Determinants of Citizens’ Perceptions of Police–Community Cooperation in India: Implications for Community Policing

Collective efficacy is a neighbourhood social process that has important benefits for crime prevention. Policing is thought to be one antecedent to collective efficacy, but the mechanisms by which police activity and officer behaviour are thought to foster collective efficacy are not well understood. This article presents findings from a rapid evidence assessment conducted to take stock of the empirical research on policing and collective efficacy. Thirty-nine studies were identified and examined. Overall, trust in police was the aspect of policing most consistently associated with collective efficacy. There was also some evidence that community policing activities, such as visibility and community engagement, predicted collective efficacy. Police legitimacy, on the other hand, was relatively unrelated to collective efficacy: a finding which suggests perceptions of police linked to the ‘action’ of individual officers may be more enabling of collective efficacy than perceptions of the policing institution as a whole. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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An Inside Look at Community Policing Reform: Definitions, Organizational Changes, and Evaluation Findings

Crime & Delinquency ◽

10.1177/0011128794040003001 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 299-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Dennis P. Rosenbaum ◽

Arthur J. Lurigio

Keyword(s):

Law Enforcement ◽

Police Officers ◽

Community Policing ◽

Community Organizing ◽

Large Scale ◽

Organizational Changes ◽

Foot Patrol ◽

Perceptions Of Police ◽

Internal And External Factors ◽

Police Practices

Community policing is the latest reform in law enforcement and is quite popular among politicians, citizens, and police managers. It evolved, in part, from a growing dissatisfaction with traditional police practices and a recognition of their shortcomings. The concept of community policing is rather nebulous, and in the field, it assumes many forms, including foot patrol, ministations, and community organizing. Both internal and external factors have limited the success of its implementation, and so far, it has never become fully operational on a large scale. Overall, existing evaluations suggest that community policing can have a favorable impact on the perceptions of police officers and neighborhood residents.

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