I am a recently retired police sergeant with over 35 years of experience, most of which has been dedicated to community policing. For the last 10 years, I have been responsible for the development of community engagement in the second largest city in Ireland with a population of approximately 330,000 people.
I was involved in the development and implementation of the National Model of Community Policing. I have traveled extensively across Europe examining various models of police engagement, crime prevention and diversity, and I have made presentations in many countries including at the EU Justice Commission in Brussels.
More recently, I spent a little over a year working with the United Nations on a peacekeeping mission in Cyprus where I was employed as a sector commander of the police component.
I have been following the events in Baltimore with some interest, and I came across an article suggesting that police forces are coming under pressure to rethink the "broken windows" theory because it's not working ("Can Batts get the job done?" May 21). The reality is that if police forces are relying on this theory alone to solve their problems, then they are destined to be disappointed.
Community policing is an extremely effective tool, and there are a number of disciplines attached to the philosophy and the broken windows theory forms part of it. Other main ingredients include engagement, problem solving and a professional community policing team that is visible and accessible to the community.
The degree of success will largely depend on the enthusiasm of the team. There is no question of this strategy not working! The only imponderable is how successful it will be, and this will depend on the professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment of the community policing team and the support they receive from the management.
Community policing officers have a specific role profile which dictates how they engage with the community and also determines how that engagement is measured. They must attend to the following:
•Develop community engagement by working with community partners, statutory and voluntary agencies.
•Work with the community to reduce crime and the fear of crime and to create a better quality of life for all.
•Develop a problem solving approach and ensure service delivery that is effective, efficient and appropriate.
•Implement a school-based program to educate the youth on personal safety and crime awareness.
•Develop and maintain positive community relations by providing a service that is responsive to the needs of the community.
•Work cooperatively with team members and colleagues to ensure the achievement of objectives.
•Prepare for meetings and contribute in a clear, concise and relevant manner.
•Enhance victim related services.
•Provide specialist crime prevention advice to the community.
There is no great mystery to this method of engagement, and the principle is simple and uncomplicated. Police must get out and meet the people, discover what the issues are and then do their best to resolve them.
Dedicated community policing officers are essential to ensuring that constructive relationships are created with the community, to foster good relations, mutual trust and continuity. Under-financed community policing will achieve limited results and may in fact be counterproductive. These officers need to be available and accessible to the wider community, provide a regular and continuous service with a constant follow up. It also requires the members to be extremely flexible and committed to what they are trying to achieve.
Community policing does not offer quick fix solutions to social problems. It requires a long-term commitment by the police, working with the local authority and community members to reach mutually agreed objectives. Forming lasting partnerships to eradicate the underlying causes of crime will take time and effort, but the long term benefits to the police organization and to the community will be considerable.
Trevor Laffan, Cobh, County Cork, Ireland