Effectiveness of Community Policing Among Urban American Minority Communities

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Abstract

The recent tension between police and communities in the United States has highlighted critical issues in our policing models. Again, it has highlighted the weak framework with policing of minority communities and how it has influenced progressive issues of police brutality, mistrust, and a widening gap between police and communities they serve. Notably, many states, cities, and communities in the United States have long sought to develop to best policing framework and model. This has over time led to the formulation and implementation of community policing. This study sought to use scoping reviews to identify researches and reports that investigate the progress and efficiency of community policies in minority communities in the United States. Using systematic scoping criteria, we identified 8 sources and found that community policing has mixed results in the US. While it has majorly worked in minority communities, there are major gaps in minority urban communities. These gaps pose critical issues and barriers to building a strong and sustainable relationship between police and minorities.

Contents 1.0 Introduction 4 1.1. Background of the Problem 4 1.2 Problem Statement 4 1.3 Purpose of the Study 5 1.4 Research Questions 5 1.5 Definition of terms 6 2.0 Literature Review 6 2.1 History of Community Policing in the US 6 2.2 Components of Community Policing in the US 7 2.3 CP training theories 7 2.4 CP effectiveness 8 3.0 Methodology 8 3.1 Research question 9 3.2 Data sources 9 4.0 Results 9 5. 0 Conclusion 12 References 13

Whereas law enforcement is considered the oldest occupation that has adapted to modern-day technological changes globally, its social aspect has failed to keep up with the cultural changes and diversity. The rain started beating us when the diversity of the American minority groups evolved rapidly while police training lagged. Many authors such as Archibald et al. (2017); Gill et al. (2014) and Richardson (2019) agree that refocused police education and training are pertinent in dealing with future emerging disorder and crimes by inculcating social skills among the police force (Archibald et al., 2017; Gill et al., 2014; Richardson, 2019).

By and large, there is still extreme tensions between the minority groups and police attributed to police violence against the minority Americans and mistreatment such as excessive utilization of force, racial profiling, too much surveillance of a section of the citizens, usually the minority groups, viral videos as elicited, media coverage on protests topics (Richardson, 2019).

In view of the above, several authors have called for effective CP implementation to boost trusting relationships between the police and minority communities. This study endeavored to address this gap by examining the perceptions of both the police and the minority groups (Giwa, 2018).

According to Richardson (2019), the training of the American police officers is both chaotic and one-sided with more emphasis on the defense and safety of the recruited officers. In addition to this, the police training focuses on skills in handling firearms at the expense of coping mechanisms in regards to stress and emotions and effective decision making (Richardson, 2019). The overall problem addressed in this study was the community policing related issues raised by the American minorities, its documented constraints, and the need to have an understanding of the effectiveness of the training American police receive. When there is no effective CP, the resultant effect is police distrust by minority groups and distrust of members of the community by the police, which culminate in violence especially among the American minority communities (Giwa, 2018; Richardson, 2019; Van Craen, 2013).

In view of the above, it is possible the minority are the victims of poor decision making by the effectiveness of police. To minimize or alleviate these problems, the collective efficacy theory was used. This theory signposts the effect of trust and unity of purpose between minority communities and the police on the reduction of crimes.

There is a gap in studies that sought to address the effectiveness of CP particularly among the minority communities. This study addressed the literature gap by examining the perceptions of both the victims (minority communities) and victors (police officers).

The purpose of this study was to establish the effectiveness of community policing among the American minority communities as well as discover their perceptions of CP. In establishing this purpose, the study also investigated the perception of the police officers on the effectiveness of CP in their training and application across different communities in America, with a keen interest in the minority groups.

The following research questions guided this study: First, what is the perception of Urban American minority communities on effective CP? Second, what is the perception of police officers on the effectiveness of CP in their line of duty?

The theory of collective efficacy states that crime rates are reduced in communities where its members have strong relational ties strengthened for effective social control (Richardson, 2019). The theory is extrapolated to include the minority groups and police officers.

Community Policing (CP) is a system of beliefs that encourage organizational methodologies that involve members of the public in resolving societal injustices and safety constraints affecting the society. CP is an evolving subject and adds how it embraces traditional enforcement of the law, as well as problem-solving, prevention, and engagement of members of the community (Fisher, 2016; Gill et al., 2014).

This section examines the review of related literature and is broken down into historical research in CP, components of CP, related CP training theories, and the effectiveness of CP by other researchers and authors.

