Impact of Police Interaction in the Community
Whose responsibility is it to maintain a community? Some groups would expect the police, state, or the government to fulfill that role. Others may counter with the sentiment that a community is only as good as its members. Copsey (2015) defines community as
The populations that form a community interact through the processes of competition, predation, parasitism, and mutualism. The structure and function of communities are determined by the nature and strength of the population interactions within it, but these interactions are affected by the environment in which a community exists.
Police have an inherent role in the effective policing of a community. How this is conducted is dependent on so …show more content…
He analyzes the use of this idea by Rudolph Giuliani as mayor of New York to “crack down” on minor crimes. He goes on to show that many of the small crimes led to arrests of greater severity. It was not uncommon for a police officer to find narcotics or firearms on a person as he was being arrested for jumping the turnstile at the subway (Fulda 2010). Police create an environment of safety and care when members can see that criminals are being held accountable. The investment that police invest into the community would hopefully be emulated by members of the community. There comes a sense of ownership and pride in the community. This new found pride should promote a genuine need for the members to better the community. Police must strive to empower the local community leaders. One common option has been the use of community watch programs. The idea is to decrease crime by the vigilance of the community members. The establishment without oversight creates a monster though. Vigilance can quickly become vigilante if the program is left unchecked. The community support program must be properly trained, staffed, and funded in order to be a force multiplier in the war against crime (Peterson 1955). As police make arrests with greater frequency, one of the major concerns is a sense of oppression. The police must walk an impossible line where they balance between serving the community and not oppressing the people. The same community …show more content…
They went on to point out that many police do not live in the city in which they work. When police work in a city where they don’t live, a divide is created between the community and the officers. The proverbial “us vs. them” idea is quickly embraced, making the success of the police more difficult. Police have a few reasons to not live in their assigned city. The fear of retribution is greatly increased when you must arrest a neighbor. The officers may not be able to afford the cost of living, if they are patrolling a rich community. They may not want to raise a family in the community they patrol. Police see firsthand the atrocities committed in a community and would not want their children or family around that. The final point Allen and Parker pointed out was the possibility of officers being lenient on people they know
Whose responsibility is it to maintain a community? Some groups would expect the police, state, or the government to fulfill that role. Others may counter with the sentiment that a community is only as good as its members. Copsey (2015) defines community as
The populations that form a community interact through the processes of competition, predation, parasitism, and mutualism. The structure and function of communities are determined by the nature and strength of the population interactions within it, but these interactions are affected by the environment in which a community exists.
Police have an inherent role in the effective policing of a community. How this is conducted is dependent on so …show more content…
He analyzes the use of this idea by Rudolph Giuliani as mayor of New York to “crack down” on minor crimes. He goes on to show that many of the small crimes led to arrests of greater severity. It was not uncommon for a police officer to find narcotics or firearms on a person as he was being arrested for jumping the turnstile at the subway (Fulda 2010). Police create an environment of safety and care when members can see that criminals are being held accountable. The investment that police invest into the community would hopefully be emulated by members of the community. There comes a sense of ownership and pride in the community. This new found pride should promote a genuine need for the members to better the community. Police must strive to empower the local community leaders. One common option has been the use of community watch programs. The idea is to decrease crime by the vigilance of the community members. The establishment without oversight creates a monster though. Vigilance can quickly become vigilante if the program is left unchecked. The community support program must be properly trained, staffed, and funded in order to be a force multiplier in the war against crime (Peterson 1955). As police make arrests with greater frequency, one of the major concerns is a sense of oppression. The police must walk an impossible line where they balance between serving the community and not oppressing the people. The same community …show more content…
They went on to point out that many police do not live in the city in which they work. When police work in a city where they don’t live, a divide is created between the community and the officers. The proverbial “us vs. them” idea is quickly embraced, making the success of the police more difficult. Police have a few reasons to not live in their assigned city. The fear of retribution is greatly increased when you must arrest a neighbor. The officers may not be able to afford the cost of living, if they are patrolling a rich community. They may not want to raise a family in the community they patrol. Police see firsthand the atrocities committed in a community and would not want their children or family around that. The final point Allen and Parker pointed out was the possibility of officers being lenient on people they know