Community policing has been a popular policing …show more content…
Law enforcement agencies around the world are taking steps to cultivate better relations between minority teens and law enforcement. The Law School at the University of Chicago and the Invisible Institute founded a program called Youth/Police Project that provides a forum for teenagers to discuss how their lives are “affected by the character of police presence in their neighborhoods” (Mitchell, 2015, para. 15). The program focuses on personal experience with law enforcement instead of the traditional role that police play. Students report that it helps them illustrate some of the feelings that they have and promotes open communications, so students can vocalize the fear and anger that they feel. As a result, the Youth/Police Project is paving the way for future community collaboration against …show more content…
Prevention strategies that violate civil rights undermine trust, or compromise police legitimacy, intentional or not, are counterproductive (The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015). Reinforcing community engagement for collaboration on crime prevention strategies is an important part of the processes put in place to decrease criminal activity. Community leaders and police agencies agree that improvement in police legitimacy and trust is required to counteract the effects of crime on society. Departmental policies and procedures must focus on accountability and transparency as well as changing the police culture that influences their decision-making process through the rude language they use and the implicit biases that lead them to rely on characteristics like race to make their decisions. Everyone has explicit and implicit biases because of his or her experiences, but implicit is most damaging because these are the biases that people are not even aware they have. Community policing, ethics, and discretions key areas that can be improved upon to make law enforcement officers better and their jobs and allows them to work together with the communities that they serve in to decrease and deter crime. Cooperation with law enforcement strengthens the bonds between them and creates a better environment for everyone