The concept of community policing in the US has a history where the armed police initially controlled slaves and immigrants who provided community services (Diamond, 2016). Then followed an era of corruption and police brutality. As a matter of fact, the mode of operation involved shooting the suspect prior to questioning, or offering any alternative directives that could lead to peaceful arrests. This made many Americans to have distrust with the police (Fisher, 2016). Today, the US police force is a modernized one, embraces a variety of models such as the military model with more accountability and professionalism on policing services (Gill, et al., 2014). In spite of this, recent studies show a gap in the effectiveness of community policing among the urban American minority communities such as African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans among others.

Community policing comprise of three aspects. First, Community partnerships, which Fisher (2016) elaborates as the interaction between the agency that enforces the law and the community groups. In the US today, such partnerships do exist and bring with them appropriate resources and some level of community policing tasks and activities. Second, the problem-solving approach is key to any meaningful CP. In Fisher (2016) guide book, the advocated problem-solving strategy is thorough scanning, analysis, response, and assessment (SARA) processes. Third, transformations in the policing sector that align the police management practices with their work structure to support the community partnerships as well as being trained on technology and information systems in improving service delivery (Richardson, 2019).

While Gill et al. (2014) findings explore how CP methods have a positive impact on Americans’ perceptions of social injustices and satisfaction levels, the impact on crime remains insignificant. This seems to corroborate what Brown (2014) concludes on how the impact of community policing on crime is yet to be conclusive.

Following the explanatory performance by Przeszlowski and Crichlow (2018), CP implementation in urbanized areas American cities, the literature gap on the effect of CP and police functional roles in the prevention of crime was noted. Their studies aimed at establishing the impact of disorganizing societies on increased crime rates in urban areas of the United States. Their data revealed that CP presented a relatively less significant effect on crime rates in smaller towns and cities, but the significance level was higher as displayed by social disorganization. The researchers suggested the importance of more research to establish the changes and dynamics in CP implementation methods particularly in smaller cities.

In Richardson (2019) thesis, the effectiveness level of CP in investigating traffic and crimes, and patrol operations. His survey assessed the respondents' perceptions of implementing CP strategies. The researcher established that most respondents perceived CP as highly effective or effective. This way, he deduced that the effectiveness is dependent on the relationship between the police and the community and that a working relationship brings with it highly effective CP. Patrol operations gave the police personnel the chance to be approachable to the community members and simultaneously reduced crime from the would-be criminal. Similar results were reported by CP in traffic investigation and it was concluded to be equally effective. That notwithstanding, minority community members reported the need for improved and/or enhanced traffic facilities. Last but not least, CP investigation of crimes was quite effective with female and young respondents reporting relatively higher rates of satisfaction rates with CP. In a nutshell, the effectiveness of CP in several areas of law enforcement was signposted by the results and findings of this study (MacDonald, 2002; Richardson, 2019).

The study employs a literature review methodology. The methodology was ideal for the project mainly because it uses secondary data sources to provide key concepts and factions about the area of research (Pham, Rajić, Greig, Sargeant, Papadopoulos & McEwen, 2014). Using this methodology, we mapped literature of the major urban communities in the United States that have developed community policing plans and implemented them. We identified the major findings of reports and researches related to the issues, identified any gaps that existed in the researches and the reports, and clarify concepts that had been previously presented on the topic. Unlike other methodologies, the scoping review goes behold systematic review that involves review and syntheses of evidence on a clear research question that involves the extraction and analysis of data from identified studies (Pham, et.al, 2014). As recommended by Levac et al. (2010), the scoping review was completed in five stages. The first stage was identifying the research question, identifying and finding relevant studies, selecting the most appropriate studies, charting the data and information, and gathering, summarizing, and reporting the results.

The review was guided by the research question, what is the effectiveness of community policing among urban American minority communities? For this research, efficiency was classified as the perception of the minority community towards current community policing programs and the perception of the police towards the same. The efficiency of community policing can be measure by indicators that measures how both the public and the target communities.

The search for relevant and most research material was conducted in online libraries and repositories using major keywords such as Theory of collective efficacy, minority policing, Community Policing (CP). The search involved diverse journals, library sources, and police department assessment reports on community policing from diverse cities and communities that have been presented in the last ten years. We then used an inclusion/exclusion critical that was based on the relevance of the identified journal and report and the contribution of the literature to the research questions. Therefore, 8 reports and journals that portrayed the depth of the results were chosen as ample representative.

