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According to (CPOP, 2008, p.1), “community policing focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that include aspects of traditional law enforcement , as well as prevention, problem solving, community engagement, and partnerships”. This approach calls for collaboration between police and citizens. This approach also “balances reactive responses to calls with proactive problem solving centered on the causes of crime and disorder” (CPOP, 2008, p.1).
In addition, community policing requires the participation of police psychologists. Police psychology can be defined as “the application of psychological principles and methods to law enforcement” (Kitaeff, 2011, p. 1). Community policing relies heavily on police psychology. This paper endeavors to highlight the role of police psychology in community policing.
Community policing has emerged as a contemporary policing approach due to reduced public confidence in the police. In addition, it is becoming evident that the enforcement of law and order is not the responsibility of the police service alone, but requires collective participation. According to CPOP (2008), community policing has four main elements namely philosophical dimension, strategic dimension, tactical dimension, and organizational dimension.
Philosophical dimension has four main aspects namely citizen input, personal service and broad function. This dimension explores the ideas and beliefs that define community policing. The aspect of citizen input posits that “law abiding citizens ought to contribute to police processes” (CPOP, 2008, p.4). Community policing calls for police responsiveness to community concerns and not just the engagement of the community.
The community is charged with the responsibility of identifying local problems. The police service is then required to address the identified problems even if they are not on their priority list. The role of the community does not end with the identification of communal problems, but it must extend to the implementation of corrective measures. Thus, the community should assist the police to drive the solutions.
Community engagement can be achieved through several mechanisms such as organizing forums, community meetings, and conducting periodic and systematic community surveys (Goldstein, 2003). In addition, this can be achieved by organizing meetings with advisory groups and business persons from the community. Goldstein (2003, p.6) argues “broad function dimension shows the need for community policing to extend its scope beyond service and arrests so as to enhance contiguous, sustained community involvement”.
This aspect highlights the need for the police to go beyond law enforcement. This aspect sees the police as planners, community organizers, and problem solvers. Thus, the police need to induce the consciousness of the community and organization to deal with problems. On the other hand, the aspect personal service reminds the community that the police are a vital resource.
Therefore, the community should be able to know the police within their locality, and communicate with them when need arises. The police should offer services to the community in an open and friendly manner.
According to CPOP (2008, p.5) “key strategic operational concepts translate philosophies into actions, linking with the broad ideas and beliefs that underlie community policing”. Strategic dimension relies on four aspects. One of such aspects is reoriented operations. This aspect calls for more effective interactive practices rather than focusing on traditional methods such as rapid responses and motorized patrols.
Such interactive practices include handling emergency calls more efficiently thus allowing for the allocation of more resources and time to for community policing. Reorientation calls for a shift from patrol based to problem solving practices. Strategic dimension also emphasizes on crime prevention. Community policing main objective is to prevent crime thus the capacity of a community to prevent crime can be boosted by encouraging communities to enhance community safety.
Police should engage the community in formulating crime prevention strategies. In addition, strategic dimension encourages the deployment of geographically based officers. This approach boosts the identification between specific officers and their specific community.
According to CPOP (2008), the deployment of geographically based officers promotes the concept of community policing by enhancing mutual recognition, responsibility and accountability. This aspect also highlights the need for having officers who are based permanently in a given geographical location because it enhances familiarity between the officer and the community.
CPOP (2008, p. 6) argues that “tactical dimension translates ideas, philosophy and strategies into concrete programmes, tactical and behaviors, which include positive interaction, partnerships, and problem solving”. This approach encourages positive interaction with all stakeholders to counter the negative nature of policing.
This can be realized by constructing mini based stations, using shop front based officers, and using media campaigns. Tactical dimension builds trust and boosts problem solving. This dimension calls for close interaction between the community and agencies so as to realize set goals. Tactical dimension also calls for the exchange of information between the police and the community.
Tactical dimension therefore “involves three key components namely positive interaction, partnership, and problem solving” (CPOP, 2008, p. 8). On the other hand, organizational dimension calls for changes that promote community policing. This dimension has three key aspects namely structure, management, and information.
