The Influence Of Community Policing

A controversial area in the United States law enforcement policy in recent years has been the practice of using racial profiling to attempt to identify or curb criminal activity. National Institute of Justice defines racial profiling by law enforcement as, “A practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Creating a profile about the kinds of people who commit certain types of crimes may lead officers to generalize about a particular group and act according to the generalization rather than specific behavior” (2013). While supporters of this practice believe that it is necessary, critics believe biased-based policing (racial-profiling) is a violation of civil rights and takes a heavy toll on police-community relations.
For police agencies, keeping the balance between public safety vs. civil rights is not an easy job. The principle job for law enforcement is to keep communities safe. If in the communities that a police agency serves, there is a greater threat from a certain racial or ethnic group, the police officers would tend to focus their attention on that group. The
“At a time of strained police relations, community-oriented policing offers a different approach — one that makes good relationships essential to good police work” ( Abbey-Labertz & Erbentraut, 2016). Community policing involves police agencies and community organizations working together to combat community problems and crime. Building this type of relationship allows for citizens to put their trust in the police agencies that serve and protect them. When community members feel hear and respected by the police, they are more willing to help police control the crime in their communities, rather than feeling like the police presence in the community is only to forcefully stop, question, arrest and throw people in