The search showed that most researchers relate community policing to working closely with the community members and allowing the police to feel like the public can trust them on some occasions (Brodgen & Nijhar, 2013). This is important because every policy and law can be effectively implemented when authority and communities are aligned to similar goals and responsibilities. Therefore, the community policing reestablishes the entire scope of policing as a full function. It not only involves narrow enforcement of the law, but can also indulge in crime-fighting roles, like resolving conflicts, helping victims, preventions of accidents, and dealing with fear.

Weisburd et al., (2011) identified three major components that are involved in the current model of community policing in America. The components are developing partnerships in communities, engaging in problem-solving activities, and implementing community policing, such as the organization's features. The research by Weisburd et al., (2011) concludes that most of the community policing strategies are working and some are not efficient enough to meet the required efficiency guidelines or deliverables. However, all eight sources that were identified in the scoping review demonstrate that community policing reduces crime in society and initiates other positive results (Weisburd et al, 2011). The citizens who are significant victims of crime will always have less favorable perceptions about the police than those who have fewer experiences. Still, constant victimization can erode the confidence that the citizens have amongst the police. 

           For the past few years, there have been sharp declines in the rates of violence across the most minority communities in the US. During this time, many departments of the authority have shifted from the traditional forms of policing to a community-oriented approach. However, it is not apparent whether the changes have any impact, or a positive relationship with the control of violence (Crowl, 2017). There are several significant predictors of confidence in the police amongst our communities. This is a significant factor because the police reforms and other relevant bodies are the essential components of community policing. First, the effectiveness of volunteers amongst the people is a substantial concern. There is always a sign in the nature in which people develop contacts with the police. This is important in as much as people run away from the fear of the police. Usually, there is always a crucial relationship between the police and the community. People will still limit their confidence and positive perceptions with the police, especially when the crime rate is high, and police are not doing enough to reduce it. Regardless of the nature of the contacts between the public and the police, public satisfaction decreases as the number of contacts with the police increases.

            Secondly, the second most reliable predictor of the confidence in the police is informal collective security. There are mainly three dimensions of casual collective security; friendly social control, social cohesion, and inter-personal trust (Gill et al, 2014). Residents who trust their neighbors are likely to have confidence in the police. Furthermore, community disorder tends to reduce confidence in the police. This implies that the residents who live communities that have unsustainable social structures such as ghettos or lowest class neighborhoods have limited confidence in the police. However, the local police can be motivated to make a difference in restoring order in the community and be part of the informal collective security participants. This can happen through local gatherings, workshops, media communication, and development of interactive avenues where police and communities can meet, interact, and develop common policing goals. The major issue that minimizes the efficiency of community policing is an attitude towards police in poor neighborhoods where crime is very prevalent. Interaction with police in these neighborhoods affects the mutual trust between neighbors may raise suspicions and fear. Consequently, the informal collective security can breed confidence in the broader system, and police are among them. They can also reduce community disorder and restore public trust in the police.

            Another factor is the level of victimization experienced during patrols and traffic tickets. The two factors were found to always reduce confidence with the police. In primary researches, the results show that negative contacts between the police and the citizens will serve to lower the public confidence in the police. Furthermore, the police will bore only a part of the responsibility for promoting a negative attitude towards them, especially from the public. The hostility between the police and the citizens can hinder the desired productive partnerships. It can also increase the officers' decision making autonomy, and this can lead to a higher chance of police corruption. Finally, the resistance within the police organization can hinder quality service (Sozer & Merlo, 2013).

          In community policing, the relationship between the police and the citizens is supposed to improve. It does not appear that the increased cooperation between the police and the residents increased satisfaction with the police services on both sides. However, recent researches suggest that the level of citizen satisfaction with the police varies according to how the policy is implemented. Another factor could also be due to the social features of the community members. Even though the community policing is meant to benefit every citizen, some particular programs may favor the specific interest of the specific communities. These may include the interests of the local business owners, and the local residents. In some poor and high crime-rate communities, like the minority groups of the urban parts of America, the residents may be distracted by the police, and community participation rates could decline. However, this does not imply that community policing will not work in these communities. Benefits that come as a result of community policing could be the highest in such areas, but the challenges that the police face may be more substan

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