Fight Against Crimes And The Effect On Community Criminology Essay

To aid in the fight against crimes, community policing is a philosophy that has re-defined the police roles ,from that of serve and protect by responding to incidents and addressing criminal problems so they would be viewed as member of society who can help those in trouble and as well as persons who can be trusted. Today’s police force has been focus on crime prevention through the diligent implementation of a strong neighborhood watch program. Community policing programs policies have remained active in almost all police departments in the united states. Although we might come to know such methods of policing by several different names such as neighborhood watch, block watch etc. We have acknowledged those communities who have successfully reduced and prevented crime to re-occur in their neighborhoods.

These communities have successfully demonstrated that police departments can be more successful at crime analysis and problem analysis (S.A.R.A), fighting Methamphetamine usage, addressing property theft “problem properties” through collaborations with local institutions and neighborhoods by allocating police resources to aid communities in reducing crime and criminal disorder. These are successful community policing policies that implemented the problem solving processes to address the public safety issues in their communities.

Successful Strategies to Combat Methamphetamine (Phoenix, Arizona)

Public safety concerns such the production, distribution, and use of methamphetamine lead to drug use ,larceny, prostitution and theft have become chronic problems for the Arizona police agencies .To combat the ever increasing production ,use of meth(methamphetamine) in 1998, the COPS Office began funding state and local law enforcement agencies though the valley(cops). The initial grant went to Phoenix, AZ along with grants awarded to five other cities ;( Dallas, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Salt Lake City, Utah; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Little Rock, Arkansas) . The COPS grant aided the phoenix to enforcement in creating advanced technological problem solving strategies such as aggressive advertising campaigns targeted to all students in the state.

These campaigns included the use of television ads, radio campaigns, YOU TUBE, face book, my space, twitter and other popular social web media’s. The COPS grant allowed the phoenix police department to invest in community events and increased the participations of students, teachers, parents and local businesses. “The City of Phoenix is committed to working with schools, law enforcement, neighborhoods and other local governments on the crystal meth issue, with the goal of making our community even safer” (phoenix.gov). The grant allowed for the creation of a Crystal Meth Task Force. By targeting a specific problem such as the production, distribution, and use of methamphetamine (meth). The city of phoenix was able to pass legislation that allowed neighborhoods to take their communities back from drugs. By educating the community to identify and attacking the causes and conditions that lead to meth use and delinquency, finding truant kids, and work in the shop and recreational facilities the kids use. Resulting in widely accepted zero tolerance for meth consumption. Local and state partnerships were a key component in the successful funding of the meth campaigns. Also the Creation of policies addressing tough prosecution policies, increase public awareness though training and community involvement and an increased police involvement in the communities. The Phoenix department serves as successful community policing program that developed solutions to better deal with the local meth problems

Developing Police collaboration in the Native American Community (Scottsdale, Arizona)

The city of Scottsdale, though the collaborations with the Scottsdale Police Department and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Police Department , established a goal to provide the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with Indian officers within their social ranks and aided in changing the restrictive social system of the Native American community. To successfully accomplish this goal the Scottsdale Police Department along with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Tribal Council selected young native American Indians between 16 and 20 years of age from different reservations and created the Community United in Finding Criminals (C.U.F.F.) – Crime Stoppers Program. They trained them in become effective participant in the fields of drug and law enforcement and community service. The Indian participants would successfully complete a 10-week course which offered training by experienced Scottsdale police officers on crime deterrence policies. The successful implementation of this community program also served to deter delinquency, drug trafficking, car theft and a decrease of petty crimes which involved the Native American Community.

“Established in 1994, the Salt River Police Department was the first in Indian Country Law Enforcement to begin a CRIME STOPPERS PROGRAM. The program allows individuals with information about any unsolved crime to call the program 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, remain anonymous and receive cash rewards of up to $1000 for information leading to the arrest or conviction of persons who have committed a crime. Since inception, several homicides, narcotics and drug trafficking cases have been solved.”(Salt River Police Department)

Through the Indian community, officer aided training programs increased public awareness and the development of successful community policing strategies by local police and tribal government there exist a positive impact on the quality of life in the salt river Indian community.

Shield of Confidence (Littleton, Colorado)

To prevent home burglaries, a shield of confidence program established by the Littleton Police Department .The Littleton Police Department (LPD) identified and increased in burglaries and robberies of residents in predominantly Hispanic apartment communities as a significant criminal problem. The CMPD will demonstrate how the process used to respond to this problem has been successfully replicated in five additional predominantly Hispanic apartment communities.

The Littleton Police Department (LPD) will discuss how it has reduced crime in areas where “problem properties” exist. Partnering with property owners and the City Housing Department, the LPD identified properties having the highest number of calls for service. Littleton Police Department (LPD) community program focused on its use of the SARA model and community policing -related resources to rehabilitate high crime areas.

This community program allowed the property owners to identify and track incidents of home burglary. The Littleton Police Department (LPD) goal of the community intervention program was to establish a data base that ready available to the community and the burglary victims .The (LPD)used the data base to conducting home security checks and assist residents by make home improvements to deter future break-ins. The communities also establish a burglary deterrent program (Shield of Confidence) that certified homes after recommended changes from the (LPD) had been made by the home owner.

This type of security check program has been used by residential building companies, business owners and one local insurance agency’s to offers additional insurance premium discounts to program participants.

Littleton Police Department (LPD) through information provided in Active community Problem-Oriented Policing programs attempts to actively address the needs of all crime victims through partnerships between law enforcement, community groups, businesses, and citizens.

These communities have successfully demonstrated that police departments can be more successful at fighting crime through collaborations with local institutions and neighborhoods by allocating police resources to aid communities in reducing crime .These are successful community policing policies that implemented the problem solving processes to address the public safety issues in their communities. In having successful community policing policies ,these communities we able to promote local organizational strategies, which supported the police relationships and the success in establishing partnerships and implementing the problem-solving techniques, to address the communities public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and an increasing fear of becoming a victim of crime

These police agencies are great examples of successful community policing program implementation: each employed the SARA model and demanded active participation from its citizens, police department and community religion based community members which included local private business no/ charities, government agencies and the local news media. There must always be an ongoing effort to reduce crime while improving the quality of life for its residents. By working with citizens, partnering with the local high school, and involving students, these type of programs become instrumental in increasing the quality of life by ultimately reducing and preventing crime in the neighborhoods. These police law agencies used problem-solving models to greatly enhance their community projects’ likelihood of success. Community Policing programs benefit not only police agencies that wish to adopt such policies but it also reduces their work load creates safer work environments, and allows police officers to focus more on addressing specific types of crimes and enhance the quality of services being provided to a community and increased the necessity of the community to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police.