Is Community Policing Effective?

Is Community Policing Effective? AN ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY POLICING: IS COMMUNITY POLICING AN EFFECTIVE PRACTICE? ABSTRACT Community Policing is a relatively new policing practice that focuses on reducing the crime rate in an area by creating cooperation and trust between citizens and police. The question that comes into play regarding this is whether or not community policing is an effective practice. To answer this question, a study will be conducted where community policing is implemented in a big city for a span of 2 years. All of the citizens and police officers of all ages and both sex’s will be the research participants. Data will be collected by comparing the crime rates from the beginning of the study to the end of the study, along with comparison between the data every 2 months as well. The results will be analyzed by looking at whether or not there were any changes in the crime rates as well as the amount of cooperation by citizens. If there was a decrease in the crime rate then that will determine that community policing is in fact an effective community policing practice that is worth its extra cost. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS DISCUSSION CONCLUSION REFERENCES INTRODUCTION The criminal Justice field is currently in a time where new and innovative policing practices are being used in police departments across America. One of these practices being implemented nationwide is community policing. Community policing spans a broad range of programs from neighborhood newsletters and neighborhood substations to foot patrol and neighborhood watch (Welsburd, Lum, 2013). Community Policing’s main focus is to create stronger alliances between police and the community. The goals of community policing are to help reduce citizen fear of crime, improve police-community relations, facilitate more effective responses to community problems, and lower the overall amount of crimes committed (â€Å"Community Policing,† n.d., para. 1). When evaluating the community policing practices there is always the question of whether or not the practice is effective and should continue to be implemented in police departments. Community Policing is an effective practice that is supported by different studies and statistics that have been conducted and released regarding this police practice. (Telep, Weisburd, 2011) The effectiveness of community policing is measured by examining a collection of strategies that are implemented in the practice. (Owusu-Bempah, 2010) Community Policing practices has had great results in cities such as Chicago where the practice has been implemented in several neighborhoods (Eig, 2002). By determining the effectiveness of community policing it determines whether or not this practice is worth being implemented by police departments throughout America. LITERATURE REVIEW Welsburd and Lum (2013) describe how Charlotte Gill and colleagues conducted a study on the impact of community policing. The study showed how community policing led to significant positive benefits for citizen satisfaction, perceived disorder, and police legitimacy. In the end of the article Bennett and colleagues looked at the effectiveness of neighborhood watch programs, which is related to community policing. They found that a neighborhood watch program does in fact lead to a substantial â€Å"crime reduction.† (Para. 10) These authors focus more on the positive aspects of community policing and do not describe much in the way of negatives regarding this policing practice. Community policing involves strengthening the relationship between police officers and citizens in the community. â€Å"Community Policing† (n.d) describes how Goldstein describes that officers working closely with members in the community have greater independence with making decisions, have positive feelings toward citizens, and have greater job satisfaction. One survey conducted on patrol officers showed 98 percent of officers agreed that â€Å"assisting citizens† is just as essential as â€Å"enforcing law.† (Para. 6) The authors focused on describing officer opinion on community policing and positive affects it has had. Community Service is an essential aspect of community policing that strengthens Citizens Corporation and trust. â€Å"The Bureau of Justice Statistics† (n.d) describes how Offering youth education and coordinating community outreach efforts are effective methods in community policing that have been utilized. The study focused on implementing a greater use of foot and bicycle patrols and frequent meetings with community groups. The LEMAS survey conducted in 2003 revealed 58% of all departments, employing 82% of officers, and utilized full-time community policing officers during 2003. All Together, there were about 54,800 local police officers assigned as community police officers. These authors provide data on how community policing is becoming a more widespread policing practice due to its effectiveness. Community Policing has proved to be effective in communities throughout America such as Chicago. Jonathon Eig (2002) describes the community policing practice in Chicago which focuses on more than just foot patrols. Citizens form a positive relationship with police officers which make them believe they have a role in solving the neighborhoods problems. The study describes how in Chicago when a suspect resisted arrest and began punching the officer, neighborhood gang members rushed to her defense and helped subdue the man. (2002) after the implementation of community policing Chicago communities have experienced falling crime rates and a growing sense of safety in many neighborhoods. Fayetteville Minneapolis implemented a community policing strategy to reduce violent crime plaguing the city. Greg Barnes (2014) describes that violent crime among juveniles has fallen