Answer

Abstract

 The dynamic nature of crime has necessitated the need for more proactive mechanisms to reducing crime in society. Community policing is the action of police involving developing community partnership, engaging in problem solving, and implementing various aspects of policing features. Primarily, the system involves empowering police officers to identify and solve community security problems proactively (Meares, 2017). It encourages interactive partnership between law enforcement officers and the community. The connection between law enforcement and the community enhances understanding the problems facing people and solves the public safety challenges. The partnership with community member groups, other government agencies, private businesses, and the media is crucial in enhancing the practice. Community policing involves a commitment to citizen values and input of law enforcement policies and priorities. In a democratic society, people should involve in the governance system. On the other hand, the policing department should be accountable and responsive. Officers are likely to obtain citizens’ support when they remain responsive to their security concerns (Meares, 2017). The role of law enforcement in community policing includes working with residents to enhance workplace safety using measures such as solving conflicts, enhancing relationship with citizens, helping victims, fighting fear, and reducing crime through making arrests. 

The Role that Law Enforcement Plays in Community Oriented Policing

Law enforcement enhances community policing by solving conflicts among members of the community. Police develop an effective process of engaging in systematic and proactive examination and determination of challenges affecting the development and establishment of effective response to problems in the community (Peyton, Sierra-Arévalo & Rand, 2019). Proactive response to problems when they occur is a vital role of police in community policing. The police should not respond to the problems after they occur. The response should come during or before the occurrence of the crime. Besides, law enforcement officers should engage other agencies in proactive problem solving mechanisms to underplaying conditions that contribute to public safety issues. Problem solving must be included in all policy operations and decisions that guide the public safety concerns (Peyton, Sierra-Arévalo & Rand, 2019). The police encourage other agencies to use a variety of potential responses and consider arrests as the last option to solving problems in the community. The law enforcement officers should scan the problems to determine their nature and make mechanisms to responding to the same. Moreover, they conduct analysis to understand the nature of the problem in the community (Pyle & Cangemi, 2019). With the help of the community members, the police should scan, identify priorities concerns and respond to the problems in the societies effectively using the help of citizens.

The law enforcement officers enhance relationships with community members to increase safety measures and respond to security challenges. The police advance positive relationship with mutual trust between the police agencies and the community as critical approach to maintaining public safety. A positive relationship with the community enables law enforcement to receive information from citizens concerning crimes and disorder challenges that affect their safety (Peyton, Sierra-Arévalo & Rand, 2019). The actions of the law enforcement officers towards serving the community must reflect specific values that paint the department in good light. Thus, it enables law enforcement officers to find it easy to gather critical criminal information from the community. Issues such as controversial uses of force can ruin the image of law enforcement in the community.

Primarily, the police must operate with utmost transparency to have honest criminal reports from the members of the society. Transparency enhances the role of the law enforcement officers in developing positive relationships with the members of the society to make their work effective (Przeszlowski & Crichlow, 2018). Law enforcement maintains focus on the importance of working together with society members and becoming visible in society. The police should encourage interaction with members of the society outside the law enforcement context to develop interactive engagement with the community.

The law enforcement officers have crucial role to play in responding and supporting victims of crime. The victims of crime are treated as essential stakeholders in problem-oriented policing as they hold unique perspective to the problem. Responding to victims promptly is an important community engagement and enables the victim’s family to appreciate the role of the police in active engagement with community members (Przeszlowski & Crichlow, 2018). Effective response to victims increases case clearance rate resulting to effective justice system. Victims assisted by the police help in investigation of crimes and are likely to cooperate with the police in the future by reporting criminal activities in the society. The support increases the likelihood of arresting and prosecuting offenders.

Besides, victim assistance helps in reducing crime in the community. They become more receptive to receiving crime prevention tips that reduce the potential risk of falling victim to crime again. Victim response increases effective collaboration between law enforcement and organizations providing victim services. The partnership is crucial in enhancing victim support such as access to compensation (Pyle & Cangemi, 2019). Thus, the police is free to focus on the investigation of the crime. Effective response to victim increases job satisfaction among the law enforcement officers through increased reputation with the stakeholders. Enhanced response to victims of crime in the society needs modifications of values, and protocols of the law enforcement department concerning engagement with the society (Pyle & Cangemi, 2019). Thus, there should be sufficient training to police officers to help in enhancing the effectiveness of the practice. The police should identify and respond to victim needs as a priority in all areas and as a function of law enforcement protocol.

The law enforcement department has the role of reducing fear concerning occurrence of criminal activities in the society. Random police patrol in all parts of the community is a crucial undertaking to realize the objective. Members of the community feel safe when they realize the presence of police in various parts of the community (Pyle & Cangemi, 2019). It is an indication of the commitment of the police to reducing criminal activities in the society. Rapid response to call for service is also another tactic used by the police to enhance confidence of the members of the society on the role of law enforcement in preventing crime. Quick response removes fear in the community since it increases the chances of apprehending criminals deterring occurrence of crime in the community. Applied follow up crime investigations reduces fear in the society (Peyton, Sierra-Arévalo & Rand, 2019). People are assured that no criminal goes unpunished for their conducts. Close partnership between the members of the society and the police results to reduced fear in the community. Nonetheless, the crimes are likely to reduce in the community when criminals are arrested often. Criminals are likely to experience crime deterrence when they understand the consequences of the criminal actions, and that the police are likely to make arrests. 

Recommendations for Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement Officers for Actively Improving Community Relations in the Multicultural Society

1. At all levels of the government, the law enforcement officers should add cultural competence to community policing. The officers should not operate on organization culture that assumes that all communities are the same. Primarily, acknowledging the existence of cultural difference is likely to enhance the community policing efforts.
2. More training should be advanced to officers concerning cultural competence. Police training currently involves hard-core training practices such as physical exercise, self-defense, and firearm handling skills. However, there should be training on soft skills, the tools that enable officers to engage in critical thinking and make cultural awareness decisions. Multicultural communities present challenging environment for police officers. Thus, they must take advantage of the learning opportunities to increase their knowledge in dealing with the challenges.

• The police should participate in community-organized events to gain more knowledge concerning the activities of some communities. Besides, they learn to develop a positive relationship with the community to gain cultural knowledge that helps make safety decisions in community policing. For instance, the Muslim community can organize with the law enforcement officers to collaborate with local mosques to encourage open dialogue and information sharing.

1. Officers of the law should identify causes of discrimination in administering police justice along the cultural lines and develop mechanisms of correcting the same. Criminal justice should be conducted without cultural favoritism. Officers should appreciate other cultures and advance equal law enforcement measures across all cultures.

Conclusion

Community policing is an important crime prevention undertaking that involves the members of the society in fighting crime. The law enforcement officers have critical roles in enhancing community oriented policing. For instance, they assist the victims, fight fear, reduce crime, make arrests, and solving conflicts among the community members. Nonetheless, more safe practices should be adopted by various government levels to ensure cultural competence policing in multicultural communities.