Question

What is meant by community-oriented policing and problem solving, and what are the components of the problem-solving process?

Answer 1

Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. Community policing is both a philosophy (a way of thinking) and an organizational strategy (a way to carry out the philosophy) that allows the police and the community to work closely togetin creative ways to solve the problems of crime, illicit drugs, fear of crime, physical and social disorder. Community policing emphasizes proactive problem solving in a systematic and routine fashion. Rather than responding to crime only after it occurs, community policing encourages agencies to proactively develop solutions to the immediate underlying conditions contributing to public safety problems.

Problem-oriented policing (POP), coined by University of Wisconsin–Madison professor Herman Goldstein, is a policing strategy that involves the identification and analysis of specific crime and disorder problems, in order to develop effective response strategies.

In problem solving tasks, a complete solution consists of three components: a case model, an argument structure and a conclusion.

Here are five-steps for an effective problem-solving process.

• Step One: Define the Problem: “What is the problem?”
• Step Two: Identify the Causes of the Problem: “Why is this happening?”
• Step Three: Brainstorm Possible Solutions.
• Step Four: Select the Best Solutions.
• Step Five: Implement the Plan.
• Step Six: Follow-Up, Evaluate, and Monitor Progress.

Problem solving requires two distinct types of mental skill, analytical and creative. Analytical or logical thinking includes skills such as ordering, comparing, contrasting, evaluating and selecting. ... Creative thinking is a divergent process, using the imagination to create a large range of ideas for solutions.