Transforming the Law Enforcement Organization to Community Policing, Final Monograph

• NCJ Number: 200610
• Author(s): Edward Connors; Barbara Webster
• Date Published: January 2001
• Length: 147 pages
• Publication Series: NIJ Research Report
• Grant Number(s): 95-IJ-CX-0091
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis

Annotation

This document discusses what happens when policing organizations attempt a transformation to community policing.

Abstract

Community policing represents a departure from the familiar, bureaucratic policing model. The transformation from a closed organization designed to react to crime to one that is open and proactive about preventing crime is profound. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the concept of community policing. Chapter 2 reviews some of the literature relevant to organizational transformation and community policing. Chapter 3 reviews the research methodology for conducting four case studies in communities known for their progress in organizational transformation to community policing. Chapter 4 provides a brief history of the transition to community policing at the project’s case study sites. Chapter 5 examines the steps involved in an organizational transformation to community policing. In Chapter 6, leadership is discussed in the context of how it was demonstrated at the case study sites and its importance for communicating and building support for the community policing vision. The focus of chapter 7 is the importance of strategic planning for a community policing transformation. Chapter 8 discusses ways to identify community concerns as a first step in gaining community support. Results from the national survey and examples from the case study sites are included. Chapter 9 addresses the need to empower employees by such actions as decentralizing decision making and encouraging risk-taking and non-traditional ideas. Chapter 10 discusses the importance of early “wins” for the transformation process, when these successes are tied to the overall community policing vision. Chapter 11 discusses issues of organizational culture; changes needed in all human resource policies and practices; and changes in organizational structure, deployment, and other areas important for transforming into a community policing organization. Chapter 12 focuses on the leadership at the CEO level and the challenges police CEOs face compared to those faced by their counterparts in the corporate world. 9 exhibits, 17 footnotes, 120 references