dramatically after using community policing. The study showed from 2006 to 2012 gun crimes involving youth dropped by 57 percent and gun crimes dropped by 67 percent. Youths were 39 percent less likely to be shot and 60 percent less likely to be murdered. Fayetteville Police departments hired more police officers to patrol streets and the department upgraded crime-fighting-technology. The study stated that in 2013 there were about 600 fewer home breaks ins. Fayetteville shows how community policing is effective at reducing crime and violence in the community. Community policing is implemented to help curb the rise in violence throughout communities. Akwasi Owusu-Bempah (2010) describes how officers must be actively engaged in efforts to enhance the community safety themselves while using assistance from citizens. Through knowledge-sharing with members of the community, patrol officers become most knowledgeable about the needs and strengths of their communities. The study showed during the six years after the project began (from 1995 through 2000) the number of homicides in Atlanta decreased by 27 per cent. The author describes the positives of community policing and the data that supports this. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Authors have stated that Community Policing is a relatively new practice in law enforcement that involves a variety of programs which can vary depending on the police department. ( Telep, Weisburd, 2011; â€Å"Community Policing,† n.d., para. 1; Welsburd, Lum, 2013; Owusu-Bempah, 2010) However there is a limited amount of data that determine if community policing practice is worth for departments to utilize. This means it is unclear whether community policing is an effective practice in regards to reducing crime. METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS The methodology is broken down into separate main focuses, the research participants, research design, and the procedure. The research that will be conducted is study of how a community policing program is an effective policing practice. The study will involve implementing a community policing program in a high crime city and seeing what effect it has over a 2 year span. The study’s participants will be split up into two separate groups. The first group will be composed of any citizen living in the city that has implemented a community policing policy. The city for this study is in New Haven Connecticut, which means everyone living in the city limits of New Haven will be the research participants. Their demographic will involve citizens of all ages and both male and females. The second group is composed of all the New Haven police officers assigned to areas throughout New Haven where they will utilize a community policing strategy. Their demographic will involve police officers of all ages and both male and female officers. My design/procedure involves experimentation which will show if community policing is an effective practice. The experiment will involve implementing a community policing practice in New Haven for 2 years. The city will need to hire more officers to actively patrol one specific neighborhood their entire shift. To determine if the practice was successful it will be measured by, whether or not the crime rate decreased with a community policing practice in place. The initial crime rate will be determined by the numbers of various major crimes committed the year before community policing was implemented such as murders, homicides, robbery’s, larceny’s, assaults, and grand theft auto. Next the study will involve increasing the number of cops on patrol and their interaction with citizens in the specific areas they are assigned too. Things that will be measured are whether or not corporation between police and citizens of the city has gone up. Another aspect measured is the ri se in annual police department costs since the community policing practice was put into place. Lastly to measure the practices success during the 2 year span you compare the number of crimes committed every 2 months throughout the duration of the study. Then once the two years is finally done compare the number of crimes that occurred before the start of the study to the number of crimes that occurred at the end of the study to see if the policing practice was in fact effective. For community policing to be deemed effective the data compared will show a drop in the crime rate. Lastly effectiveness will also be based on the cost of the practice compared to the results of the implementation of community policing. DISCUSSION Law enforcement agencies throughout the country are always looking for a solution to lower the rise in number of crimes committed. In the past law enforcement typically involved a disconnect between citizen’s and police officers. However with new policing practices like community policing the disconnect is able to be reduced by police advocating cooperation between citizens and police. Citizens are given the opportunity to be directly involved with keeping their own neighborhood safe by working with police by providing information such as witness statements and possible leads. This also leads to police getting to know people in the community on a personal level and for citizens to view a cop as more than just a person with a badge and a gun. What this means is that community policing provides reasons for citizens to speak with police which will help deter criminals from committing crimes due to knowing that witnesses will cooperate. The importance of the study conducted is that it allows for other police departments to determine whether community policing might work well in their city. There is also a chance for departments already implementing the practice to determine whether they should continue or discontinue community policing. Implementing community policing comes at a rather high cost