The Brixton Riots 1981, shown the failure of the police to work with communities and respond to their needs. A BBC news report states over 300 people were injured and the damage caused came to an estimated value of £7.5 million. Post 1981, the police and government began recognising the community disconnect and evidently wanted to repair the break and regain the trust and confidence of the public once more.
Alderson came up with the concept of Community Policing. This concept is the police and community working together as one and the police being in the community, for the community, as the community rather than focusing solely on law enforcement. The ‘reactive’ approach to policing has been replaced by a more ‘proactive’ approach, therefore meaning the police are identifying and controlling problems within a community before it happens rather than responding after it has occurred.
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Community Policing aspires to greater involvement of and with the community (Alderson 1979) this is outlined in one of his principles, ‘Policing by Consent’. This states that the police are not above society. They are a part of the community – not separate from it. Therefore the community accepts the role of the police, accepts that the police are the police and supports the police in their duties. He believed this was more effective than having the police forced on a community. Another principle Alderson included was the involvement of the community in tackling crime. The public are key in intelligence gathering as they are most likely to know who is committing crimes in that particular area therefore their input is essential in fighting crime. Alderson wanted from his model for the police to cater to the specific needs of each community and go about the community in a thoughtful