Policing Program Research Articles

Balancing central control and community agency in an authoritarian state: Community policing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This study uses evidence at the local level to show how an authoritarian state, Ethiopia, undertakes community policing at the local level. On the one hand, the central state seeks to penetrate and control populations, but on the other hand, it also wants to improve the image of the police and central government. This research suggests that, at a very local level the Ethiopian state has partially achieved this despite a history of central-local tension, alongside crime and social disorder reduction. Some community policing programmes (Neighbourhood Watch Programmes, beat definition, and demarcation activities) are enhancing community agency and collective effectiveness, as well as inclusion, but positives need to be balanced by key challenges affecting the community policing empowerment process, notably political interference in the local processes and the use of local meetings to silence critical voices within the community. We examine what this looks like at the level of one community within Addis Ababa, with the aim of analysing the local nuances of how central-local power balance is still operating at the micro level within Ethiopia.

Development of Green Policing Index (GPI) in the Context of Solid Waste Management: A Systematic Review

The research explores how green policing at a conceptual level helps control solid waste while promoting environment-friendly practices. Research into fifty-four studies reveals four main aspects of green policing which are law enforcement actions, community involvement, technological advancement, and policy joining. Effective waste management needs all interested parties including law enforcement, neighborhoods, and private companies to work together in a full-circle approach. Enforcing environmental laws helps keep waste management rules in place and blocks illegal disposal while working to protect our environment. People must join together and spread recycling knowledge to create partnerships with local groups while reducing wasteful practices. The research shows that adding GPS tracking and drone technology to waste monitoring enhances the ability to track activities and maintain legal requirements. Strong policy frameworks and governance systems found in Sweden and Germany prove necessary to carry environmental sustainability to national levels. Through the Green Policing Index (GPI), the study recommends a tool to evaluate how green policing programs perform. The tool helps us evaluate our current actions while planning our next steps. Policymakers and authorities now have a workable system to make solid waste management plans that benefit both the environment and everyone.

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY POLICING: PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND DISPUTE HANDLING ROLES

Effective policing requires the active involvement of the local community. To engage the community, the Addis Ababa Police Commission implemented the community policy with the objectives of identifying inclusive problems in the community and managing social disputes. This study assessed the importance of the community policing program by using a qualitative research approach to collect detailed information. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The study found that involving community residents in community policing helped police departments identify the problem and manage disputes at the community level. This enabled the resolution of critical and serious problems that require detailed police intervention. As a result of community engagement, beyond reducing the burden on the police department, empowering citizens in managing social disputes promotes a culture of proactive problem-solving among residents at the grassroots level. The study advocates for a review of conventional approaches by social work to empower communities to include citizen empowerment and empowerment programs to reduce structural barriers. Accordingly, the study suggests that the Addis Ababa Police Commission should intensively implement community policing in different divisions of the police commission.

Interrogating peace in a violent democracy: a global south critique

This article examines the complex and often conflicting forms of ‘peace’ in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, using a postcolonial critique to challenge the state’s top-down imposition of realist and neoliberal peace models. It begins by interrogating the concept of ‘peace’ in the context of the Brazilian State’s historical racialization and criminalization of favelas. The article develops four key arguments. First, it considers how militarized public security policies in the “War on Drugs” translate into ‘peace as war’ in the favelas. Second, it considers criminal governance as ‘peace as order’. Third, it critiques the Pacifying Police Program (UPP) as part of a neoliberal ‘tourist peace,’ prioritizing the safety of international visitors during significant events in 2014 and 2016. Finally, it highlights non-violent peace processes within the favelas, which aim to achieve a ‘positive peace.’ The article argues that different actors, including organized criminal groups, can produce various forms of peace, raising critical questions about whose peace is being pursued and at what cost.

