At Chief on the Beat at UNT, Chief Brown talked about the Dallas Police Department practice of community policing.  I had never heard that term before, but when I Googled it, below is what I found about community policing.

1. Brings Communities Together
Community policing has to be a partnered type relationship between the members of the community and the police force. It can work to bring community members and the police force together. When the police force and the community work together toward a common good it fosters a stronger community.

2. It Can Deter Crime
Community watches or neighborhood watches and police that are on foot patrol involved in community policing activities can actually deter crime. Criminals are highly unlikely to attempt break ins and other criminal acts when they think that they are being watched or when law enforcement is nearby.

3. Educate the Community
Police officers that patrol a community are more approachable. Citizens feel more comfortable getting information from a friendly face that they recognize. Community policing that involves citizens via neighborhood watch details can help to educate citizens on crime prevention and reporting.

4. Increases Commitment to Community
As a police officer or even members of the community that get to know other members of the community it fosters a stronger sense of responsibility to the community.

5. Change Reputation
When a community is policed by the same people and other members of the community get to know them it can change the perspective that they have about policing activities. For example say Officer Joe has been patrolling a community for a few months and he is a pretty laid back guy, he would rather talk to the kids he catches doing “kid stuff” than running them in and treating them like criminals. This leaves a good impression on both the kids and the kids parents and can change the view from “cops just want to arrest you” to “cops want to protect you”.

6. Create Trust
In many communities most people are very decent hard working people but there is always a few “bad apples”. The decent hard working people may come to trust those that are policing the community and be more willing to share information about the “bad apples.”

I like and support the idea of Community Policing and the Dancing Divas and Dudes love dancing and community policing with Chief Brown and all of DPD! Keep up the good work!