POLICING IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Introduction The year was 1829, and Sir Robert Peel had just introduced his London Metropolitan Police Act (Goff, 2014). This revolutionized public safety as professional law enforcement was born. As stated in Goff, Peel proposed this new grouping of officers were to prevent crime by attending areas of the public. Eventually, the police realized the older means of policing were outdated and did not deter crime as they once thought. Nowadays, police have bountiful amount of policing tactics to choose from. Two of the most prominent styles include problem oriented policing and community policing. Problem oriented policing and community policing are as prevalent as they hold many strong qualities, they are …show more content…
161). The purpose of this style is to find the reason behind crime, and eliminate it at the source. This would be used as a long term fix. To find the sources of crime, police would study the patterns. There are four critical steps in this process. As Goff proclaims, the method starts with scanning; scanning means to identify the problem. Next, he says, comes analysis; analysis is collecting data surrounding the issue. Third step is to respond. This step includes brainstorming solutions and carrying out the best option. Finally, as Goff states, is assessment; this area lets an officer determine the effectiveness of their solution, and seeing if they need new strategies. Some tactics in problem oriented policing can be to remove excuses, such as parking violations due to lack of signs, or reducing provocations, like eliminating the overcrowding in bars and pubs (Center for Problem Oriented Policing, n.d.). All of these methods are used daily by Canadian …show more content…
This method entails “not to fight crime but to encourage public safety and confidence, reduce citizen’s fear of crime, and encourage citizen involvement” (Goff, 2014, p. 162). By building a solid relationship with the community, policing organizations send a more open door message to the public. Police roles change from the role of crime fighter to a customer service agent. Their goals are to problem solve and show transparency to their community. Community policing collects on the focus of social order and community maintenance. When the community perceives their neighbourhood as safe and wholesome, the crime rate decreases. As Goff (2014) includes, this model closely relates to the “broken windows model”. This is clear as the communities hold the illusion that there is less crime being committed, they are less likely to commit crime. The community welcomes their police services more readily, when they see them less as crime fighters and more of