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Implementing Change: Community-Oriented Policing and Problem Solving

NCJ Number
163132
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 65 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1996) Pages: 14-21
Author(s)
R W Glensor; K Peak
Date Published
1996
Length
8 pages
Annotation
While the public's view of crime and actual crime statistics may seem contradictory, police administrators should consider the disparity more closely before assuming that the public's visible concern is largely unfounded.
Abstract
The twin threats of violence and neighborhood disorder raise the public's fear of crime beyond the level that crime rates alone may seem to support. Consequently, a significant increase in calls for police service has occurred in recent years, and the rise in citizen calls to the police has had a marked impact on the nature of policing itself. To respond to crime and disorder, many police agencies have adopted two separate but interrelated strategies, community-oriented policing and problem-oriented or problem-solving policing. Community-oriented policing is based on a proactive approach that promotes problem-solving. Four components (leadership and management issues, organizational culture, field operations, and external relationships) must be rebuilt from the ground up to provide a strong basis for the community-oriented policing model. Other necessary considerations concern the support of elected officials and the inclusion of detectives and police unions. A case study of community-oriented policing in Reno, Nevada is provided, and the importance of overcoming organizational resistance to the innovation embodied in community-oriented policing is stressed. 4 photographs and 10 endnotes