45

CRIME PREVENTION and COMMUNITY

INVOLVEMENT

Standards in this chapter relate to crime prevention and community involvement. While these concepts are distinct, they often merge when police services are provided and should be seen as vehicles for strengthening community partnerships when formulating policing strategies.

Beyond stating their commitment to crime prevention and community involvement, law enforcement agencies should integrate the ideals found in various strategies for building community relationships and establish specific policies, goals, and objectives by which their commitment can be realized. In larger agencies, the creation of independent crime prevention and community involvement functions may be called for; in others, designating an individual(s) to be responsible for crime prevention and community involvement activities on an as-needed basis may suffice. In every agency, it should be understood that all members and components are responsible for enhancing the quality of life of the agency’s constituency, implementing the tenets of the agency’s community-involvement strategy, and for achieving agency crime prevention and community goals.

The use of non-sworn personnel should be encouraged. Agencies that utilize civilian volunteers, including senior citizens and law enforcement explorers, as part-time or full-time assistants should consider them as "auxiliaries" as defined in the Glossary and as referenced in various standards.

The specialized training requirements of standard 33.6.1 are applicable both to agency personnel staffing the crime prevention and community involvement function mentioned in standards 45.1.1 and 45.2.1.

Crime prevention duties might include speaking to various groups on crime prevention methods, distributing crime prevention literature, staffing information booths, alerting victims on how best to avoid future victimization, developing crime prevention materials for use by the media, and developing or maintaining liaison with neighborhood groups. Beyond this, agencies should seek to develop partnerships and resources within the community to build problem-solving coalitions, to instill a sense of mutual responsibility for enhancing public safety, and to increase the community’s capacity to resolve issues related to crime and the fear of crime.

Every agency should comply with those crime prevention and community involvement standards that are consistent with its mission. Agencies with overlapping jurisdictions are not expected to perform crime prevention activities that would interfere with local crime prevention efforts, but may assist local departments as deemed appropriate. Such agencies may wish to consult Commission staff about the applicability of these standards to their operations.

The agency’s community-involvement initiatives and crime prevention activities should be developed based on data reflective of community input and indicative of the types of problems that pose the greatest concern to the community and where this activity is most geographically prevalent. Programs and initiatives should be evaluated to determine whether they have been effective in achieving stated goals.

Standards in subchapter 45.2 (Community Involvement) are formulated with the intent of identifying and addressing problems arising between law enforcement agencies and all segments of their service population. Agencies should consider adopting an agency-wide philosophy of proactive community interaction and establish formal relationships with the community organizations that exist in their jurisdictions. More importantly, agencies should play an active role in organizing such groups where they are needed. By establishing links with the community, law enforcement agencies can learn of issues and respond to them before they become problems. By developing partnerships and programs that increase the community’s understanding of the activities and the policing role agencies can increase public confidence while lessening obstacles to implementing new programs and approaches that could fail for want of public understanding or accurate information.

 

45.1 Crime Prevention

45.1.1 The agency’s crime prevention function provides for the following:

a. targeting programs by crime type and geographic area on the basis of an analysis of local crime data;

b. targeting programs to address community perceptions or misperceptions of crime; and

c. evaluating the effectiveness of crime prevention programs.

Commentary: Preventing crime demands an integrated, coordinated agency response. Therefore, for a crime prevention function to meet its goals (see 11.5.1), it should maintain close ties with those other functions that support and make possible the furtherance of the crime prevention effort, especially by patrol officers engaged in field assignments. That an agency is small does not exempt it from seeking a reasonable balance between its reactive and proactive (crime prevention) functions. Small agencies may actually be better equipped to prevent crime because of their officers’ close personal ties with the community.

Community interaction provides the framework for the agency’s establishment of action priorities. The agency, in concert with the community, should decide which crime types present the greatest problem; where the problems are most severe or where crime prevention activities could be most effective; and what types of response would be most effective.

Persons conducting evaluations should consider developing specific criteria necessary to measure program effectiveness and recognize ancillary benefits, constructing instruments that accurately collect information on the program, and soliciting the viewpoints of citizens on the prevalence of crime and on the effectiveness of the agency’s crime prevention efforts. After each evaluation, the agency should decide whether every program or initiative should remain functioning as is, be modified, or be discontinued.

