Key elements of those contexts are the people who interpret and rationalize what community …show more content…

The lack of a clear definition of community policing, may have much to do with the different theoretical and practical levels in which it has been implemented, while some define it by purpose and functions, others define it by structure and programs, and others again as a philosophy .

As indicated, various scholars have sought to define community policing, many of them focusing particularly on what might be considered primary characteristics. The purpose in this section of the study, then, is to provide examples of how community policing has been defined and to highlight the pluralism of its components, rather than to present a definitive or comprehensive account of each of them. The following are some of the definitions posited in the literature on community policing:

1) Community Policing as a Metaphor for Personalization of Policing Service : Manning (1984 p. 206) suggested that “(c)ommunity policing can be seen as a metaphor based on yearning and the wish for personalization of service which contrasts with bureaucratic professional policing”. He considered community policing in Great Britain and USA to fit well with this general definition and later in his article he developed a fuller analysis of the …show more content…

460) has described community policing as a “style of policing in which the police are close to the public, know their concerns from regular everyday contacts, and act on them in accord with the community’s wishes”. He has argued that, although the concept of community policing displays a chameleon-like character with several forms, it can also be understood broadly as an entity and ideal type.
6) Community Policing as a Decentralized Approach to Problem-Solving through Partnership : According to Merrit and Dingwall (2010 p. 389) three defining characteristics of community policing can be identified: a) police-community partnerships, b) a problem-solving approach, and c) organizational decentralization and local accountability. In their article, they proceed from this categorization particularly to examine and contextualize the operation of community policing in rural areas, arguing that some notions of