Community policing

There is strong evidence that community policing increases residents’ satisfaction with police (Campbell-Mazerolle 2013, Gill 2014, Crowl 2017, Peyton 2019) as well as their trust in the police and willingness to cooperate with the police (i.e., police legitimacy) (Gill 2014, Crowl 2017, Peyton 2019).

An evaluation of door-to-door community policing visits shows that positive non-enforcement interactions with police officers can improve residents’ perceptions of police (Peyton 2019). Community policing may reduce residents’ fear of crime and increase their feelings of safety (Gill 2014). Community policing may increase police officers’ job satisfaction (Crowl 2017). A study of a Chicago-based community policing program suggests that participating police officers have more favorable perspectives on relationships with residents and participating residents have improved confidence in their ability to solve local problems when community policing meetings use and discuss feedback on policing practices (Graziano 2014).

Effects of community policing on crime are mixed (Crowl 2017). Some studies suggest that community policing reduces crime rates, but other studies do not find such reductions; the effects may vary by policing activities, crime type, and the size of agency (Campbell-Mazerolle 2013, Ekici 2022, Crowl 2017, Gill 2014, Muchow 2023, Sozer 2013). The impact of community policing programs on youth crime in a community setting is unclear (OJJDP-COP 2023). Community policing may have both positive and negative effects on crime, especially arrests, because community police officers may identify more crime and make more arrests through increased cooperation with residents; on the other hand, community police officers may make fewer arrests with their increased discretion and also prevent crime through proactive practices in partnership with residents (Tillyer 2018, Ekici 2022).

Researchers suggest that transparent decision-making processes, resources that support problem solving, trust between police and residents, bias recognition, and both structural (e.g., decentralized authority) and philosophical (e.g., culture, attitude) organizational change in law enforcement may be important elements for successful community policing (Graziano 2014, Yilmaz 2013, Glaser 2010, Schlosser 2021). Identifying residents’ police service needs before implementation is crucial to successful implementation for racially minorized communities (Doane 2018). An evaluation of foot patrol indicates community police officers with more experience are more likely to identify community problems, suggesting police officers’ level of experience can affect the impact of community policing (Kringen 2020).

There is some evidence that community policing has the potential to decrease disparities in residents’ perceptions of police legitimacy between racial and ethnic groups (Peyton 2019). Available evidence shows that community policing practices improve perceptions of police more for Black residents than white residents (Peyton 2019). While community policing practices may improve the perceptions that Black people hold of police officers, institutional racism and racial prejudice of police officers leads to racially selective policing practices, with Black men being most likely to experience police stops (Carvalho 2022). Black Americans are more likely to be shot, killed, and fatally injured by police compared to white Americans (Ward 2024, Giffords-Nguyen 2024).

Effects of community policing appear to vary between urban and rural areas: Community policing is associated with more youth services in metro areas while community policing is associated with reduced crime rates in rural areas (Rukus 2018). Some studies suggest that officers’ perceptions of community policing may limit implementation in underserved communities: Police officers are more likely to support community policing in white communities (Kearns 2017) and officers appear to spend less time interacting with residents from lower social class backgrounds (Dai 2021).

Institutional racism in law enforcement and police officer racial prejudice has led to differential treatment of racially and ethnically minoritized populations by police in the U.S. (Carvalho 2022). Police in the U.S. originated with slave patrols in the 1700s that used excessive force in attempt to control people who were enslaved (Ward 2022, NAACP-Police origins). Law enforcement has a long history of both enforcing discriminatory policies, such as Jim Crow laws, as well as disproportionately targeting Black communities (History-Jim Crow laws, Mesic 2018, Siegel 2020a).

