Community Policing vs Problem Solving Policing.

Community Policing vs Problem Solving Policing
Howard A Smith
Briarcliffe College, Bethpage Campus




Community Policing vs Problem Solving Policing
Community policing and problem solving policing have evolved over the decades. Both policing methods have replaced the traditional police approach. Community Based Policing focused on community and police relations and partnerships in solving and preventing crimes. Whereas, Problem Solving Policing focused on strategizing and implementing tactics to combat crimes. Nevertheless, I have commenced an in-depth study of both policing models. I have also found that Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Policing are both important to crime solving. However, after analyzing both policing approaches—I believe that Problem Oriented Policing is the key component to addressing the crime problems in our communities. In other words, in addition to the barriers challenging the effective implementation to Community Oriented Policing—the Problem Solving Policing model built partnerships and has a broad police function—and created problem solving strategies geared towards solutions. All these factors made Problem Solving policing vital in addressing crime and disorder in our communities.

Barriers Challenging the Effective Implementation of Community Oriented Policing
First, numerous barriers and challenges faced by the Community Policing model has made its implementation somewhat ineffective. According to an article prepared by the Development Services Group, Inc. 2010, title "Community- and Problem-Oriented Policing." Literature Review. Washington, DC, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which stated, "Even though COP (Community Oriented Policing) has now been around for decades, the pace of change within departments away from a traditional model of policing has been "glacial" (Greene 2000, 309).

The research literature has identified numerous barriers that challenged the effective implementation of COP." "First, it is unclear how much the implementation of COP actually shifts policing away from the traditional or professional model of policing (see Zhao et al. 2003, on the three primary policing models). Greene (2000) describes what he sees as a cultural clash between street police and police administrations, with the street police concentrating on crime fighting (prioritized by the traditional model of policing) and administration concentrating on building partnerships and problem solving (emphasized by the COP model)"
Second, there appears to be inadequate training on COP principles and strategies, which affects how officers approach their work. Greene (2000) noted that COP training is usually an add-on to traditional training: COP was not even part of the picture when most training curricula were developed. (Greene 2000. p, 2).
Third, many individuals in communities remained unaware of COP activities, and those who are aware may choose not to participate (Adams, Rohe, and Arcury 2005; Eve et al. 2003). According to the Development Services Group, Inc. 2010. "Community- and Problem-Oriented Policing." Literature Review, stated, "Communities differ in their abilities to reach consensus. Somerville thus sums up a paradox of COP—that is, that it works best where least needed (in relatively stable and homogeneous neighborhoods) and worst where most needed (in highly mobile and heterogeneous neighborhoods). Additionally, communities may also work against the effective implementation of COP with their continuing demands for a police emphasis on crime fighting (Greene 2000), which draws resources away from crime prevention activities."


Evidently, the Community Oriented Policing model appeared to be an ineffective one. Notwithstanding, some people may say that community policing is good and can address community problems. They even may argue to begin with, Problem Solving Policing would not be effective without the elements of community based policing. If problem solving policing is the vehicle to address crime problems, then community policing is the fuel that propelled the vehicle that got the job done. The incorporation of community based policing in the problem oriented policing model made the latter an effective component. Moreover, according to an article authored by Ronald Clarke, a university professor in the school of Criminal Justice at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and John Eck a professor of criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati, "Problem-oriented policing identifies partners whose help is needed in dealing with specific problem. In an ideal case, community policing does this as well. If the problem is assaults around bus stops, a necessary partner will be the local transit authority. If the problem is shoplifting, then the cooperation of local businesses is needed. Community members often identify problems" Said article further stated that, "Problem-oriented policing is a method for analyzing and solving crime problems. Community policing, on the other hand, represents a broader organizational philosophy. Community policing includes problem-solving as addressed in problem-oriented policing, but it also includes the development of external partnerships with community members and groups."
Obviously, Community policing is a key component to Problem Oriented policing. Nevertheless, on the contrary, some people may also argue that community based policing would fail if lacked the components of the Problem Solving model. In other words, James Q Wilson and George Kelling(1982) wrote in an article title "Broken Windows" which stated that "Community Policing is therefore more focused on police –public interaction than is problem oriented policing and represents a broader organizational philosophy that incorporates the principles of problem oriented policing within it."
Evidently, the Community Oriented Policing model has been affected by levels of disagreements between street officers and administrative personnel. In addition to inadequate training on COP principles and strategies—many people are unaware of Community Policing activities, while others refused to participate. Therefore, the Community Oriented Policing model is not as effective as the Problem Oriented Policing model.