The Formation of Neighborhood Police and Its Impact on the Maintenance of Security and Public Order (Harkamtibmas) at Surabaya Metropolitan Police

This study aims to analyze the implementation of the Neighborhood Police (Polisi RW) policy in efforts to improve public security and order. The research method employed is descriptive analysis with a qualitative approach, involving data collection through interviews, observations, and document review. The findings show that the implementation stages, including planning, socialization, execution, monitoring, evaluation, and development, have had a positive impact, such as increased public awareness, active participation, and more efficient coordination in handling security issues. Another finding reveals that the Prototype model is more relevant than the Incremental model for the Neighborhood Police program, as it allows for rapid feedback and continuous improvement. This study recommends that Regional and City or Regency Police Departments adopt a Prototype-based approach and enhance community involvement in the program to achieve more effective security objectives.

Reluctant Spies: The Role of Neighbourhood Leaders in Indonesia’s PVE Strategy

ABSTRACT Despite a wealth of existing knowledge about intelligence gathering through community policing programs for preventing violent extremism (PVE) in Western countries, relatively little is known about how these initiatives are implemented in Muslim-majority countries: What kinds of community leaders are mobilised? What are they asked to do? How do they respond? This paper answers these questions by examining community policing initiatives for PVE in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. It focuses on the role of a ubiquitous network of neighbourhood leaders at the centre of Indonesia’s efforts to counter threats from pro-ISIS groups. Based on qualitative data collected in two of Indonesia’s largest cities, we find that a set of social, institutional, and political factors constrain neighbourhood leaders’ ability to monitor and report extremist activity to authorities. Several of these factors are similar to the barriers identified in cross-country reporting threshold studies. However, the responsibilisation of neighbourhood leaders for PVE, mixed with their reluctance to report, produces unique adverse effects in Indonesia by incentivising the use of extra-legal measures against suspects. Our findings emphasize the need to repair public trust in law enforcement agencies as a prerequisite for effective community policing and categorise information that communities can effectively provide.

The Breakdown: Police-Community Communication and its Impact on Safety and Security in South Africa

The article explores the importance of good police-community communication in South Africa, focusing on the historical context, theoretical models, and factors affecting collaboration and trust. It highlights the role of community policing programs in safety advocacy and the challenges in productive police-community relations. . Methodological approach: review of the body of literature on the relationship between the police and the community in South Africa. Examples of particular police-community collaborations. The study suggests that effective public safety and crime reduction depend on trust and cooperation between police and communities. It suggests strategies to enhance ties, such as increasing openness, accountability, and community involvement. The audience includes academics and students, emphasizing the importance of efficient police- community communication for a secure South Africa, promoting justice and equity. The findings can guide policy choices and strengthen plans for public safety in South Africa. This study explores strategies to improve police-community collaborations in South Africa, focusing on public safety, crime reduction, and trust. It highlights the importance of openness, accountability, and community involvement in fostering these relationships. The study's findings can guide policy decisions and strengthen plans for public safety, promoting social justice and equality. The audience includes policymakers, law enforcement officers, community leaders, academics, and students. A safe and secure South Africa relies on efficient police-community communication.

PREDICTIVE POLICING BY BHABINKAMTIBMAS AS A SOLUTION TO ADDRESS CRIMINALITY IN CILEMPUNG VILLAGE, PASIRJAYA, KARAWANG

The Karawang Regency faces a significant increase in the number of crimes, being a major concern due to its disruptive impact on the community as well as serious challenges for law enforcement and local governments. In order to respond to the various problems faced by Bhabinkamtibmas in the field, support and strengthening are needed with the right policing program. The research contributes to the field of public security by introducing a Predictive Policing framework tailored to the needs of Cilempung Village, Karawang, utilizing information technology and data analysis to identify crime patterns and predict potential crimes. The study provides insights into the factors influencing crime rates and offers practical strategies for implementing predictive polcing in local communities, ultimately aiming to enhance public safety and maintain social order.

Implementing community policing practices to manage conflict resolution in Galeshewe, South Africa

Community policing has emerged as a vital instrument for combatting crime and enhancing public safety in South Africa. As a result, it has the capacity to go beyond traditional law enforcement functions as a mediator in disputes, fostering improved relationships between the police and the communities where they work. This paper analyses the implementation of community policing strategies by the South African police with the purpose of resolving conflicts. This study aims to address social crime prevention-related concerns through community policing methods in the Galeshewe police area within the Francis Baard policing regions of the Sol Plaatje Municipality, South Africa. The paper examines the tactics that community police employ to enforce the law, avoid social issues, and manage conflict resolution in the communities. A qualitative method and descriptive design were employed. Comprehensive document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and observations were employed as data collection strategies. An inductive reasoning model was used to analysis data. The findings of the study demonstrated that community policing plays an important role in optimizing problem mapping and it increases public knowledge of the importance of upholding security and order in the different police operations that support the community policing program.