Discriminatory policing and police violence have produced justified distrust for the police among racially minoritized individuals and communities (Carvalho 2022, NBER-Ang 2024). Community policing emerged in the 1960s in response to disconnected relations between the police and communities, especially minoritized communities (Crowl 2017). The first community policing project was in San Diego, California during the 1970s. Foot patrol experiments in Newark, New Jersey and Flint, Michigan drew attention to the importance of positive relationships between the police and community members and the positive effects of improvements in policing practices (BJA-COP 1994). As community policing became more popular, it influenced traditional police assumptions and operations (BJA-COP 1994).

• If your community implements community policing, how do residents’ perspectives influence the policing agenda and practices? How can community policing work to improve effective, positive police-community relations?
• What training or practices are needed to foster trust between police and residents?
• What resources and supports are needed to implement fair and just policing, especially for racially and ethnically minoritized communities?

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in the U.S. Department of Justice supports community policing practices through its Community Policing Development program (COPS-CPD). COPS also provides resources and training to expand community policing in tribal communities (COPS-Tribal CP). Examples of local municipalities that run community policing programs are Surf City, North Carolina (COP-Surf City); Atlanta, Georgia (COP-Atlanta); Austin, Texas (COP-Austin); and Montgomery, Alabama (COP-Montgomery).

‡ Resources with a focus on equity.

COPS-Tribal CP^‡ - Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Tribal community policing resources. U.S. Department of Justice.

COPS-Tribal practice^‡ - International Association of Chiefs of Police. (2016). Promising practices in tribal community policing. Washington, D.C.: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

ICMA-Community policing guide - International City/County Management Association (ICMA). (2007). Community policing explained: A guide for local government. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

RAND-Community police dialogue - Dionne, B-P., Peterson, S., Mendoza-Graf, A., Holmes, P., Sobol, D., Malika, N., & Cahill, M.E. (2023). A toolkit for community-police dialogue. RAND Corporation.

* Journal subscription may be required for access.

BJA-COP 1994 - Community Policing Consortium. (1994). Understanding community policing: A framework for action. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

Campbell-Mazerolle 2013 - Mazerolle, L., Bennett, S., Davis, J., Sargeant, E., & Manning, M. (2013). Legitimacy in policing. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 9.

Carvalho 2022 - Carvalho, A. A. S., Mizael, T. M., & Sampaio, A. A. S. (2021). Racial prejudice and police stops: A systematic review of the empirical literature. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15(4), 1213–1220.

COP Houses - City of Racine, Wisconsin. Community Oriented Policing (COP) Houses. Retrieved September 12, 2024.

COP-Atlanta - City of Atlanta Police Department. Community policing programs. Retrieved September 12, 2024.

COP-Austin - City of Austin, Office of the City Auditor. (2020). Impact of community policing efforts.

COP-Montgomery - City of Montgomery, Alabama. Community policing. Retrieved September 12, 2024.

COP-Surf City - Town of Surf City, North Carolina. Community policing programs. Retrieved September 12, 2024.

COPS-CPD - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The Community Policing Development (CPD) program. Retrieved September 12, 2024.

COPS-Tribal CP - Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Tribal community policing resources. U.S. Department of Justice.

Crowl 2017* - Crowl, J. N. (2017). The effect of community policing on fear and crime reduction, police legitimacy and job satisfaction: An empirical review of the evidence. Police Practice and Research, 18(5), 449-462.

Dai 2021* - Dai, M., & Hu, X. (2021). Exploring the duration of police–citizen encounters. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 15(2), 1129–1143.

Doane 2018* - Doane, E., & Cumberland, D.M. (2018). Community policing: Using needs assessment to gain understanding before implementing. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 31(2), 165–187.

Ekici 2022 - Ekici, N., Akdogan, H., Kelly, R., & Gultekin, S. (2022). A meta-analysis of the impact of community policing on crime reduction. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 7(3), 111–121.

Giffords-Nguyen 2024 - Nguyen, A., Drane, K. (2024). Gun violence in Black communities. Giffords Law Center.

