lic, the people he or she serves in the town. Community policing is about meeting with the public and creating a sense of security for these people.When the term “community policing” comes to people’s minds, they often either love it or hate it. This is especially true for officers. Many officers, if not most, join police departments for the power and prestige that comes along with badge or shield the officers are wearing. But as departments continue to delve into community policing programs, officers will find out if a department does utilize a community in their town. Individuals will find out in the very beginning, most likely from a newspaper or the orientation sessions that have people attend who are interested in law enforcement careers. It is inevitable to avoid community policing altogether, because all officers in the beginning receive training in the academy, then will most likely be on routine patrol during their probationary periods. Since serving and protecting the public are two of the most important things an officer must do, there must be some contact with the public daily. If it is difficult for a person to deal with the term “community policing,” it will be difficult on an officer throughout his entire career. Call the term “community policing,” call it “patrolling the streets,” or call it whatever you want, officers must have the skills to communicate with the public. Dealing with the public is something officers must do. If a person has difficulty dealing with the public, then police work is probably not the job for him or her.Officers often will shy away from the whole perspective of community policing, because they want to fight crime instead of creating nonsense talk with citizens of the community, but they must remember that a very small portion of their time will be fighting crime. “Community policing seeks to expand the reach of traditional...
