Problem-Oriented Policing
Abstract
Problem-oriented policing has been the cause of changes in police departments all across the nation. Is this style of policing really effective and a continued help to departments? This paper will examine problem-oriented policing and shed some light into the present activities of police departments and how they have changed because of problem-oriented policing.
Problem-Oriented Policing and its Past, Present, and Future Implications
Problem oriented Policing, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology, is defined as, " a method for improving police effectiveness through examining and acting on the underlying conditions that give rise to community problems" (www.aic.gov.au) Trying to improve police departments was and is the current goal. This approach has been the cause for several different changes in the style of policing in our past, present and will most likely into the future. The Problem-oriented approached has been around for approximately 35 years. A group of researchers, police professionals, and policymakers conducted several different research studies and through this research several key elements of problem-oriented policing came to light. According to the Center for Problem-oriented Policing website these elements are:
"A problem is the basic unit of police work rather than a crime, a case, calls, or incidents.
A problem is something that concerns or causes harm to citizens, not just the police. Things that concern only police officers are important, but they are not problems in this sense of the term.
Addressing problems means more than quick fixes: it means dealing with conditions that create problems.
Police officers must routinely and systematically analyze problems before trying to solve them, just as they routinely and systematically investigate crimes before making an arrest. Individual officers and the department as a whole must develop routines and systems for analyzing problems.
The analysis of
Problem-oriented policing has been the cause of changes in police departments all across the nation. Is this style of policing really effective and a continued help to departments? This paper will examine problem-oriented policing and shed some light into the present activities of police departments and how they have changed because of problem-oriented policing.
Problem-Oriented Policing and its Past, Present, and Future Implications
Problem oriented Policing, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology, is defined as, " a method for improving police effectiveness through examining and acting on the underlying conditions that give rise to community problems" (www.aic.gov.au) Trying to improve police departments was and is the current goal. This approach has been the cause for several different changes in the style of policing in our past, present and will most likely into the future. The Problem-oriented approached has been around for approximately 35 years. A group of researchers, police professionals, and policymakers conducted several different research studies and through this research several key elements of problem-oriented policing came to light. According to the Center for Problem-oriented Policing website these elements are:
"A problem is the basic unit of police work rather than a crime, a case, calls, or incidents.
A problem is something that concerns or causes harm to citizens, not just the police. Things that concern only police officers are important, but they are not problems in this sense of the term.
Addressing problems means more than quick fixes: it means dealing with conditions that create problems.
Police officers must routinely and systematically analyze problems before trying to solve them, just as they routinely and systematically investigate crimes before making an arrest. Individual officers and the department as a whole must develop routines and systems for analyzing problems.
The analysis of
References: 1) Australian Institute of Criminology. (2004, January 13) No. 17: Understanding problem-oriented policing. http://www.aic.gov.au 2) Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. (2003) What is Problem-Oriented Policing. http://www.popcenter.org