Building Trust and Legitimacy

This first pillar of the task force report forms a foundation for the other pillars through creating introductory principles that are well portrayed all over the report. These principles include legitimacy, transparency as well as accountability among law enforcement agencies and the citizens. Building trust among the police and the community which they serve dictates the kind of relations developed between the two parties. According to this report, it is evident that the higher the degree of trust, the more the likelihood of people obeying the rules. The authority portrayed by the police must be legitimate for the citizens to develop trust. 

The first step of creating police-community trust is ensuring that individuals from both parties knows and understands one another. This can be achieved by organizing interactive sessions which help the police to obtain any relevant information from the members of the community. Ultimately, the feedback can be used to improve policies thereby supporting transparency in law enforcement. In addition, law enforcement agencies should consider how strategies employed to fight crime affect the peoples’ trust. 

One of the recommendations of this pillar is that, as a law enforcement officer, it is essential to have a guardian mind-set so as to build trust and legitimacy. As opposed to the warrior mindset, a guardian performs his or her duties as a part of the community and also demonstrates compassion towards the citizens. On the other hand, a police with a warrior mind-set tends to be forceful and isolated from the community (Rahr & Rice, 2015). Consequently, very little or no trust develops between the police and the community. Law enforcement agencies should thus embrace procedural justice while coming up with guidelines regarding how they relate with the citizens. 

References 

Rahr, S., & Rice, S. K. (2015). From warriors to guardians: recommitting American police culture to democratic ideals. New Perspectives in Policing Bulletin .