Community oriented policing can be distinguished from traditional policing by recognizing three philosophical principles. These three principles are shared responsibility, prevention, and increased officer discretion (Rohe, n.d.). There are core elements in a community oriented policing program. There are organizational elements, tactical elements, and external elements (Rohe, n.d.). Implementation of the community policing philosophy may occur incrementally and within specialized units at first, but a defined path leads toward full, department wide implementation (COPS, n.d.). There are tactical elements involved in community policing. The use of proven and established enforcement strategies are just some of the many tools available to officers. The use of proactive, crime prevention strategies is another tactical element. Another tactical element is problem solving. This is accomplished when community members and other public entities work together to address underlying …show more content…
This will make it possible for specific reports to be ordered and it will be possible to examine the benefits or problems regarding budgetary matters. Another way to effectively evaluate the program would be through an activities tracking system. This is a way to summarize the activities of specific areas, specific individuals, and specific issues plaguing the community. Council members and other city officials can request information and be provided with reports and statistics to report back to the community. Additionally, the community officers can be provided with this data and measure the effectiveness of their efforts. Community policing requires that the same officers work in the same area on a semi-permanent basis. This means that citizens will see the same officers often. Seeing the same officers all the time gives them an identity to the citizens. A police officer is no longer just a badge number, instead he is the person seen standing outside the McDonalds or the guy who someone may talk to while on a walk through the park. Officers become friends to the people. This trust that is built can be very useful to an officer when he has questions about a