Community Policing is being introduced as a new-age idea. Community Policing is an idea in which the Police Officer is a kinder, gentler Officer. Some of the duties of a Community Policing Officer might be: interaction with the public, helping with the elderly/handicapped, bicycle patrol, community programs, large amounts of foot patrol. The basic idea behind Community Policing is a simple one………..to help the citizen.

Community Policing is not a new-age idea though. This idea has been around for over a century. It IS the traditional style of law enforcement. It goes back to when the towns were small and everyone knew everybody. The Police Officer knew everyone and everyone knew the Police Officer. And although he could be unfair at times, they were all friends. He was a role model to young children, a helper to those who couldn’t help themselves, and a watchful eye in the community. But somewhere down the road, that style was lost. In its place grew a style of policing that I refer to as the Cuff ‘em and Stuff ‘em style. The Roscoe Method. Everyone has seen the TV show "The Dukes of Hazard". Roscoe was the county Sheriff who never bothered to look at the whole picture, look for the underlying problem, or look for another solution other than Cuff ‘em and Stuff ‘em. The Police Officer who subscribes to the Roscoe Method is more likely to treat the offender in an inhuman, forcible way. The Officer does not think of the offender as a human being, but more as a piece of trash. The Officer is likely to have complaints of a)having an attitude b)being violent with the offender c)being disrespectful to the public. The Officer will also have a very high arrest record, but not necessarily a high conviction record. This Officer does not necessarily help the public. He helps feed his ego by treating those he deals with like inhuman animals. While this may seem to him like he is helping those he serves, it is totally the opposite.

While he may be taking some of the crime off the street, he is creating much more crime. Johnny the neighborhood boy sees Roscoe treating people like animals and one of two things can happen: a)Johnny believes that Roscoe is a respectable person and if Roscoe is treating people like that, it must be all right for Johnny to do the same, or b)Johnny knows that those people shouldn’t be treated like animals and he starts to believe that the entire police establishment is untrustworthy and disrespectful. Johnny will either grow up to be Roscoe, with or without the uniform, or Johnny will grow up to hate all Police Officers, and pass this belief on to his friends and family. Is this how it is supposed to be?

The Police Officer’s job is impossible to do on his own. There is too much crime for a select group of people to put an end to. So the Police Officer should have the ability to recruit the average citizen to aid him. The citizen doesn’t have to don a uniform and weapon, he just needs to provide the Officer information. A citizen who does not respect or know an Officer will not provide any information, unless the situation directly and deeply involves them. An Officer who is well known in the area, and is respected by the citizens will be able to achieve the information factor. In an area such as this, it may be hard to find a whole department of well known community people. So, the Officer must take the time and effort to make him/her self known. This can be done by several methods, including department sponsored activities, bike patrol, and foot patrol. Each of these methods takes the Officer out of the patrol car and puts them within easy reach of the citizen. The citizen has the opportunity to stop and talk to the Officer, get to know him/her, and come to a decision in their mind of whether they would trust that Officer. Any Officer can present themselves as a respectful, caring person will be trusted. Thus a bond is formed. The citizen will then seek the Officer’s guidance in certain related matters, and also volunteer information that is vital to the Officer. If there are unseen problems in the neighborhood, the citizen is likely to bring them to the Officer. "You might want to keep an eye on John D. on the corner, I’m sure he’s dealing drugs there!" and "You know, little Jane D. always seems to have a different bike everytime I see her, and usually they look like the one that was stolen across town the night before." These are just a few examples of what critical information the citizen might bring to the Officer. Take care of the citizen, and they will take care of us.

There are some problems with Community Policing. In larger municipalities/towns, it may be more difficult to adapt the department and the community to the ideals of Community Policing. Crime rates may be too high for the department to take the manpower and time to efficiently begin Community Policing, the department may have too large of an area to cover with too little manpower, or community attitude toward the department may be too severe. For these situations, there is no easy answer. It will take a lot of time, effort, manpower, and money to ease these problems enough to make Community Policing a reality. Community Policing is geared more for the small towns. But that is where we have to start. We cannot afford to take too big of a bite. Taking little steps will aid Community Policing will enable us to make it a nationwide reality.

To Protect and To Serve…………..these words have not lost their meaning.