Degree Name

Master of Arts

Document Type

Thesis

Date Created

12-1-2019

Abstract

Researchers have struggled to define community policing in a consistent manner for use in scientific study. This study attempts to rectify the disparity in definitions used for research by creating a cohesive definition for use in future research. This definition is was created by conducting in depth interviews with officers as well as by doing a content analysis of police department websites. This research concluded that officers and departments define community policing slightly differently- officers emphasize respect and rapport with the community while departments focus on the specific programs they can implement. Due to these differences, the definition that was created as a result of this study is “Community policing is a philosophy that utilizes community outreach programs, citizen/officer partnerships, as well as a problem-solving and customer service oriented approach to build trust within the community to reduce crime, fear of crime, and increase citizen participation in criminal reporting.”

Keywords

Community Policing

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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