Community Oriented Policing Problem Solving

1. Community Oriented Policing Problem Solving Presented by the Florida Regional Community Policing Institute With Funding from: Department of Justice, COPS Office

2. Purpose of Course • Historical development of COP • POP and COP • Problems are part of Policing • A Problem Solving Model • SARA and how it works • Practical application of SARA

3. Characteristics of Traditional Policing • Police are reactive to incidents • Driven by calls for service • 911 • Limited information from community

4. Characteristics of Traditional Policing • Leadership is focused on internal operations: • Budget • Staffing • Internal Affairs complaints • Policies and procedures

5. Characteristics of Traditional Policing • Patrol officers follow orders - have little encouragement to be innovative in solving community problems • Evaluations based on numbers: • Arrests • Tickets

6. Characteristics of Traditional Policing • The police have few external partnerships • Police view themselves and are viewed as quasi-military

7. The Effectiveness of Traditional Policing • Saturation patrol did not reduce crime - displaced it • Routine patrol rarely encounters the crimes that terrifies people • Response time to calls has little effect on catching criminals • Most crime not solved through criminal investigations

8. Problem Oriented Policing • P.O.P

9. Herman Goldstein - a Problem Oriented Approach to Policing • Responding to calls is only the 1st step in a policing strategy • Find permanent solutions to problems that lead to calls for service

10. Goldstein Theorized: • Underlying conditions create problems • Problems in turn lead to incidents • Many incidents lead to police calls • Incidents appear to be isolated

11. Incidents • They can arise from a single common source • Police usually only deal with the symptom of the problems: • Gangs • Vandalism • Street terrorism • Burglaries, robberies, etc.

12. Problem Oriented Policing • A routine method for: • Identification of problems • Analysis of problems • A response to problems • An evaluation of effectiveness

13. Limitations of POP • All community policing involves problem solving…..but……………… • Not all Problem Oriented Policing is Community Policing

14. Limitations of POP • Problem Oriented Policing does not always: • Seek input from the community • Include permanent patrol assignments • Utilize decentralized stations • Evaluate effectiveness of problems addressed

15. The Preference for POP over COP • There is a difference between POP and COP • POP is the safer of the two to implement: • Less risk by not involving community in decision making and setting priorities • It offers the ability to solve problems and move on

16. Community Oriented Policing

17. Defining COP • Not easily defined: • Not one size fits all • “Authorities” have many different ideas as to its definition

18. Herman Goldstein(Father of COP) Observed: • “Indeed the popularity of the term has resulted in its being used to encompass practically all innovations in policing— • From the most ambitious to the most mundane: from the most carefully thought through to the most casual.”

19. Community Oriented Policing • The popularity of the term forces a need to find a definition for Community Oriented Policing

20. Community Policing Defined: • Community Policing is a philosophy and an organizational strategy that promotes a new partnership between people and their police. It is based on the premise that both the police and the community must work together to identify, prioritize, and solve contemporary problems such as—

21. Community Policing Defined: • —crime, drugs, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and overall neighborhood decay, with a goal of improving the overall quality of life in the area.”

22. —and • Community policing is a collaborative effort between law enforcement and the community that identifies problems of concern to communities and works to solve them.

23. The Two Key Elements of Community Policing: • Partnership • Partnership between the police and community • Problem Solving • Working to solve the problems identified by the partnership

24. Goals of Community Policing • A decentralized and personalized police service to the community • Police do not impose order from the outside • Police are a resource to solve problems identified by the community • Implement organizational philosophy and strategy that is flexible and meet the needs of the community

25. What's Needed to Achieve Community Policing • Obtain and analyze information internally and externally • Continually create mechanisms for direct community involvement to set police objectives and establish priorities • Management empowers decision making by people closest to problem

26. What's Needed to Achieve Community Policing • Ensure that evaluations of police officers are directly linked to the skills needed for community policing • Constantly evaluate results and strategies for effectiveness and make the necessary adjustments to meet community needs

27. The Nature of Problems • Upstream / Downstream • page 13 of text

28. Problem Solving • Problems • A problem is a basic unit of police work • Problem Solving • The process of devising and implementing a strategy for finding a solution or for transforming a less desirable condition into a more desirable one.

29. COP Definition of a Problem • Any condition that alarms, harms, threatens, or has potential for disorder in the community, particularly incidents that may appear as isolated, but— • ...Share certain characteristics such as common pattern, victim or geographic location.

30. How incidents are related • The police look for common elements that link this particular crime to other crimes.

31. The Crime Triangle Location Victim Perpetrator

32. Seeking the Underlying Conditions • Police often deal with symptoms of a problem when answering calls for service • Characteristics of people who live or enter into a neighborhood • How people feel about where they live • The condition of the neighborhood

33. Expected Outcomes of Problem Solving: • Eliminate the problem entirely • Reduce the number of occurrences of the problem • To reduce the degree of harm caused by the problem • To improve the way the problem is being dealt with. • Change the environment (CPTED)

34. SARAProblem Solving Model Scanning Analysis Assessment Response

35. Problem Solving Involves SA R A Scanning Identify neighborhood crime and disorder problems

36. Problem Solving Involves SARA Scanning Identify neighborhood crime & disorder problems Analysis Understand conditions that cause problems to occur

37. Problem Solving Involves SARA Response Develop & Implement Solutions Scanning Identify neighborhood crime & disorder problems Analysis Understand conditions that cause problems to occur

38. Problem Solving Involves S A R A Response Develop & Implement Solutions Scanning Identify neighborhood crime & disorder problems Analysis Understand conditions that cause problems to occur Assessment Determine the Impact

39. Problem Solving Involves S A R A Response Develop & Implement Solutions Scanning Identify neighborhood crime & disorder problems Analysis Understand conditions that cause problems to occur Assessment Determine the Impact

40. S A A R S A R A Conceptualization:Problem-Solving Process

41. Summary of Scanning • First • Laundry List of Potential Problems • Second • Problems Identified • Third • Problems Prioritized

42. Summary of Scanning • Fourth • State the Specific Problem • Examples of Where the Problem Occurs • Which Setting is Causing the Most Difficulty

43. Summary of Scanning • General Goal Statement • How Will Data be Gathered and Reported • When Will Data Collection Begin First Second Third Fourth

44. Summary of Analysis (Part I) • What Conditions or Events Precede the Problem? • What Conditions or Events Accompany the Problem? • What Are the Problem’s Consequences? • What Harm Results from the Problem? First

45. Summary of Analysis (Part I) • How Often Does the Problem Occur? • How Long Has this Been a Problem? • What is the Duration of Each Occurrence of the Problem? Second

46. Summary of Analysis (Part II) • Define a Tentative Goal • Identify Resources that May Assist in Solving the Problem • What Procedures, Policies, or Rules Have Already Been Established to Address the Problem? Third

47. Summary of Response • Brainstorm Possible Interventions First

48. Summary of Response • Consider Feasibility and Choose Among Alternatives • What Needs to be Done Before the Plan is Implemented? • Who Will be Responsible for Preliminary Actions? Second

49. Summary of Response • Outline the Plan and Who Might Be Responsible for Each Part • Will This Plan Accomplish All or Part of the Goal? • State the Specific Goals This Plan Will Accomplish • What are Some of the Ways Data Might Be Collected? Third

50. Summary of Response • Realistically, What Are the Most Likely Problems With Implementing the Plan? • What are Some Possible Procedures to Follow When the Plan is Not Working or When It is Not Being Implemented Correctly? Fourth