NCJ Number
157341
Date Published
Unknown
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report discusses the concerns of urban police chiefs about the possibility of civil disorders, explains the role of community policing in preventing and addressing this problem, and suggests 11 ways in which community policing can directly address some of the circumstances that underlie outbreaks of collective violence.
Abstract
Interviews with police executives in Australia, Canada, and the United States during the past 3 years reveal major anxiety about the likelihood of rioting and the lack of police agency preparation to deal with it. Community policing represents a powerful means of preventing collective violence through consultation between police and local neighborhoods, adaptation of strategies to fit the needs of particular neighborhoods, and mobilization of all community resources to solve or at least reduced enduring problems in the community. The crucial operational steps needed for community policing to prevent collective violence include the fulltime assignment of uniformed police officers to beats manageable by foot, police officers' establishment of networks of neighborhood contacts, the creation of precinct and neighborhood committees to discuss problems and priorities with police. Additional recommendations and 13 references