Revised Assignment

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Effect of Community Oriented Policing in Reducing Crime in Crime Hotspot Areas

Treylesia Alston

Liberty University

GRST501

Professor Perez

July 24, 2022

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Abstract

Crime researchers and practitioners have recently drawn attention to the possible importance of

concentrating efforts on crime hotspots. According to a number of studies, crime is significantly

concentrated in small areas, or “hot spots,” where it accounts for half of all criminal activities.

Researchers contend that if police officers concentrated their efforts on these hotspot locations,

many crime issues could be reduced more effectively. The appeal of concentrating scarce

resources on a select group of high-crime locations can be a success by employing pro-active

problem-solving mechanism known as community policy. Community policing law enforcers are

able to create a rapport with the community members making it easier to spot the criminals and

create awareness on crime issues. This makes the members of the community more open to

joined effort by the police and a community free of crime. If crime can be stopped in certain

high-crime areas, overall crime rates may go down.

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Introduction

Crime researchers and practitioners have noted throughout the past 30 years the potential

advantages of concentrating crime prevention efforts on crime hotspots. Numerous studies

indicate that crime is not distributed uniformly throughout urban areas. Instead, there is a sizable

concentration of crime in confined areas, or “hot spots,” which account for half of all criminal

activity. Even in the most criminalized neighborhoods, crime concentrates in a few specific

places, while other regions are comparatively crime-free (Koper, et al., 2021). This notion of

crime concentrations has been supported by more recent research, which supports the idea that

there is a “law of crime concentration” at certain locations, demonstrating not only that crime is

concentrated but also that it is concentrated at comparable levels across cities and over time.

Researchers have proposed that community policing, which focuses police officers' attention on

these chronic high-activity crime sites, can help reduce crime more effectively than other

methods. The goal of this policing method is to build ties with the local population. Full-service

police is a highly personalized attitude where an officer patrols the same area for a while and

forms a relationship with the community to understand problems and find solutions.

Effect of community-oriented policing in reducing crime in crime hotspot areas

Community policing places a strong emphasis on proactivity rather than just reactivity,

which is one of its key defining characteristics. Police officers in high-crime areas concentrate on

deterring crime by identifying its root causes. The SARA approach, which stands for scanning,

analysis, reaction, and assessment, is one of the strategies they employ (Burton & McGregor,

2018). It has been found to be effective in lowering crime and raising officer knowledge of

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concerns in the community. Police officers may respond more quickly and more effectively by

describing the issue and looking at its causes and effects. By doing this, we can also assess how

well we responded and work to avoid similar problems in the future. Technology, data exchange,

and collaboration, both inside the agency and outside all play significant roles in this.

Partnerships with local governments, state and federal law enforcement, educators, health care

providers, and other professionals have significantly boosted the resources and capability to

address crime hotspots.

In situations where the legitimacy of the state is questioned, collaboration between the

police and the community has improved public trust and police capacity to enforce the law. The

capacity of the state to provide public services is constrained by low legitimacy and a lack of

confidence. This issue is particularly relevant to policing since, in order to provide services

effectively and efficiently, especially in regions with high crime rates, officers require

information about what is going on in the community (Weisburd, et al., 2021). The location of

crime hotspots, information about suspicious individuals or activities, complaints of crimes that

have already occurred, and information about the most important issues are all provided to the

police by the public. The little resources the police have are allocated using this information to

deter crime and maintain public safety. This entire system collapses when people lose faith in the

cops.

A successful community policing method lowers neighborhood crime, lowers residents'

fear of crime, and improves the standard of living in the neighborhood. The provision of better

services to neighborhoods is a key objective of community policing; as a result, customer

satisfaction is a crucial indicator of efficiency. Essential components of the assessment process

include community members' perceptions of progress and continual feedback from all segments

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of the community. Random and routinely conducted surveys provide the agency with

information about how the public perceives police performance, the level of fear and concern,

and the extent to which residents feel like they are involved in the community policing effort.