Gill 2014* - Gill, C., Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., Vitter, Z., & Bennett, T. (2014). Community-oriented policing to reduce crime, disorder and fear and increase satisfaction and legitimacy among citizens: A systematic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(4), 399-428.

Glaser 2010* - Glaser, M.A., & Denhardt, J. (2010). Community policing and community building: A case study of officer perceptions. The American Review of Public Administration, 40(3), 309-325.

Graziano 2014* - Graziano, L. M., Rosenbaum, D. P., & Schuck, A. M. (2014). Building group capacity for problem solving and police-community partnerships through survey feedback and training: A randomized control trial within Chicago’s community policing program. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(1), 79-103.

History-Jim Crow laws - History.com. (2024, January 22). Jim Crow laws.

Kearns 2017* - Kearns, E. M. (2017). Why are some officers more supportive of community policing with minorities than others? Justice Quarterly, 34(7), 1213–1245.

Kringen 2020* - Kringen, J. A., Sedelmaier, C. M., & Dlugolenski, E. (2020). Foot patrol: The impact of continuity, outreach, and traditional policing activities. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 14(1), 218–227.

Mesic 2018* - Mesic, A., Franklin, L., Cansever, A., Potter, F., Sharma, A., Knopov, A., & Siegel, M. (2018). The relationship between structural racism and Black-white disparities in fatal police shootings at the state level. Journal of the National Medical Association, 110(2), 106–116.

Muchow 2023* - Muchow, A. N. (2023). Community-oriented policing and violent crime: Evidence from the Los Angeles community safety partnership. Police Quarterly, 26(4), 545–572.

NAACP-Police origins - NAACP. The origins of modern day policing. Retrieved August 28, 2024.

NBER-Ang 2024 - Ang, D., Bencsik, P., Bruhn, J. M., & Derenoncourt, E. (2024). Community engagement with law enforcement after high-profile acts of police violence [Working Paper 32243]. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

OJJDP-COP 2023 - Development Services Group, Inc. (2023). Community-oriented policing and problem-oriented policing. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Peyton 2019 - Peyton, K., Sierra-Arévalo, M., & Rand, D. G. (2019). A field experiment on community policing and police legitimacy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(40), 19894–19898.

Rukus 2018* - Rukus, J., Warner, M. E., & Zhang, X. (2018). Community policing: Least effective where need is greatest. Crime & Delinquency, 64(14), 1858–1881.

Schlosser 2021* - Schlosser, M. D., Robbennolt, J. K., Blumberg, D. M., & Papazoglou, K. (2021). Confirmation bias: A barrier to community policing. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 6(4), 162–167.

Siegel 2020a - Siegel, M. (2020). Racial disparities in fatal police shootings: An empirical analysis informed by critical race theory. Boston University Law Review, 100, 1069–1092.

Sozer 2013* - Sozer, M. A. & Merlo, A. V. (2013). The impact of community policing on crime rates: does the effect of community policing differ in large and small law enforcement agencies? Police Practice and Research, 14(6), 506-521.

Tillyer 2018* - Tillyer R. (2018). Assessing the impact of community-oriented policing on arrest. Justice Quarterly, 35(3), 526–555.

TRIAD - City of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Police department: TRIAD committee. Retrieved September 12, 2024

US DOJ-COPS 2014 - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). (2014). Community policing defined. U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ).

US DOJ-COPS 2016 - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). (2016). The state of policing in the United States, Volume 1. U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ).

Ward 2022 - Ward, M. (2022). The legacy of slavery and contemporary racial disparities in arrest rates. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 8(4), 534–552.

Ward 2024 - Ward, J. A., Cepeda, J., Jackson, D. B., Johnson, O., Jr, Webster, D. W., & Crifasi, C. K. (2024). National burden of injury and deaths from shootings by police in the United States, 2015‒2020. American Journal of Public Health, 114(4), 387–397.

Yilmaz 2013* - Yilmaz, S. (2013). Tailoring model in reforming police organizations towards community policing. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(5), 897–924.