In structural terms, organizational dimension encourages the formulation of broad dimensional goals, employs long term strategies that promote community policing, and provide the necessary training. Organizational dimension requires that police use executive leadership to support community policing programs. This dimension also calls for the collection of information through performance indicators, evaluations, and police appraisals.
Community policing calls for the selection and training of police officers, and overall organizational development. Police psychologists play a key role in the selection of police who will take part in the community policing program. As a police psychologist, my tasks will involve conducting a psychological assessment on potential community policing officers, providing psychological training, and formulating necessary organizational structures.
During the psychological assessment, a number of psychological assessment instruments will be used. They include Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), and California Personality Inventory (CPI) (Gacono,& Evans, 2012). These tools are essential in the evaluation of fitness for duty.
The selection process will take the form of a predictive validity study whereby a wide variety of police officers will be obtained from random sampling and evaluated using the aforementioned psychological assessment tools. Once the officers have been evaluated, the data collected will be used to select officers who posses the require qualities for community policing.
The role of police psychologist does not end with the selection and training and selection of community policing offers. However, the role of a police psychologist extends to the provision of counseling. Police offers who take part in community policing are likely to face many challenges owing to the complexity of the program. Human reliability has various pros and cons. For example, not all members of the community will agree to take part in the program.
In addition, those who agree to take part in the program might not be consistent and this might sabotage the implementation of the program. Therefore, as a police psychologist, my role will also include providing psychological counseling to police officers who encounter trying moments while in the line of duty. As a police psychologist, my role will also involve organizing forums, meetings, and focus groups which bring together members of the community.
This strategy will enhance the interaction of police with the rest of the community. My duties as a police psychologist call for collaboration with all other departments in the police force. Police psychologists play a critical role during crime investigations. Apart from that, they act as objective scientists in major case consultations.
Kitaeff (2011, p. 23) “notes that requests come from different specific investigative units such as the homicide unit, sex crimes unit, or violent crimes committed against persons division for the purposes of criminal investigative analysis, or criminal psychological personality profiling”.
Crime scene analysis, criminal investigative analysis or profiling is derived by carefully detailing the crime scene area identified by officers, detectives, coroners, medical examiner, criminalists, forensic scientists, and evidence technicians (Kitaeff, 2011). Police psychologists often work hand in hand with forensic crime scene photographers.
As such, my role as a police psychologist will include “giving investigators sound, objective scientific support when evaluating or examining the critical elements connecting physical, mental, circumstantial evidence during intense crime scene analysis” (Kitaeff, 2011, p.23). A profile generated can sometimes yield crucial variables which can be used to elucidate how the individual staged a crime.
Kitaeff (2011) argues that when the police psychologist is not a permanent staff, his or her office should be at a location physically outside the investigation department to ensure confidentiality and officer comfort. On the other hand, if the police psychologist has been permanently contracted, his or her office should be made private to promote utilization of services, confidentiality, and employee receptability (Thomas, 2011). As such, my role as a police psychologist will require some structural organization.
This paper has noted that community policing has emerged as a contemporary policing approach due to reduced public confidence in the police. In addition, it is becoming evident that the enforcement of law and order is not the responsibility of the police service alone, but requires collective participation. Community policing calls for police responsiveness to community concerns and not just the engagement of the community.
The community is charged with the responsibility of identifying local problems. The police service is then required to address the identified problems even if they are not on their priority list. The role of the community does not end with the identification of communal problems, but it must extend to the implementation of corrective measures.
Police psychologists play a significant role in community policing because they interact with almost all police departments. Police psychologists play a key role in the selection of police who take part in the community policing program. The role of a police psychologist extends to the provision of counseling.
Police psychologists can give many investigators sound, objective scientific support when evaluating or examining the critical elements connecting physical, mental, circumstantial evidence during intense crime scene analysis.
References
Center for Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP). (2008). Community Policing.
Gacono, C., and Evans, B. (2012). The Handbook of Forensic Rorschach Assessment. Amsterderm: Routledge.
Goldstein, A. (2003). Handbook of Psychology, Forensic Psychology. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Kitaeff, J. (2011). Handbook of Police Psychology. London: Taylor & Francis.
Thomas, D. (2011). Police Psychology: A New Specialty and New Challenges for Men and Women in Blue. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.
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