Proceedings of the 2024 Australasian Road Safety Conference - Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Proceedings of the 2024 annual Australasian Road Safety Conference held in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The proceedings provide the Extended Abstracts and Posters describing research, educational and policing program implementation and policy and management strategies related to all aspects of road safety and especially related to the conference theme of Target 2030: What's the pathway forward? Almost 600 delegates from 20 countries attended the face-to-face conference. Authors of accepted Extended Abstracts represented international and local institutions from all aspects of their respective communities including research centres, private companies, government agencies and community groups. These Extended Abstracts provide an indication of the important work being done in Australia, New Zealand and internationally as part of the United Nations, One UN Vision for Road Safety to reduce the number of crashes on the road by 50 percent by 2030. Almost 200 Extended Abstract manuscripts were accepted for long, short and poster sessions. Each Extended Abstract was peer-reviewed by two experts with relevant expertise. Authors were also provided the option of submitting a Full Paper. Those authors who chose to submit a Full Paper for consideration in the Journal of Road Safety (JRS) could do so based on the outcome of the peer review of their Extended Abstract. Submitted Full Papers undergo peer-review by three independent experts matched by their sector. The matching pairs academic authors iwth academic reviewers and practitioner authors with practitioner reivewers. Inclusion in the JRS follows acceptance by the peer-reviewers.The conference covered a comprehensive range of topics including speed, infrastructure and road design, cyclist safety, motorcyclist safety, pedestrian safety, road safety education, licensing, vehicle design, impairment due to distraction from mobile phones, alcohol, drugs as well as the impacts of climate change on future transport systems road safety, road safety issues for Indigenous people groups across New Zealand and Australia, integrating road safety into local Government, automated enforcement, gig economy road safety, older drivers, etc.

Beat Policing and its Efficacy in Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)

AbstractIt has been almost a decade since the beat policing program was launched in Dhaka. It is a unique way for the police to reach citizen before their call. At the beginning of 2011, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) launched beat policing in the capital to extend their service to civilians, reaching out to them closer and ensuring the accountability of police. The study’s primary objectives were to unearth causes thwarting its efficacy and suggest necessary remedies. This study was based on a quantitative and partially qualitative method; a non-probability purposive sampling was used to conduct the studies in four different police stations (8% PS) covered purposively. DMP employed beat policing to create a cordial and cooperative relationship between police and general people, ensure a safe environment for children and women, extend services to the poor and underprivileged, take preventive actions against crime, and collect information about various crimes around the city. The main findings of the study are as follows: (a) City dwellers have no clear idea about beat policing, but 55% of responders know at least their beat number, but the significant finding is that 63% of citizens said that the law and order situation has more improved after introducing the beat policing program; (b) public expectations of the beat officer are slightly adverse; (c) most of the service users recommended to increase publicity about beat policing; (d) half of the citizens reported the conduct of beat police as very friendly; (e) 93% responders said that they have never needed any payoffs to a beat policeman; (f) 93% beat police personnel claim that they regularly performed their duty. A few respondents said that their inconvenience was due to lack of workforce, logistics, job stress, and overload duty. They hope that police authority should make an additional allowance for their beat policing program.

