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We want to find and highlight examples of community engagement
at work.
In this section we explore how policing and
crime prevention can be made more effective by using community
engagement principles. Those principles include: grassroots
citizen action; collaboration between actors; clear visions
and goals; and public decision-making.
 Our
original intent with this research was to educate ourselves
about how others were putting these principles to work in
the real world, but the examples we found were too good to
keep to ourselves. By sharing these resources, how-to guides,
and inspiring stories, we hope to encourage others to put
these principles to work in their own communities.
Not all the resources we’ve included
discuss “community engagement” explicitly, but
we feel these are interesting and useful examples. If you
know of a helpful resource or a great story we should include,
please let us know—we’re always looking to revise
and improve this guide. We hope this guide is a helpful start
for anyone interested in engaging their communities around
policing and crime prevention.
We suggest you take a look at the two introductory
resources below, which will give you a good grasp of the subject;
enjoy exploring these resources, and if you know of something
that we could include here in future revisions, please let
us know by writing Louise at tamarack@tamarackcommunity.ca
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National
Crime Prevention Strategy: Crime Prevention Through
Social Development This factsheet
is an introduction to crime prevention through social development,
or CPSD. By working on the risk factors that lead to crime,
such as poverty, inadequate housing and schooling, mental
or physical health problems, addiction, and others, CPSD programs
can reduce crime before it starts. The National
Crime Prevention Strategy has an excellent online
library of resources on community policing and crime prevention.
US
Dept. of Justice: Community Policing, Community Justice, and
Restorative Justice—Key Themes in Community Policing
This report
from the Department of Justice’s Office
of Community Oriented Policing Services is an excellent
introduction to the field of community policing and crime
prevention. It covers the basics of community policing, especially
the value of collaboration between police and other community
organizations; but it also looks at the entire concept of
community justice, from prevention to alternative sentencing
and restorative justice.
Community Engagement: people
working collaboratively, through inspired action and learning,
to create and realize bold visions for their common future.
Crime Prevention: the process
of reducing crime by reducing its causes—poverty, poor
education, political disenfranchisement and social isolation—through
community engagement techniques.
Community Policing: sometimes
referred to as “contemporary policing,” it builds
more resilient links between the police and community actors
such as social service agencies, community organizations,
businesses, and faith groups, resulting in more flexible and
responsive policing.
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Download
this Operation Obvious in PDF format
