Community policing: is field training the missing link?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent to which traditional field training incorporates community‐oriented policing and problem solving in its formal evaluation process. Can community policing be successfully integrated into the San Jose field training model as a formal component of training and evaluation of police recruits?Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes formal field training evaluations and narratives in one police agency that uses the San Jose Field Training Officer Program. The agency endorses and practices community policing and problem solving.Findings – Field training in this agency did not successfully integrate community policing and problem solving into the formal evaluation process.Practical implications – Because field training occurs immediately after the academy, it is the best place to expose recruits to community policing and problem solving in practice, thus linking training with practice. If police agencies are truly committed to community polici...

[1]  Mark H. Moore,et al.  Beyond 911: A New Era For Policing , 1990 .

[2]  Vance McLaughlin,et al.  Training for Community-Oriented Policing , 1995 .

[3]  R. Ritti,et al.  Police training and the effects of organization on drunk driving enforcement , 1996 .

[4]  Wesley G. Skogan,et al.  Winning the Hearts and Minds of Police Officers: An Assessment of Staff Perceptions of Community Policing in Chicago , 1994 .

[5]  M. Scott.  Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 Years , 2000 .

[6]  H. Goldstein,et al.  Toward Community-Oriented Policing: Potential, Basic Requirements, and Threshold Questions , 1987 .

[7]  Allison T. Chappell,et al.  LEARNING IN ACTION: TRAINING THE COMMUNITY POLICING OFFICER , 2005 .

[8]  Robert H. Langworthy,et al.  Policing in America: A Balance of Forces , 1994 .

[9]  W. Lyons.  The Politics of Community Policing , 1999 .

[10]  Michael L. Birzer,et al.  The theory of andragogy applied to police training , 2003 .

[11]  W. Oliver.  Community Oriented Policing: A Systemic Approach to Policing , 1997 .

[12]  A. C. Germann.  Community Policing: An Assessment , 1969 .

[13]  Michael J. Hindelang,et al.  Team policing: Seven case studies : Lawrence Sherman, Catherine Milton, and Thomas Kelly. Police foundation (1015 Eighteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036), 1973, 108 pp., paperback. , 1974 .

[14]  Eugene A. Paoline,et al.  Police culture, individualism, and community policing: Evidence from two police departments , 2000 .

[15]  Steve Herbert,et al.  POLICE SUBCULTURE RECONSIDERED , 1998 .

[16]  J. Skolnick,et al.  Justice without trial , 1969 .

[17]  M. Weber.  From Max Weber: Essays in sociology , 1946 .

[18]  Scott Gerwehr,et al.  Training the 21st Century Police Officer: Redefining Police Professionalism for the Los Angeles Police Department , 2003 .

[19]  R. Haarr.  The Making of a Community Policing Officer: The Impact of Basic Training and Occupational Socialization on Police Recruits , 2001 .

[20]  A. Piquero,et al.  Effective Community Policing Performance Measures , 2001 .

[21]  Steven P. Lab.  Crime prevention: Approaches, practices, and evaluations , 1988 .

[22]  Dennis P. Rosenbaum,et al.  Impact of Community Policing on Police Personnel: A Quasi-Experimental Test , 1994 .

[23]  H. Williams,et al.  Returning to First Principles: Reducing the Fear of Crime in Newark , 1987 .

[24]  D. Weisburd,et al.  Compstat and bureaucracy: A case study of challenges and opportunities for change , 2004 .

[25]  Stephen D. Mastrofski,et al.  REFORMING TO PRESERVE: COMPSTAT AND STRATEGIC PROBLEM SOLVING IN AMERICAN POLICING* , 2003 .

[26]  Jack R. Greene.  Police Officer Job Satisfaction and Community Perceptions: Implications for Community-Oriented Policing , 1989 .

[27]  Arthur J. Lurigio,et al.  Preparing police for community policing; an evaluation of training for Chicago’s alternative policing strategy , 1995 .

[28]  Michael L. Birzer,et al.  A More Effective Training Approach for Contemporary Policing , 2001 .

[29]  J. Eck,et al.  Who Ya Gonna Call? The Police as Problem-Busters , 1987 .

[30]  G. Alpert.  Policing urban America , 1988 .

[31]  R. Trojanowicz,et al.  Community Policing: How to Get Started , 1994 .

[32]  Larry K. Gaines,et al.  Community Policing: A Contemporary Perspective , 1998 .

[33]  Allison T. Chappell,et al.  Integrating Soiological Research and Theory with Community-Oriented Policing: Bridging the Gap between Academics and Practice , 2004 .

[34]  L. Sherman,et al.  Problem-Oriented Policing , 2009 .

[35]  Edward R. Maguire,et al.  Structural change in large municipal police organizations during the community policing era , 1997 .

[36]  Donald L. Yates,et al.  Attitudes toward community policing: A casual analysis , 1996 .