The intent of this standard is to establish agency accountability for the crime prevention function in writing. The function should be developed and operated to effectively meet the agency’s needs in terms of community partnerships. Placement of the function within the organizational structure is also addressed by standard 11.1.1. Proving compliance with this standard may be accomplished through a series of documents or a single, all-inclusive directive.

(N/A O O O)

 

45.1.2 The agency assists in organizing crime prevention groups in residential and business areas targeted for such activity in standard 45.1.1 and maintains liaison with these and other interested community groups.

Commentary: None.

(O O O O)

 

45.1.3 If granted the opportunity by the jurisdiction’s governing authority, the agency provides crime prevention input into development and/or revision of zoning policies, building codes, fire codes, and residential/commercial building permits.

Commentary: The agency should become proactively involved in this process as an integral element in ensuring that crime prevention concerns, from the law enforcement perspective, are addressed prior to legal enactment or construction.

(O O O O)

 

45.2 Community Involvement

45.2.1 The community involvement function provides the following at a minimum:

a. establishing liaison with formal community organizations and other community groups;

b. informing all personnel that they are responsible for achieving the agency’s community involvement objectives;

c. developing community involvement policies for the agency;

d. publicizing agency objectives, problems, and successes;

e. conveying information transmitted from citizens’ organizations to the agency;

f. improving agency practices bearing on police community interaction;

g. identifying training needs through interviews with citizen representatives, consultations with those involved in internal investigations, and conferences with supervisors; and

h. establishing community groups where they are needed.

Commentary: Law enforcement agencies should establish direct contacts with the community served. Without "grass roots" community support, successful enforcement of many laws may be difficult, if not impossible. A well organized community relations function can be an effective means of eliciting public support, can serve to identify problems in the making, and may foster cooperative efforts in resolving community issues. Input from the community can also help ensure that agency policies accurately reflect the needs of the community.

The intent of this standard is to establish agency accountability for the community involvement function in writing. The function should be developed and operated to effectively meet the needs of the agency, as well as the community it serves. Placement of the function within the organizational structure is also addressed by standard 11.1.1. Proving compliance with this standard may be accomplished through a series of documents or a single, all-inclusive directive.

Because the conduct of each employee reflects on the agency as a whole, the burden of achieving the agency’s community relations objectives should be shared. A unified, coordinated effort should require the participation, enthusiasm, and skills of all agency personnel.

(O O O O)

 

45.2.2 At least quarterly, the person or persons responsible for the community involvement function prepares and submits to the chief executive officer a report that includes, at a minimum, the following elements:

a. a description of current concerns voiced by the community;

b. a description of potential problems that have a bearing on law enforcement activities within the community;

c. a statement of recommended actions that address previously identified concerns and problems; and

d. a statement of progress made toward addressing previously identified concerns and problems.

Commentary: These concerns and problems should, at a minimum, be communicated to the chief executive officer, both to provide information on conditions in the community and to allow the chief executive officer to react in a timely manner to alleviate concerns and avert problems. Ideally, these reports should also be disseminated to other concerned command level personnel.

(N/A O O O)

 

45.2.3 A written directive establishes procedures for transmitting relevant information received by any agency member to the person responsible for preparing the report found in standard 45.2.2.

Commentary: The purpose of the standard is to insure that there is an evaluative loop in the community involvement/community-policing actions of the agency. Compliance with the standard reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation by the person preparing the quarterly report and insures that information being gathered by agency personnel is incorporated into the decision-making processes.

(N/A O O O)

 

45.2.4 A survey of citizen attitudes and opinions is conducted at a minimum of every three years with respect to:

a. overall agency performance;

b. overall competence of agency employees;

c. officers’ attitudes and behavior toward citizens;

d. community concern over safety and security within the agency’s service area as a whole; and

e. recommendations and suggestions for improvements.

Commentary: The survey may be conducted by mail, in person, or by telephone and may be combined with questions relating to victimization and other issues. The results of the survey may be provided to the community. The survey may be carried out directly by agency personnel or by others with agency guidance.

(O O O O)