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Community Policing: Lessons From Victoria

NCJ Number
151221
Author(s)
L R Beyer
Date Published
1993
Length
229 pages
Annotation
This book examines Victoria's (Australia) experience in the 1980's with the Police Community Involvement Program (PCIP), a community policing endeavor, and provides practical advice on the design and implementation of community policing.
Abstract
Since the late 1970's in Victoria and the mid-1980's in other States, police in Australia have been developing community policing. In the early 1980's Victoria Police developed the PCIP, whose purpose was to develop and implement projects to address specific community problems. Two of its best known projects were Safety House and Neighbourhood Watch. PCIP's internal management style, its method of operation, and its system of accountability to the public were radically different from mainstream policing. Nevertheless, the methods used were acceptable both to the public and to the police officers working within it. The management style and characteristics of PCIP contributed significantly to the successful development and implementation of community involvement projects. The experience of Victoria Police with community policing provides an excellent opportunity to study the practical aspects of the development and implementation of community policing because its projects, programs, and activities were extensively monitored, evaluated, and documented. Chapters address the organizational context from which the PCIP emerged, steps in the development of community involvement projects, the Neighbourhood Watch Project, and issues of implementation. A 195- item bibliography and appended supplementary material