Community organization and cohesion : investigating the impact of community-oriented policing strategies on communities

As an alternative to traditional policing tactics, community-oriented policing strategies are being implemented in law enforcement agencies nationwide. The primary tenet of community-oriented policing is that crime control is best accomplished as a joint venture between citizens of the community and police personnel. Previous empirical research on community-oriented policing has focused on its effects on crime rates and fear of crime. Using data from a study sponsored by the Police Foundation, this paper examines the effects of community-oriented policing on broader community processes such as levels of community cohesion and community organization. Changes in residents’ perceptions of community cohesion, organization, cooperative security, and overall quality of life are investigated through the use of paired t tests, analysis of variance and multiple regression. Results indicate that some forms of community-oriented policing have significant positive effects on community process variables in specific locations. The results also suggest that community-oriented policing strategies may lead to significant increases in levels of community processes, which then may lead to reductions in crime and fear of crime. To properly assess the strength and efficacy of community-oriented policing strategies, future research should include measures of community process as important evaluative criteria.