Community policing seminar

Question 1

What is Mannings (1984) 4-part concept of CP?

Answer 1

1. Ideological system of belief: communities should be unitary, where the police are accepted and legitimate and there was a cooperate crime control effort from both the public and the police
2. Pragmatic: Community programmes are involved in policing, with aims to restore closeness within the community, and is proactive in seeking out the ‘common good’ through community involvement
3. Programmatic: contrasts the current police because it does not aim to act quickly, or to be responsible for all types of crime, but seeks to help control crime
4. Organisational structures: elements of CP are exemplary and non-essential

Question 2

What are the direct benefits of community policing to the police? (3)

Answer 2

• have a better understanding for the specific community needs and conduct a better tailor-made service
• better community relationships mean more more likely to get a tip off and intelligence
• better relationships make the police more legitimate

Question 3

What are the direct benefits of community policing to the public? (2)

Answer 3

• feel secure through familiarity and visibility
• Bespoke localised response to meet their specific needs e.g. Home Office evaluation said PCSOs have a positive impact as they are more visible and accessible and diverse

Question 4

What are the 10 underlying assumptions of community policing according to Manning 1984?

Answer 4

1. People desire to see police officers in their local areas of residence and business on a regular and casual basis.
2. The more police they see, the more they will be satisfied with police practices.
3. The more police they see (to some unknown tipping point), the more secure they will feel.
4. People yearn for personal contact of a non-adversial character, with police.
5. The public is more concerned about crime than disorder.
6. There is a single public, a single public mood, and a “common good” that is known and coherently represented.
7. People are dissatisfied with current police practices.
8. Previous policing schemes have been shown to have failed.
9. Public satisfaction as measured in polls is a valid index of “public opinion”.
10. The police are responsible for defending, defining, expanding, and shaping the common good of the community by active means.

Question 5

What are the delivery mechanisms of reassurance and neighbourhood policing? and who said them?

Answer 5

Quinton and Morris 2008

1) Visibility: consistent presence of dedicated neighbourhood policing teams capable of working with the community to establish and maintain control
2) Community engagement: intelligence-led identification of community concerns, and effective action against these concerns
3) Problem-solving: joint action problem-solving between the police, community, and local partners to improve local environment and quality of life within the community

Question 6

What are the differences between zero tolerance policing and community policing? (4)

Answer 6

1. ZT can cause tension with the community due to harsh punitive policing, especially of deprived communities e.g. riots vs. CP who works in collaborate with the community working for their desires and needs
2. ZT is argued to be simply political rhetoric whereas CP is widespread and in practice, ZT is more concerned about with changing the policing organisational structure, rather than the CP at the practical implementation level
3. CP is not a ‘soft approach’ but tries to be proactive about dealing with crime than ZT approach
4. ZT retreated from street vs, CP and RP put officers back on the street ??

Question 7

How does the theoretical basis of community policing (e.g. broken windows, signal crimes) fit with the ‘delivery mechanisms’ of reassurance/neighbourhood policing?

Answer 7

Visibility - Broken windows gives impression area is cared for and maintains an appearance of control, discouraging low-level disorder, which could lead to being a signal (signal perspective)
Community engagement - intelligence leads to deals with members of the community which may prevent signal crime
Problem-solving - joint action to improve local environment fits broken windows theory

Question 8

How can CP be measured and evaluated? (4)

Answer 8

• Manning 1984: evaluated by objective tests and performance evaluations and written exams - looking at transfers, promotions, raises, that are equally available to all officers
• Public satisfaction from polls as valid index for public opinion
• Quinton and Morris (2008): Neighbourhood policing has been tested through phone surveys of residents, phoned at the beginning of programme and after 12 months - showed good public confidence and police satisfaction
• Innes (2004) Reassurance policing: social control programmes subject to evaluation: normative (desirable and socially just) and technical (when it is delivered on the ground and coherent with intentions?)