Community Policing: Practice, Roles, Challenges and Prospects in Crime Prevention in East Gojjam Administrative Zone

Abstract

Community policing is a paradigm shift established at the bedrock of community partnership in creating safe and secure environment for all. It is policing whereby the people take active part in their own affairs; the police are not seen as a problem or stranger whose presence stands for danger but as partners in development and those members of the community are co-producers of justice and quality police service. This fact indicates the need of involving the community, the local government and the police to work together to tackle crime. One rationale for public involvement is the belief that police alone can neither create nor maintain safe communities. Despite the establishment of community policing and numerous efforts by various police administrations to curtail the level of crime in Ethiopia, crime and social disorder still persist in the country. With growing urbanization and national development, there are signs of complexity and multiplicity of criminal offenses and acts. The general objective of the study is to assess the contributions, challenges and prospects of community policing in crime prevention in selected sites of East Gojjam zone, North West Ethiopia. Mixed research method which combines both qualitative and quantitative methods was employed in this study. Quantitatively, the study generally assesses the role, predicament and prospects of community policing. Qualitatively, it probes deep and investigates the views and opinions of both the members of the society and police officers on the program as a whole, its level of implementation and satisfaction it has brought and the level of program ownership among police officers and the community at large. A society less concern and inactive participation is the major challenge of community policing. Limited human resource for coordinating community policing activities, de motivated police officers, less attention given from government to the programme and turnover of police officers is also another challenge for community policing.