due to an increase in officers on patrol at once. By the study only being two years long it allows for a city to see first-hand results of the policing practice which will help determine if the effect on the crime rate outweighs the extra costs. Similar studies to this one have shown results that provide support for community policing being an effective policing practice. Chicago is a city that has already implemented community policing in their neighborhoods. One major is that the Chicago study involves community policing in specific neighborhoods with the most crime and poverty which is different from how the New Haven study involves the entire city. In the Chicago study neighborhoods saw a decrease in crimes especially those involved with drugs and gang violence. There was also increased police and citizen cooperation which led to citizens sharing a lot more valuable information to the police, due to how the police showed citizens they were in the community to help them keep the neighborhoods they live in safer. The Chicago study is able to provide support of how community policing will be able to help with reducing the similar issues of gang violence and drug related violence in New Haven which has in recent years seen a major rise in these issues. Even though the study in New Haven shows effective results there are limitations and problems that could possibly occur. A limitation is that realistically not all officers will be able to get citizens in their patrol area to cooperate with them. If this is the case the question that arises is whether it’s worth the extra costs to continue with community policing in the neighborhood for the full duration of the study. Also with a study over a 2 year span a lot can change, if an officer assigned to a neighborhood has to leave midway through the study, could lead to citizens no longer cooperating with the newly assigned officer in the same way they did with the prior officer. In order for the experiment to have validity it would require that every neighborhood has the same officer patrolling it the entire 2 yearlong study which is unrealistic in a large city like New Haven. The last possible problem is that community policing involves a variety of programs which means programs t hat led to successful a community policing outcome in one city might not have the same results in another city. CONCLUSION Community policing is one of the most recent law enforcement innovations with recent research suggesting that close to 100 percent of larger police agencies have implemented this practice. (Welsburd, Lum, 2013) The problem regarding community policing is determining whether or not it can be called an effective policing practice. The overall goals associated with this practice are fear reduction, increased citizen satisfaction with police, and the development of techniques which address the issues in the community. Community Policing’s overall concern is to create stronger alliances between police and the community which are a major factor in seeing crime rates in an area decrease. (â€Å"Community Policing,† n.d., para. 1). (Quire, 1993) While community policing has its benefits there are also some issues with it such as the rise in police spending and an increased need for more officers on patrol at the same time. In the end the New Haven community policing study is ju st one of the many studies that provide support that it is in fact an effective policing practice. REFERENCES Welsburd, David, and Cynthia Lum. Community Policing and Procedural Justice.Center for EvidenceBased Crime Policy. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://cebcp.org/evidence-based-policing/what-works-in-policing/research- evidence-review/community-policing/ Police: Community Policing The Theory And Practice Of Community Policing. Officers, Crime, Local, and Neighborhood. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. http://law.jrank.org/pages/1650/Police-Community-Policing-theory-practice- community-policing.html Telep, Cody, and David Weisburd. What Is Known about the Effectiveness of Police Practices? 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/Telep_Weisburd.pdf Eig, Jonathan. Eyes on the Street: Community Policing in Chicago.The American Prospect. 17 May 2002. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://prospect.org/article/eyes-street- community-policing-chicago Owusu-Bempah, Akwasi. Review of the Roots of Youth Violence: Literature Reviews. Community Policing Strategie. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volu me5/preventing03_community_polcing.aspx Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tptid=81 Barnes, Greg. Seeking Safety: A Blueprint for Reducing Youth Crime That Works :: WRAL.com.WRAL.com. 26 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. http://www.wral.com/seeking-safety-a-blueprint-for-reducing-youth-crime-that- works/14117413/ Quire, Donald. Models for Community Policing Evaluation: The St. Petersburg Experience. 1 Jan. 1993. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/50e19742-07dd-4813-a850- 3248a9db71b5/Quire.aspx

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Necessary Madness of

