HSC230 Cultural Safety in Healthcare: Policing Security And Safety

Security is a complicated matter that goes beyond the formal policing affairs and hence the need that complex strategies are put in place to deal with the matter. A study by Emsley,  identified strategies such as meeting with the local administrations, use of improved technology, police patrols and street lighting among the fundamental aspects that are likely to reduce the crime rate in the community. All these techniques, however, have not put into consideration the involvement of the community.

In the recent years, most of the societies have adopted community policing as one of the measures to fight against crime and increase public safety and hence improve the quality of life. There are a variety of philosophical and practical approaches that vary from one place to another according to the need.   In community policing there is need that the non-law enforcement community members should be engaged in solving issues concerning crime. A study conducted by Somerville, shows that for community policing to function effectively the police have to realize that they can work effectively only when they include the local members of the society to fight crime. In conclusion, community policing mainly works with the notion that the improved quality of life between the police and community mostly depends on the collaboration between the two.

Despite the effort to implement the use of this technique in various communities to fight crime and restore law and order, there are some barriers that have been identified to be deterring the effort to do so. One of these factors is the culture that the police have set towards fighting crime in the community. Most law enforcers are not willing not engage the community in fighting crime since they are used to doing so on their own. More so there has not been proper implementation of practice which leads to lack of control and flexibility and also proper tailoring at the community level. Still, some community members do not feel comfortable engaging with the police since they see it as a threat to their security.  Very few people would readily report a suspect to the police for fear of the suspect retaliating more so due to the reduced trust between the police and community members.

Problem statement

Despite the fact that the term community policing has been on the limelight for a long time and gather support from many stakeholders in the community, it has not dawned to many what the term implies and the responsibility of each member. The term, however, originated from England and mainly referred to the involvement of the community in ensuring safety. The interaction of the police with the members of the community plays an important role in helping them to reduce the rate of crime and enhance security. Unless the community members take time to report the crime to the police, it becomes hard for the police to address the different concerns of members of the society. The rate at which this concept is adopted in different communities is the issue of concern that needs to be dealt with urgently. The inclusion of community policing in the general training programs is one of the ways to enhance the implementation of the paradigm in different communities and societies. There are some challenges that face this policy, and they have hindered the efforts of the police to fight crime which in turn leads to unsafe communities. The study, therefore, attempts to look at some of these challenges and positively contribute to measures that can be adopted to improve the operation of this concept in the communities.

Hypothesis, aims, and objectives

The overall objective of the study is to do an in-depth analysis of the consequences of policing on the safety of the public and to what extent they can improve the safety of the society. More so the study aims at looking at the different challenges that this paradigm is facing and the best ways that it can be improved to function better in the society. The primary objectives of the study are as below

1. To identify practices that are geared towards community policing in the selected regions
2. To identify the challenges that are faced in  implementing policing in the community
3. To look at the different attitudes that the residents and police officers have concerning the policy in question
4. To identify the role played by community policing in reducing crime in the society.

Research questions

1. Does community policing has any challenges
2. What are the practices that are aligned with community policing
3. What is the attitude of the police and the local toward the  implementation of community policing
4. What is the role of community policing in crime reduction

Proposed methodology of the study

The timeline for this research dissertation will be divided into three phases

Phase one 1-6 months

This phase mainly aims at studying the previous research that has been conducted on three main topics. These are the different policing techniques that have been used, the level at which these techniques have improved security and the safety measures that the community has undertaken to ensure safety.

Step 1

The main activities of this step are to keep on reviewing literature that is related to policing, security and community safety as a means to identify gaps in the knowledge already gathers and realize what different experts have said about the topic of concern. More so it is to take time to look at my aims and objectives in-depth to ensure that they are focused on the right subject of study. A more detailed analysis of the research questions and their effectiveness in achieving the goals of the study. Develop the budget of the proposal and determine the scope of coverage.

Step two

Identify the different communities where the research will be focused on and obtain the necessary permission from the relevant personal and approval from the graduate school. Present my proposal to the school committees to gain approval. The main communities where the study will take place are those that have implanted community policing.

Step 3

The other aspect will be to determine the overall effectiveness of the study through the information gathered from the literature review. The generally expected outcome of the study will be outlined.

Phase two 6-11months

This step will mainly concentrate on developing a model that will be used to conduct mock research of the study. This research is necessary for streamlining the questionnaire and the structure through which the interview will take place. The steps to be followed in collecting information from the questionnaires will be analyzed and their effectiveness determined by the researcher in helping to answer the research questions outlined. The interview procedures will also be put to the limelight and the rate at which they can collect information assessed. The interview will mainly ask the respondents questions to do with the effectiveness of policing in community safety and its efficiency as a security measure. More so the respondents will be asked about their attitudes towards community policing. The results of this mock research will determine how the primary data collection will be conducted and the aspects that need to be modified.

Phase three 12-20Months

The phase will begin by sampling the population that will be used as a representative in the study. Random sampling will be the main criteria that will be employed in choosing the representatives of the study. The main participants will involve three categories of people among them being the law enforcers, community members and administrators of the community. The research assistants will be trained on how to collect data from the respondents. Both interviews and questionnaires will be used in the collection of data of the study.

Analysis

The collected data will be coded and analyzed using Excel, and the result interpreted according to the research questions. Discussions and recommendations concerning the study will eventually be given. The aim of the abnalysis is to identify the date collected and interpret it according to the subjects of study .

Phase four 1-20months

Writing of the thesis

Relevance /significance of the study

Community policing is an essential factor in helping to fight crime in the community. There however many gaps that come along with the implementation of the technique as a means to enforce law and order and thus the necessity to study it further and identify ways to fix the whole process.  Studying the challenges and the attitudes of the different stakeholders will enable the effective implementation of the technique.

Conclusion

The study will be conducted in a duration of 20 months with is an approximate of two years. The results from the study will be used to identify ways to improve community policing.

Bibliography

Colin Bolger, P. (2011). Understanding Community Policing as an Innovation: Patterns of Adoption. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 34(1). doi: 10.1108/pijpsm.2011.18134aae.003

Emsley, C. (2007). Community Policing/Policing and Communities: Some Historical Perspectives. Policing, 1(2), 235-243. doi: 10.1093/police/pam028

Hope, J. (2018). Make community policing a campuswide philosophy. Campus Security Report, 14(12), 3-3. doi: 10.1002/casr.30363

Ong, M., & Jenks, D. (2004). Hispanic Perceptions of Community Policing. Journal Of Ethnicity In Criminal Justice, 2(3), 53-66. doi: 10.1300/j222v02n03_04

 Reisig, M. (2007). Continuing the Discussion on Community Policing, Issue 2 * Procedural Justice and Community Policing What Shapes Residents' Willingness to Participate in Crime Prevention Programs?. Policing, 1(3), 356-369. doi: 10.1093/police/pam036

Somerville, P. (2009). Understanding community policing. Policing: An International Journal Of Police Strategies & Management, 32(2), 261-277. doi: 10.1108/13639510910958172