Table of Contents
Part 1
Cayu is a community that has had a lot of problems over the years. Cayu community hosts people from different races. In fact, 82% of the people in this community are African Americans, 0.12% are of Hispanic descent, 4% are Caucasian, 1% are Asian. However, the relationship between the citizens and the police has deteriorated over time. The police have been accused of being discriminative towards the African American community by being hostile. The African American community has also been accused of having a bad relationship with the police. Being a community with people from distinct races, community policing is of importance in the Cayu community.
It is important to note that there are many young people in the community given that 30% of the population at Cayu consists of people between 18 and 24 years. There are also a significant number of teenagers from the different ethnic cases. Research conducted has revealed that the number of criminal activities in the Cayu community has risen and there has been a spike in gang activity in the community. Young people have formed gangs which they use to conduct criminal activities. The police in the community have tried to stop the gang activity without any success. Only a few weeks ago, there was an exchange of bullets between the police and a gang that has proven to be stubborn. Mainly, this shows the pressing need for community policing in Cayu. Theft has been a problem, and buying and selling of drugs have been the biggest among all the problems.
The most recent census of American community survey has indicated that the median household income is $23,000 as compared to the state median household income which is $50,000. According to researchers, this low income has led to the consistent criminal activities in the community. Since most of them cannot afford most of what they need, they end up engaging in criminal activities to generate extra income. However, this is not a justification for engaging in these criminal activities. People should find a way to earn a higher income and should not resort to crime.
Part 2
The federal, state and local law enforcement should work together to ensure the success of community policing. Chiefly, this can be achieved through the formation of a committee with members from the three law enforcement levels to come up with a plan on how to curb the problem. When these three levels of law enforcement work together, solutions to the problems can be found and implemented (Miller, Hess & Orthmann, 2017).
The scanning, analyze, response and assessment (SARA) model is a very prevalent problem-solving method. It involves four elements, namely, scanning, analyze, response and assessment. Scanning involves identifying recurring problems between the public and the police. After identifying them, the consequents of these problems are discussed, and the problems ranked according to priority. The problems are confirmed to be existent and are selected for further examination (Miller, Hess & Orthmann, 2017). The second element in this problem-solving method is analysis. Analyzing involves identifying and understanding the problem, and the circumstances which preceded the problem. The data to be collected and the method to collect it is then identified and started. A lot of research is conducted at this stage to identify the problems, their causes and the people being affected by the problem. Measures that were taken to solve the problem in the past are reviewed, and their strengths and weaknesses. Resources that can help curb the problem are identified and discussed, and a hypothesis on how to solve the problem is developed.
Response is the third element in the problem-solving method and it involves brainstorming the proposed interventions. Other communities with the same problem are identified and their problem-solving methods are reviewed. Alternative intervention methods are chosen and they identify the responsible parties. Objectives of the plans are stated and the planned activities are carried out. The final element of the method is assessment. It involves assessing the plan developed to solve the problem and determining whether the plan is being well implemented. An assessment of the success of the plan is carried out to find out if the objectives of the plan are being achieved. New strategies to implement the plan are also developed at this stage to augment the original plan. Conducting ongoing assessment is necessary to ensure effectiveness in the execution of the plan (Kappeler & Gaines, 2012).
The SARA model can be quite effective in community policing. This model can be used to identify research on and solve the problems in different communities. For example, in the case of gang activity in a community, this model can be quite effective since it identifies the problem comes up with methods to solve them while still considering the consequences of the solution. This method is also applicable in the case of insecurity, for example, increased theft and general insecurity cases. The four elements of the model are sufficient to help come up with effective solutions (Kappeler & Gaines, 2012). The same models for partnerships cannot be used in every jurisdiction. The reason is that various jurisdictions have different problems, thus require different models for effective solutions. Therefore, using the same models for partnerships could prove ineffective for most jurisdictions.
- Kappeler V.E & Gaines L.K. (2012). Community policing: A contemporary perspective. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Miller L.S, Hess K. M & Orthmann C.H. (2017). Community policing: Partnerships for problem-solving. Boston: Cengage Learning.