Observations and Photo Elicitation Reveals Facilitators and Detractors to a Nutrition and Physical Literacy Youth Community Police Program

Observations and Photo Elicitation Reveals Facilitators and Detractors to a Nutrition and Physical Literacy Youth Community Police Program

Local Community Assets to Promote Community Policing in Ethiopia

Community policing is a recent strategy in Ethiopia that calls for partnership with communities to address crime problems. Few studies in Ethiopia have examined how community assets can support and work in partnership with community policing. This study explored how community assets could be used to strengthen community policing services in the Gorf Aswogaj community in Addis Ababa. We employed a qualitative research method with a case study design. Thirteen participants (11 community members and 2 police officers) participated in interviews. The findings uncovered numerous social assets including community based associations, strong culture of mutual support, and deep rooted habits of attending community based social events. Further, the study revealed existing multiple sources of income such as remittance, small and petty businesses, and renting house, which can be used as economic back-up for community policing. The study also found existing public and private institutions that can be exploited to advance community policing services in the study area. The study concludes that a community strength perspective can be integrated with community policing programs in an effort to build more peaceful and harmonious community as suggested by Asset Based Community Development Model and Normative Sponsorship Theory.

Strengthening the Rule of Law Through Community Policing: Evidence From Liberia

How to improve security and strengthen the rule of law in fragile states? Community policing programs have long been at the forefront of policymakers’ efforts to address this challenge. These programs tend to be more expansive than those found in developed countries, focusing not only on building trust through meetings and foot patrols, but also on eliciting ‘coproduction’ from communities to supplement scarce police capacity and provide alternatives to vigilantism. I partnered with the Liberian National Police (LNP) to experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in Monrovia, Liberia, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most crime-ridden cities. Drawing on a large-scale resident survey and administrative crime data, I find that the program improved relations between police and citizens, strengthened social norms against vigilantism, and mobilized communities to participate in the police’s “Watch Forum” initiative by forming and sustaining local security groups designed to facilitate cooperation with police. These changes were accompanied by a roughly 40% reduction in the incidence of mob violence. Despite these improvements, the program did not reduce the overall incident of crime, improve perceptions of security, or increase crime reporting.

ANALISA IMPLEMENTASI PROGRAM POLISI RW DALAM MENDUKUNG HARKAMTIBMAS DI WILAYAH HUKUM POLRES METRO BEKASI KOTA

This research was initiated by thinking about the RW Police program, which is actually a program needed by the community, but in reality it has not been implemented optimal. This is shown by the high number of crimes and violations that occur in the Bekasi City Metro Police jurisdiction when compared between before the RW Police Program (in 2021 and 2022) and after the implementation of the RW Police Program (in 2023). On the other hand, the concept of the RW Police program, which facilitates one RW with one police officer who lives in the RW, is a good program because with this concept it is hoped that the police in each RW can get to know more and be closer to the community so that they can become partners in creating public security. So, in order to maximize the implementation of the RW Police program, it is necessary to develop the right strategy and equip RW Police officers in the field with good problem-solving skills in order to maximize partnerships with the community and support the creation of security, especially in the Bekasi Metro Police jurisdiction. This research was conducted using a qualitative method with a constructivism paradigm where the author wanted to seek an in-depth understanding of the implementation of the RW Police in supporting the security forces in the jurisdiction of the Bekasi Metro Police, find obstacles in the field and find the right strategy to maximize its implementation.

Determinants of Volunteers’ Perceptions of Crime and Disorder: Do Perceptions Reflect Reality?

Perceptions of crime and disorder are conducive to the quality of life in a neighborhood and closely related to social stability and residents’ psychological health. If residents’ perceptions overestimate the reality of neighborhood crime and disorder, it can generate a significant amount of personal fear and stress. To identify factors associated with public perceptions of crime and disorder, the current study investigated a sample of 394 volunteers who participated in a community policing program in Houston, Texas. Results from the structural equation modeling analysis indicated that volunteers’ crime and disorder perceptions were not influenced by the reported crime in their neighborhoods. The findings showed that the significant predictors were associated with collective efficacy in the neighborhood and their attitudes toward the police. Moreover, perceptions of crime had different predictors from perceptions of disorder. Implication for future research was discussed in the end.

