The Department of Justice defines community policing as a philosophy that “focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships.” There are three key components to the community policing philosophy. These include:
The creation of and reliance on effective partnerships with the community and other public/private-sector resources, the application of problem- solving strategies or tactics, and the transformation of police organization and culture to support this philosophical shift. In other words, community policing is not in itself a tactic or strategy, but instead a philosophical approach to how policing is conducted. At its core, community-oriented policing is based on law enforcement and the community joining together to identify and address issues of crime and social disorder.
In 2002, the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing talked about a series of community-oriented policing resources and practices that have a direct application to terrorism prevention. Included is crime mapping with GIS systems, data collection and analysis protocols, and technologies that may be used for gathering intelligence to measure terrorism weakness. In addition, the community partnerships formed by police in the course of community-oriented problem solving provide an agenda for engaging citizens in helping police to identify possible threats and implement preparedness plans. Rob Chapman and Matthew C. Scheider, senior analysts at the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, state that community policing could play an integral role in homeland security. They oppose that by applying the principles of organizational change, problem solving, and external partnerships, community policing can help police to prepare for and prevent terrorist acts, and respond to the
Cited: United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, “What is Community Policing,” http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=36 [Accessed July 4, 2005]. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, COPS INNOVATIONS, “A Closer Look, Local Law Enforcement responds to Terrorism: Lessons in Prevention and Preparedness,” Washington, D.C., 2002. Herman Goldstein, “Problem-Oriented Policing” (New York: McGraw Hill, 1990), 32-34. Mark H. Moore, "Problem Solving and Community Policing: The Rockefeller Institute of Government, “The Federalism Challenge: The Challenge for State and Local Government,” “The Role of “Home” in Homeland Security: Symposium Series,” Number 2, March 24, 2003. Matthew C. Scheider and Robert Chapman, “Community Policing and Terrorism,” “Journal of Homeland Security,” April 2003, http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/articles/Scheider-Chapman.html [Accessed October 31, 2004]. Eric Taylor, “The New Homeland Security Apparatus, Impeding the Fight against Agile Terrorist,” “Cato Institute, Foreign Police Briefing” No. 70, June 26, 2002, Citizen Corps Mission Statement, United States department of Homeland Security, http://www.citizencorps.gov/councils/ [Accessed October 31, 2004]. Community Emergency Response Teams, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/CERT/, [Accessed November 1, 2004].