The Necessary Madness of Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex play, filled with layers of meaning. These are often revealed through the madness of the characters and the theme of madness throughout the play. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are the only characters thought to be so afflicted, the reactions of other characters to this madness mirrors their own preoccupations.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When one refers to madness in Hamlet, most would think of Hamlet's madness, or at least that that he was pretending to possess. Although Ophelia does go insane and ultimately commits suicide, the central lunacy of the play revolves around Hamlet himself. Hamlet's plan to act mad is completely unexplained. It is safe to assume that he is pretending to be mad so he can get away with saying and doing things that would not ordinarily be tolerated. Also, if people think that he was crazy, they would not pay any attention to him in his plot to kill Claudius and avenge his father's death. This plan backfires though, because his family and friends bend over backwards to find the cause of his madness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every main character in Hamlet seems to have their own conjectures as to why Hamlet is acting so out of character. One obvious reason is the mourning of his father's death. In addition to this, though, they all have personal ideas of varying merit. Claudius thinks that Hamlet has some kind of secret cause for the sudden change in his personality. Gertrude believes that along with being upset about the death of his father, Hamlet is tormented by the fact that she married Claudius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe that he is hurt, for his ambitions have been squashed. Not only does his uncle... ...thers. Ophelia's insanity is very different from Hamlet's and quite straightforward. She does not need to ponder very hard before she decidessuicide is a much better option than life has ever been.      The madness in Hamlet sets up nearly all of the play. The main character, Hamlet, is believed to be crazy by all, except Horatio who knows Hamlet's reasoning behind the insanity. All of the characters decide on their own guesses as to what is plaguing Hamlet. This is interesting because all of their hypotheses are based on the things that most worried them.    Sources Pennington, Michael. "Madness as the Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Norton Critical Ed. New York: Norton. 1992.   

Functional Areas Of Business Essay

There has been an ongoing debate between enlisted members and commissioned officers of the United States Military about effective leadership and the scope of control. Enlisted Service Personnel are usually the worker bees, are not managerial in nature, with combat and field experience. Commissioned Officers are the leaders of the enlisted members. Commissioned Officers usually are the ones that can be personified as managers, with little to no field or combat experience. This debate stems from Commissioned Officers executing their managerial roles, how it affects the enlisted member, and how it effects the overall mission. Leadership, strategic planning, law, human resources management, will be utilized to analyze the role of a manager within the functional areas of business. Leadership Most employees will follow an effective leader if the manager exudes confidence, is not a hypocrite, and believes in the organization’s mission statement wholeheartedly. The adage, † If a manager has to claim to be a leader, it almost seems as though he or she is trying to convince themselves that they are a leader, instead of showing that the manager is capable of leading. Motivation, inspiration, and being levelheaded are great attributes in being a great leader. Managers do not have to be an efficient leader in order to get things done, however, they should know how to manage those effective and efficient leaders in order to see the project or mission through. Most effective leaders are effective by being prepared and knowledgeable with some strategic planning. Strategic Planning As the adhesive that was so meticulously put there to hold up that model ship which is encased in a glass bottle, there is a plethora of minutia detail that goes into planning. With regards to the military, it takes an almost insurmountable amount of planning just to execute even the smallest of missions. This component is imperative to have in the manager’s toolbox, in order to maintain the survivability of the organization. A person that fails to plan, he or she plans to fail. Managers have to stay on top of planning, even if it means that sometimes coming into the organization on weekends, or coming in earlier than their standard start time. The organization also depends deeply on the legal department to ensure that the organization will not fall privy to legal troubles. Read more:  Functional Areas Of Business Law There are legal boundaries that dictate what can or cannot take place in the business world. Businesses hire witty, educated, and self-starting legal individuals to interpret the laws. There is a ton of small laws that can get an organization in or out of legal calamity. It could be a zoning law issue, or a morality issue, or what is common with big organizations is an environment issue. Managers have to be cognizant and stay on top of these issues in order to be a successful manager. In order a successful manager, there have to be some exceptional employees. Those employees hire through Human Resources. Human Resources Management Filtering out among the mass applicant pool to hire the best employees that are most suited for the position, rectifying current employees pay if needed, ensuring equal opportunity to the employees are all components of what it means to be in the human resources department. Managers have a few components to deal with when it comes to human resources. According to an a Forbes’ article, administrative director at a law-firm wrote that she needed some advice. The administrator’s employee was pregnant and she wanted to find a way to fire her before the employee tells anyone. She further stated that the pregnant woman would cost the organization a temporary hire, adding that after the baby is born the pregnant woman is sure to miss work due to baby illness. (Ryan, 2014) Managers have to be aware that it is illegal to fire someone for pregnancy, and need to have the wherewithal to be firm, but understand that employees have a choice of motherhood as well as having