The Problem Solving Policing Model Built Partnerships and has a Broad Police Function
The Chicago Police Department has adopted a problem-solving approach to crime and disorder—the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS). The Chicago Police Department stated in a report that, "This report presents one aspect of the NIJ evaluation—the findings of a study conducted in a small sample of beats to determine how Chicago's problem-solving model has actually been implemented. It is hoped this report will serve as a resource for police and civil leaders who are interested in moving beyond the rhetoric of community policing and into the reality of making it work."
According to the Chicago Police, "It is difficult to rebuild the collective efficacy of communities that have lost it and to involve residents of poor and previously disenfranchised neighborhoods in partnerships with the police. The Chicago study examines such issues in detail, isolating some of the factors that explain implementation success and failure. The study beats were selected to reflect the diversity of the city and varied greatly in their level of community involvement and their ability to respond to local problems. To assess the capacity of these areas to help themselves through problem solving, residents were surveyed, neighborhood meetings were observed, and activists were interviewed. The study found that poor and internally divided beats experienced greater difficulty in translating their aspirations into practice than did better-off and racially homogeneous areas. Residents of higher capacity areas were better at solving their own problems and experienced far 1 Implementing Community Policing in Chicago 2 fewer problems, turned out in greater numbers for beat meetings, and were more likely to become involved in a broad array of problem solving efforts; also, neighborhood activists in these areas more accurately reflected the racial and class composition of the community"

Problem-Oriented Policing Created Problem Solving Strategies Geared Towards Solutions.
Problem-oriented policing is a department wide strategy aimed at solving persistent community problems. According to the ojjdp.gov website, "MacDonald notes that it differs from COP "through its focus on specific crime problems and achieving crime reduction results rather than on the means of policing" (2002, 598). Police identify, analyze, and respond to the underlying circumstances that create incidents. The theory behind it is that underlying conditions create problems (Goldstein 1979). Thus officers use the information gathered in their responses to incidents, together with information obtained from other sources, to get a clearer picture of the problem (Eck and Spelman 1987). The traditional conceptual model of problem solving, known as SARA".
Problem Solving Policing identified problems and prioritized them incorporating community input. The model also studied information about offenders, victims, and crime locations, then implemented strategies that addressed the chronic character of priority problems by thinking "outside the box" of traditional police tactics. Furthermore, the Problem Oriented Policing model represented a new way of looking at the policing. It is a way of thinking about policing that stressed the importance of the end product rather than the means. The community is often involved in defining the problems and identifying interventions (Greene 2000). In addition, said article by OJJDP reported that, "A recent Campbell Collaboration meta-analysis on the effectiveness of POP (Weisburd et al. 2008) concluded that, while effect sizes are modest, POP is effective in reducing crime and disorder."
In summary, the Problem Oriented Policing Model has been more effective than both the Community Oriented Policing and traditional policing. For example, the Development Services Group reported that, "The Problem-Oriented Policing Project conducted in Newport News, Va., provides evidence suggesting that problem-oriented policing is more effective than traditional policing. The Newport News Task Force designed a four-stage problem solving process: scanning, analysis, response, and assessment. An evaluation of the project revealed that officers and their supervisors identified problems, analyzed, and responded to these problems by applying the process. The number and diversity of the problems tackled showed that officers can solve problems routinely. The evaluation also showed that the problem-solving process is effective. In one case, burglaries in the New Briarfield Apartment complex were reduced by 35 percent. In another example of problem solving, robberies in the central business district were reduced by 40 percent (Eck and Spelman 1987). Other successful examples include using problem-oriented policing to reduce gun carrying in public (Kennedy, Piehl, and Braga 1996; Sherman, Shaw, and Rogan 1995), alcohol consumption (Putnam, Rockett, and Campbell 1993), and prostitution (Mathews 1993)".






Conclusion
Obviously, Problem Solving Policing is the key component in the modern approach to problem solving in our communities. I also agreed that the Community Oriented Policing model would be effective if it incorporate the Problem Solving Policing components within it. Nevertheless, the Community Policing model faced numerous barriers and challenges such as; department and administrative differences on the issues—training and implementation draw-backs—and the issue of the lack of community involvement and awareness. In other words, The Community Oriented model is far less effective. Notwithstanding, Problem Oriented Policing also designed with the element of community involvement and partnerships. This model incorporated the involvement of key community agencies, businesses and key community personnel. Therefore, the Problem Oriented police model took precedence over the Community Oriented model.










References
Bureau of Justice Statistics, (2015). In Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from
http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm ? http://www.cops.usdoj.gov
Community Oriented Policing. (2015). In San Diego Police Department. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from
http://www.sandiego.gov/police/about/community.shtml.
Community- and Problem-Oriented Policing. (2010). In Development Services Group, Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from
http://www.ojjdp.gov/.
Community Oriented Policing and Problem-Solving. (2015). In California State University. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/af/departments/upd/police-services/copps.html.
Crime prevention. (2014). In National Criminal Justice References Service. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/Abstract.aspx?ID=246967ov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=81
Wilson, James Q, and George Kelling (1982) "Broken Windows" Development Services Group, Inc. 2010, title "Community- and Problem-Oriented Policing."





Running head: COMMUNITY POLICING VS PROBLEM SOLVING POLICING 1

COMMUNITY POLICING VS PROBLEM SOLVING POLICING 2