Evolution Of Community Policing

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“Community policing provides a feeling of involvement, a feeling of safety, and a feeling of partnership. All of these ultimately result in the community’s trust” (D. Robinson, personal communication, December 4, 2014). On December 4th, I was provided the opportunity to sit down with the Dearborn Police Department’s first community policing officer, Commander David Robinson. We discussed how community policing benefits the community, how it has evolved since he first started, and–as requested by my classmates–his stance on body cameras in light of the recent happenings in Ferguson, Missouri. According to Commander Robinson, “at first, community policing was challenging. It is not simply a program; it is an entire philosophical change” and the department had to change with it. …show more content…
Every single officer has to be taught community policing in order for it to be successful. “The key to starting and maintaining a community policing program is the officers need to recognize that the police department, being a 24/7 operation, is the perfect conduit for relationship building between all entities” (D. Robinson, personal communication, December 4, 2014). When asked how community policing has changed nearly twenty-five years later, Commander Robinson said “community policing has evolved into all areas of police training. It has become standard in the police academy and even found its way into education at universities” (D. Robinson, personal communication, December 4, 2014). This evolution of community policing is evidence that policing is no different than any other thing in this world; it