Community collaboration is one of the cornerstones of community policing. The quantity

and nature of the community partnerships that have been developed will thus serve as an early

indicator of effectiveness. To prevent crime hotspots and lessen the fear of crime in the

neighborhood, community members must cooperate and participate. Identifying if issues have

been resolved and evaluating the managers' and patrol officers' application of the community

partnership and problem-solving elements of community policing are all parts of evaluating the

success of such initiatives. Officers facilitate community support mobilization in community

policing. Additionally, they serve as mediators in conflicts between people or groups, or they

accept responsibility for forwarding issues to the proper government or social body. A sign that

community policing strategies are effective is the efficient utilization of governmental and local

agency resources in problem solutions. As a result, while evaluating the work of officers and the

effectiveness of the program, the mobilization and wise application of community resources in

problem-solving and the delicate management of dissension become crucial criteria.

In contrast, the major objective of community policing is to help the populace create and

preserve a secure social environment. Community policing has other objectives in addition to

apprehending criminals, but it is one of its main focuses. Through collaboration and community

cooperation, community policing aims to address crime hotspots that are of concern to the

community. According to research, the best ways to address the issues affecting the community

involve interaction between the police, resources provided by the government, residents, and

local businesses (Edmunds, et al., 2021). The public's confidence in the police and other law

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enforcement authorities is increased when there is a focus on community-oriented policing. The

relationship between the police and the community is strengthened by community-oriented

policing, which also increases public trust, community collaboration, and the efficacy and

efficiency of the police and other law enforcement agencies in protecting lives, property, and

human rights. Numerous channels exist for police to interact with the public, including polls,

surveys, town hall meetings, call-in shows, and encounters with interest groups. They make use

of these contacts to learn what the neighborhood expects of its police officers and what the

neighborhood is prepared to do to address its crime issue.

Another sign of successful crime-reduction programs is raising levels of community

involvement in these initiatives. Communities are more open to collaborating with the police in a

number of ways, from repurposing vacant buildings as assets for the community to actively

involving police in neighborhood watch programs or crime hotspots. People feel more

comfortable sharing information about criminal behavior in the region because to community-

based policing. In reality, as community trust and confidence in police abilities grow, calls to

report crime may actually climb significantly as a result of the deployment of community

policing. The dedication of more community resources to initiatives to reduce crime is a clear

sign of community policing's effectiveness. The active involvement of public and private

organizations, educational institutions, and the business community, as well as their financial

support, shows the effectiveness of community partnership initiatives. Communities should start

organizing and carrying out activities with limited oversight from the police.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, community policing requires sustained effort; it is not a temporary

remedy. Building long-lasting relationships with the community and getting rid of the root

causes of crime require preparation, adaptability, patience, and time. Management must

emphasize to everyone inside and outside the organization that success is attained through a

series of gradual improvements. Management can gauge progress by their performance in

reaching intermediate targets. The solution to rising crime rates is community policing, which is

a gradual and long-term process. To keep them motivated and involved, political and community

leaders must be routinely updated on the status of community policing initiatives. The police

organization must emphasize, from the top down, that the elimination of crime hotspots through

community policing depends on ongoing cooperation between the police, the local government,

public and private agencies, and people of the community. This collaboration is essential to

reducing crime and reviving our communities.

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References

Burton, S., & McGregor, M. (2018). Enhancing SARA: a new approach in an increasingly

complex world. Crime Science, 7(1), 1-5.

Edmunds, K., Wall, L., Brown, S., Searles, A., Shakeshaft, A. P., & Doran, C. M. (2021).

Exploring community-based options for reducing youth crime. International journal of

environmental research and public health, 18(10), 5097.

Koper, C. S., Lum, C., Wu, X., & Hegarty, T. (2021). The long-term and system-level impacts of

institutionalizing hot spot policing in a small city. Policing: A Journal of Policy and

Practice, 15(2), 1110-1128.

Weisburd, D., White, C., Wire, S., & Wilson, D. B. (2021). Enhancing informal social controls

to reduce crime: Evidence from a study of crime hot spots. Prevention Science, 22(4),

509-522.