- Published: October 2, 2022
- Updated: October 2, 2022
- University / College: University of Wollongong
- Language: English
- Downloads: 2
Building neighborhood relationships build trust rather than just a police officer. If the public build trust and relationships with police they are more likely to come forward about crimes that occur. Since police can’t be at all places at once they rely on the public to help them catch individuals in the process of crimes. The public can help police in other ways such as attending neighborhood watch meetings and learning more about how to protect their neighborhood and the citizens who live around them. Having trusting relationships between the public and police is very important so that the support have meaningful sharing information, responsiveness to community concerns and priorities, the reporting of suspicious activities that appropriately distinguish between innocent cultural behaviors and behavior that may legitimately reflect criminal enterprise or terrorism precursor activities.
Law enforcement must establish legitimacy in the communities they serve if trusting relationships are to be established. For communities, their leaders and representatives must collaborate with law enforcement and share responsibility for addressing the problems of crime and terrorism prevention in their neighborhoods. It is important for law enforcement agencies to go beyond just community relations so that all officers understand how to engage with immigrant and minority communities and can thus provide a felt and positive presence in these neighborhoods. Building relationships in these particular communities will build trust and respect for their line of work. By accomplishing this task they have a greater chance of catching crimes among minorities that typically would not come forward from fear of the police. By Becoming a part of the problem-solving process through community policing, the community share responsibility for addressing the problems of crime and terrorism prevention. If the public participates and contributions it will help other communities develop relationships of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, particularly immigrant and minority communities, so that the challenges of crime control and prevention of terrorism can be address. It is not only important for the public to build relationships with their community and law enforcements agencies but play a role in their communities to work together in fighting crime to make their communities a better place to live.
Police have jobs that are more hard and complex than the public realize. It makes their jobs a little less stressful when they get corporation from their communities to solve crimes and put people away in jail who committed crimes. Sometimes the public can be more help at solving crimes committed when they are the only ones around who witnessed the crime and the suspect. Although there have been tons of success in building trusting relationships with diverse communities, challenges remain. Lack of trust is one of the greatest obstacles faced by American policing and has a direct impact on the ability to address neighborhood issues of crime, disorder, and the prevention of terrorism. It is a fact that although law enforcement managers are often better at reaching out to their diverse communities to establish relationships, many executives recognize the challenge for their officers in developing effective relationships at the neighborhood level. Developing trust is complex.
It requires an open mind, a willingness to listen and consider another person’s perspective, an understanding of the person’s culture and environment, and a commitment to honesty in the relationship. For a law enforcement agency, it becomes important to respect diversity and to celebrate the potential for bringing people with different cultures and lifestyles together into the basic fabric of a strong diverse community environment. In some cities, law enforcement agencies have been at the forefront of creating that environment. To develop relationships of trust, it is crucial that they recognize that racial, religious, ethnic, and other minority communities all have an interest in addressing behaviors that negatively impact the stability of the community. The public can help police in more ways than one when helping them. Whether it’s a quiet neighborhood where teens haven’t much to do, or a rural town that’s been stable, even communities that seem calm can be facing a crime threat. Everyone can see the early warning signals. From the little worries that alert you to the need to prevent bigger problems.
The trick is to swing into action at the first sign of trouble, not to wait until it comes to your front door. Abandoned autos, people loitering, vacant homes, graffiti, a rash of break-ins, or other signs of possible trouble should be a clue to act now. Acting right away on small problems can prevent big ones later. There’s something each person can do to help. Anyone can hand out educational brochures. Young children can pick up litter or learn to settle arguments without fighting. Older youth can teach younger ones about preventing violence or organize positive activities like concerts that can replace drug traffic in a nearby park.
Caring adults can help troubled youth and families can help each other. Business people can help manage programs and raise funds; civic activists can round up local agencies to meet needs like recreation, housing, or education. Many things help the prevention of crime, violence, and drug abuse problems in a community. Many kinds of activity will help to end the problems.
Some may be more direct than others, but all will help. Not everyone will join up. A very few people just don’t care; some people don’t think they have anything to offer. Some think they can’t make a difference. Some think it will take too much of their time.
Others are afraid of failing. Some may be afraid of retaliation.