Exploring youth’s satisfaction with Bicol Police Programs and activities in the Philippines

Filipino youths are considered the most valuable resource of the country comprising more than 40 percent of the total Philippine population. This descriptive-correlational study determined the satisfaction level of the 141 samples of young Bicolanos (81 were males and 60 were females) with the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s programs and activities. The multi-stage sampling designs were used to ensure representative samples from each of the six provinces in the Bicol region, Philippines. The gathered quantitative and qualitative data from a validated questionnaire revealed that Bicol youth respondents are generally satisfied with the PNP’s programs and activities in the campaign against criminality, the campaign against illegal drugs, public safety, and public security. The youth respondents in the region felt that they were publicly safe and secure when they observed the PNP’s visible campaigns against criminality and illegal drugs. The paper recommends promoting and enhancing programs and partnerships with the community involving the youth sector such as the out-of-school youth, students, and young professionals.

Democratization of community policing: Insights and perspectives on the Nigerian Experience

In this work, the methods of democratization of community policing in Nigeria were addressed. The traditional methods of policing which focused on militaristic style of policing and the current focus of policing which hinges on police-public collaborations in policing make this study significant. The broad objective of this study is to identify the roles of various stakeholders in the democratization of community policing in Nigeria and the challenges. The specific objectives were to identify the roles of: the police, the public, and the challenges facing democratization of community policing in Nigeria. The work raised three research questions to address the objectives of the study. We adopted both primary and secondary sources of data collection. The result of this survey indicated that the police organize various workshops for police officers to enable them adapt to new policing style and accommodate views from all ranks including lower ranking officers; that the public participate in policing by promoting security outfits, monitoring immigrants, providing useful information to the police and arresting criminals and handing them over to the police; that this new policing programme suffers some institutional setbacks: selective implementation; inadequate personnel and poor budgetary allocations. Based on our findings, we recommend that Nigeria police service should be transformed to Nigeria community policing service; the numerical strength of the police should be raised in order to meet the international standard of one police officer to forty people, and that the budgetary provision for the police should be enhanced.

The first national subject benchmark statement for UK higher education in policing: the importance of effective partnership and collaboration

PurposeThe Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education in the UK focuses on maintaining, enhancing and standardising the quality of higher education. Of significant impact are the development of subject benchmark statements (SBS) by the QAA, which describe the type and content of study along with the academic standards expected of graduates in specific disciplines. Prior to 2022, the QAA did not have a SBS to which higher education policing programmes could be directly aligned.Design/methodology/approachOver 12-months, a SBS advisory group with representatives from higher education across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, The College of Policing, QAA, Police Federation of England and Wales and policing, worked in partnership to harness their collective professional experience and knowledge to create the first UK SBS for policing. Post publication of the SBS, permission was sought and granted from both the College of Policing and QAA for members of the advisory group to reflect in an article on their experiences of collaborating and working in partnership to achieve the SBS.FindingsThere is great importance of creating a shared vision and mutual trust, developed through open facilitated discussions, with representatives championing their cause and developing a collaborative and partnership approach to completing the SBS.Practical implicationsA collaborative and partnership approach is essential in developing and recognising the academic discipline of policing. This necessarily requires the joint development of initiatives, one of which is the coming together of higher education institutions, PSRBs and practitioner groups to collaborate and design QAA benchmark statements.Social implicationsThe SBS advisory group has further driven forward the emergence of policing as a recognised academic discipline to benefit multiple stakeholders.Originality/valueThe SBS for policing is the first across the UK. The authors experiences can be used to assist others in their developments of similar subject specific benchmarking or academic quality standards.

POLICE PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE ON CITIZENS’ TRUST: A HUMAN RIGHTSBASED POLICING PROGRAM IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

Human Rights-Based Policing is a framework that guides police officers in executing their duties, providing a balance between law enforcement and the safety of individuals' rights. This study assesses the correlation between police professional competence and citizens' trust in police officers in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Southern Philippines. The data collection methods included a survey questionnaire focusing on police professional competence and citizens’ trust towards police officers, encompassing factors such as community policing, police behavior, operational procedures, and human rights preservation, as well as response time, active investigation, citizen contact, and promotion of public safety and security. The data was analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage, measures of central tendency, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The analysis revealed a significant relationship between police professional competence and citizens' trust in police officers, indicating a strong positive correlation. This refutes the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between police professional competence and citizens' trust. The findings hold substantial implications for the human rights-based policing program in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, enhancing trust between civilians and law enforcement officer’s individuals' rights.