Thesis: If I could make a difference in the world it would be to improve the way the public views the police; the steps I would take would be improve community relations, participate in community policing, and help humanize the badge.
To improve community relations in my small county I attempt to make myself known to the people in my jurisdiction and build a relationship with those I meet frequently. I do this through regularly patrolling the nicer neighborhoods, though they rarely have any criminal activity, to help those citizens feel protected and show that I am here to serve them; in the high crime neighborhoods, I take a more involved approach. When I have the time, I will get out and spend time with the young people in the neighborhood and play sports or chat: building a bond that hopefully lasts into their adulthood. I also attempt to know the people that I must arrest often, and I try to build a …show more content…
The town I work for, however, is not very large and we generally only have one or two officers on at a time. The idea of community policing as defined above is already done for me; I attempt to build on this by assisting citizens whenever I am able. If I see a motorist out on the side of the road, I do my best to stop and help: whether that be to change a tire or help get a few gallons of gas. I believe this is slightly different than building community relations because these citizens are not always locals to my town or even county. I hope that when I help those travelers I make a good impression and possibly create a little extra positivity to their opinion of the police. In my opinion community policing is going above and beyond to help strengthen the positive presence of