Community policing is a system of promoting organizational strategies which use the support of partnerships and problem-solving techniques. The techniques are used to proactively address issues that affect the immediate safety of the society for example crimes and the fear of evils. Community policing aims at building ties and working at close range with the community to solve issues that affect them. Ferreira suggests that it is a philosophy of full service and personalized policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same area permanently from a decentralized system and also working with the community to identify and solve problems ( Bertus, 1996).
Baltimore is famous for its high rate of criminal activities especially violent crime which is above the national criminal ranking. Increase in murder and riot cases increased in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray, a 25 year old arrested for possessing illegal knife by the Baltimore Police Department. The crime wars resulted in a high number of murders and indiscriminate murder cases. The police reported a total of 196 homicides in the year 2011 which was lower than in 199 which was reported the previous year. The leaders credited this small amount to the participation of the community and a sustained focus repeat on violent crime offenders which led to the decline in the crime rate. The decrease in levels of crime in the area was short lived as the homicides level jumped to 235 in 2013 defiling national crime trends.
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The number of homicides was even higher in 2015 with Baltimore recording 344 homicides which surpassed the same in 1933. According to Rector, this was the most senior murder cases ever recorded on a capita basis (Rector, 2015). The rise ascribes the high increase in crime to the decision that was made by the Baltimore state's attorney Marilyn Mosby who charged six police officers of illegal arrest since the death of Freddie who died in a cell. After the decree, most officers sought to stay in a car than arrest people and get charged hence the increase in crime rates.
Different activities have been launched to improve neighborhoods and reduce crime levels in Baltimore. Post officers and foot patrols are the bedrock of community policing. The Baltimore Police Department has instituted a post staffing plan for patrol officers. The model suggests that specific officers be assigned to particular location posts in their respective police area. The system enhances the familiarization of police officers and the residents and the build of trust and respect between the residents and the officers.
Training of police officers should be done to enhance or foster the system of foot patrols. The Baltimore Police Department requires foot patrols done after every 30 minutes per shift. Unfortunately, the officers have not been trained adequately and efficiently on how to maximize community policing in the 30 minutes. To achieve this, the police department can partner with community advocates and police professionals to develop a foot patrol curriculum that can be taught at the training academy to both new trainees and current officers. Employed trainers will be advised to inform the trainees the art of foot patrol and emphasizing ideas and talents such as interpersonal emotional intelligence and communication. The area police are also aiming at developing a history curriculum to be taught to the trainees for them to be familiar with the history of the community they are set to deal.
An officer-friendly program is another strategy that the Baltimore Police Department is aiming to reopen to all public youth institutions. The program is designed for creating positive opportunities and interactions between the Baltimore police and its youth for mentoring them in a friendly manner. The department has engaged the two parties in various activities. The activities were done in 2015, and they included; police explorers program which is programmed to introduce the high school students of Baltimore to law enforcement and public safety ( Rector, 2015) . The program is giving hopes to the department that the students will someday choose to be police officers as their careers.
The other activity was the police commissioners' summer camp was to allow children to participate in some activities alongside the police. The activities included games, arts, and sports. Another event that the Baltimore Police Department engaged the youth in was the Basketball league for the child. The association was n opportunity to create a chance for a partnership, recreation, sportsmanship and mentorship with the youth.
The Department also partnered with local schools to help kids master reading skills. The activity has helped create a bond between school kids and the officers it also has hopes of increasing police officers employees in the program. According to Goldstein (1990), a fter the success of the basketball league, the commissioner organized another program of building bridges aimed at creating relationships between officers and students that are through with after-school mentorship programs. The program also aims at helping children who are suffering from behavioral or emotional trauma.
Apart from the above activities the community collaboration division manages the daily operations of the department and community policing and tactics. It helps foster relationships between the Baltimore Police Department, the community and other stakeholders. It has also helped officers to focus on community partnership by utilizing data approach to purpose its resources in the city. The community collaboration division is organized into four pillars. These pillars include Community policing, the faith community, youth matters and explorers.
Community policing involves spurring community partners to foster strong teamwork between 9 districts. The officers also help establish crime watch organizations in their areas. The faith community is where the community collaboration division helps the officers create good relations with all faith organizations in their divisions and the city. Several initiatives have been placed to make this successful.
The actions include; faith-based collaborative outreach program and the prayer alter schedules. The community collaboration division works with commanders to identify individuals with non-violent behaviors who have been released from prison or are due to being released ( Goldstein, 1990) . A re-entry officer works with the Baltimore police department to create strategies for successful reentry into the society. The explorer and youth matters have tasked officers to establish and foster relationships with the young people in each police division. The Baltimore police explorer program is a primary functional unit for this program.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Baltimore Police Department should work on the various tools they have developed to control the menace of this problem to the citizens of the Baltimore city. The community collaboration division is an excellent tool for managing the crime rates in Baltimore. Community engagement should be a top priority in dealing with the matter at hand. Community participation is the root of fostering best control mechanisms for the problems affecting them because the community tends to have solutions to the issues affecting them.
References
Bertus, F. (1996). The Use and Effectiveness of Community Policing in a Democracy . Prod. National Institute of Justice. Washington, D.C.
Goldstein, H. (1990). Problem Oriented Policing , McGraw-Hill Publishing, New York, NY.
Rector, K. (2015). " Deadliest year in Baltimore history ends with 344 homicides ”