a  career . Managers in human resources can sometimes be the epitome for the managers throughout the entire organization that set the tone for the organization. When a manager from human resources has to fire an individual, if they are not careful the methods that are used can be detrimental to the entire organization. If the manager calls, emails, or texts the individual that in two weeks time that the person will be fired or laid off, that individual now has time to sabotage, slack-off, give trade secrets to competitive organizations or do something physically harmful to himself or the people at the organization. If the manager tells the individual that is to be fired to come into the office and let’s discuss some of the options that a person may have face-to-face, makes that terminated employee somewhat at ease. The terminated employee will not have to tackle this daunting situation alone. Supply Management In order to stay relevant in business, managers understand that they must have quality products at a reasonable rate from their suppliers. However, when the rates are unreasonable, managers should seek out other suppliers that will accommodate the organization’s budget. â€Å"Mooney agrees that managers will usually be keen on a purchasing department that is good at finding savings. But, he warns, even this can be a double-edged sword, because they can be expected to be much less enthusiastic when it is their area of spend that is being touched upon.† (Wheatley, 2005) Managers have to be diligent and understand that the purchasing department, if not fully understood, can break the financial infrastructure of an organization. Conclusion Being a great leader will comprise of attributes such as not being temperamental, inspirational and having the ability to motivate. Being able to strategically plan has to be in the manager’s repertoire, in order to efficiently run the organization. Laws are meant to be interpreted by the legal team to ensure the organization does not end up in legal trouble. Human resource managers have to be careful with the way they handle terminating employees. Finding the best supplier with a quality product, for a reasonable price is what managers should reach for in order to have a thriving organization. References University of Phoenix. MBA Overview Module. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MGT/521 Website Wheatley, M. (2005, May). Supply Management. 10-11. Ryan, L. (2014, April). You Think Your Manager is Slimy? Check Out These Guys. Forbes, (), . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/04/08/you-think-your-manager-is-slimy-check-out-these-guys/

The Difference Between Public Relations and Journalism

To understand the difference between journalism and public relations, consider the following scenario. Imagine that your college announces it is raising tuition (something many colleges are doing due to drops in government funding). The public relations office issues a press release about the increase. What do you imagine that release will say? Well, if your college is like most, it will probably stress how modest the increase is, and how the school still remains very affordable. Itll probably also talk about how the hike was absolutely necessary for the face of continuing funding cuts, and so on. The release may even have a quote or two from the president of the college saying how much he/she regrets having to pass the ever-increasing cost of running the place on to students and how the raise was kept as modest as possible. All of this may be perfectly true. But who do you think wont be quoted in the college press release? Students, of course. The people who will be affected most by the hike are the very ones who wont have a say. Why not? Because of students likely to say the increase is a horrible idea and will only make it more difficult for them to take classes there. That perspective doesnt do the institution any favors. How Journalists Approach a Story So if youre a  reporter for the student newspaper assigned to write an article about the tuition hike, whom should you interview? Obviously, you should talk to the college president and any of the other officials involved. You should also talk to students because the story isnt complete without interviewing the people who are most affected by the action being taken. That goes for tuition increases, or factory layoffs, or for anyone else whos ever been hurt by the actions of a large institution. Thats called getting both sides of the story. And therein lies the difference between public relations and journalism. Public relations is designed to put the most positive spin on anything done by an institution like a college, a company or a government agency. Its designed to make the entity look as wonderful as possible, even if the action being taken — the tuition increase — is anything but. Why Journalists Are Important Journalism isnt about making institutions or individuals look good or bad. Its about portraying them in a realistic light, good, bad or otherwise. So if the college does something good — for instance, offering free tuition to local people who have been laid off — then your coverage should reflect that. Its important for journalists to question those in power because thats part of our primary mission: to serve as a kind of adversarial watchdog keeping an eye on the activities of the powerful, to try and ensure that they dont abuse that power. Unfortunately, in recent years public relations has become more powerful and ubiquitous even as newsrooms across the country have laid off thousands of reporters. So while there are more and more PR agents (reporters call them flacks) pushing positive spin, there are fewer and fewer journalists there to challenge them. But thats why its more important than ever that they do their jobs, and do them well. Its simple: We are here, to tell the truth.