November 19, 2013
Community Policing
Dr. Ivey
Challenges faced with Community Policing
Community policing is a great asset to communities but there are many challenges that the programs are faced with. Economy is a big strain on the programs, it affects other parts of the program more than others and those of communities. In the last 10 years, the United States has been going through a lot with the economy. This includes job loss, homelessness, salary cuts, and so much more. “For the first time in a field known for being stable and recession-proof and affording a high degree of job security, the economy has altered policing such that some agencies are closing precincts, merging with other departments, and even shutting down completely” (Glensor, 2008). With there being so many merges of departments and officers losing jobs, the officer to people in the community ratio is not where is should be. For example in “Pennsylvania, more than 20 suburban and rural police agencies closed and 7 others cut patrols. These closures and cuts forced the state police who face their own budget struggles to assume full or partial public safety responsibility for about 54,000 more people” (Glensor, 2008). An officer can only oversee so many people and when the load becomes to overbearing, officers began to loosen up and not take crimes as serious as they should be taken. A decrease in officers could also mean an increase in crime. If people of communities have the knowledge of knowing that there are a lack of officers in certain areas, communities, or towns, then crimes will began to increase. If officers are not able to respond to a crime in a timely manner then that also gives criminals another advantage,e which could also cause an increase in crime. When looking at economy as an impact on the increase of crimes in communities, strain theory is often looked at. “Strain theory argues that economic downturns put increased strain on individuals that will make them more likely to seize on criminal opportunities as outlets for this strain” (Matthew C. Scheider Ph.D., 2012). So when the economy is down, more people are staying at home, when they are usually at work. This can be both good and bad. A person being at home, may scare a criminal away versus a person not being at home. You also have those who sit at home and began to engage in committing crimes, such as selling illicit drugs and selling stolen goods. When the economy is declined, officers tend to have to work harder, because people are committing more crimes. If the economy affects police departments, this means that there will be a lack of officers in areas, which will make the jobs of officers who are still working harder and longer. “There is much evidence that criminals at best engage in limited rational decision making and, therefore, these theories may have limited explanatory power. Such explanations are also likely to be dependent on the type of criminal activity, for example, perhaps burglary and robbery are more dependent on economic conditions where other types of less economically motivated violent crime may be less so” (Matthew C. Scheider Ph.D., 2012). The economy does not impact all aspects of crime, just particular crimes which makes logical sense for the type of crimes that tend to increase when the economy is down. Some researchers think that crime immediately changes when the economy declines, while others feel that it takes time for crimes to increase. Different types of crimes being committed can gradually increase if something essential is affected in an area. However, crimes are committed everyday all over the world, so crime rates are constantly increasing and decreasing. The economy plays a big role in the decrease or increase in crime. When the economy is good crime is relatively low, but when the economy begins to decline crime began to increase. There are several reasons for the cause and effect that communities and officers experience as a