Community Policing

Abstract

In this article the proposals by the Association for Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, for a scheme of Community Policing, are outlined and discussed. Their innovatory nature is recognised but a number of problems — the notion of community which they use, difficulties in implementing such schemes and the question of whether they constitute a scheme of community policing — are considered. Finally the question is posed as tc to produce genuine community policing. whether the Gardai' could make the changes required I I N T R O D U C T I O N T proposals of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) for a system of cor rmuni ty policing are by any standards a landmark in the development o f ;in adequate response to the problem of crime in Ireland (AGSI , 1982). Tpey are imaginative and wide-ranging in their recognition that t radi t ional responses to crime and tradit ional styles of policing may now be inadequate in a modern industrial society. I f we they argue, we must deal w i t h the social produce i t . The proposals are also impor­ tant in the recognition which they give to the centrality of good relations between the Gardai and the public i n combating crime. Moreover they are unique in that they have been broadly welcomed by what might be regarded as representatives o f two ends of t i e pol i t ical spectrum on crime and penal wish to answer the crime problem, and environmental conditions that *A version of this paper was presented to a UCC. ^David Rottman and Don Bennett commented assisted by a grant from the Arts Faculty Fund, at the Department of Social Theory and Institutions, on a previous draft. Work on this paper was U C C . pol icy in Ireland. (Compare the views o f the Cork Examiner, 9 th March 1983 and Joe Costello, 1982, p . 9). The in tent ion in this paper is to offer a number o f criticisms of these proposals. These criticisms are offered in the spirit o f contr ibut ing to public debate on how our society should be policed. They are influenced by L o r d Scarman's concern (1982, p . 190) that "communi ty policing is too important a concept to be treated as a slogan" and structured by a recognition that an adequate system of policing must be one which has the consent and support o f all sections o f society. The paper has two main sections. The proposals for communi ty policing are outl ined in the first section. I n the second one some critical comments are developed. These relate to four aspects of the pro­ posals: the idea of communi ty impl ic i t in the proposals, what communi ty policing would be like for the Gardai , the role of the Gardai as communi ty leaders and, f inal ly , and most impor tan t ly , the question of whether these proposals offer a blueprint for genuine communi ty policing. Overall the argument is that while these proposals are a useful first step there is a need for further discussion and clarification of the issues that a system of com­ m u n i t y policing raises. I I T H E PROPOSAL O U T L I N E D There are two separate problems identified in the document. The first is the rising crime rate in Ireland, particularly in the cities and large towns. This, i t is suggested, is related to the weakening o f communi ty stability and a breakdown in the k i n d of social control typical o f rural areas and small towns. This decline of communi ty is in tu rn related to other changes in Irish society such as "high unemployment, urban decay, migrat ion, industrial strife, the loosening o f family structures and social values" (AGSI , op. cit., p . 6) . Under these circumstances one of the best responses to crime is to "re-involve" the communi ty in crime prevention. I n addit ion, the document argues that "crime can only be prevented by a determined attack on the type of social, environmental and recreational conditions (or lack of these conditions) that encourage the development o f criminal tendencies in the first place". "The prevention of cr ime", i t concludes, "must pr imari ly be tackled by the communi ty as a whole. The police force acting in isolation can achieve very l i t t l e " (ibid., p . 9) . I n this way communi ty involvement is essential to crime prevention. The second and related problem is "a tendency for sections of the public to become alienated f rom the po l ice" (ibid., p . 7). Those alienated tend to 1. These proposals have already been criticised by Bennett, 1983. issues of crime prevention and (ibid., p . 7) to the crime problem, represent a form of bridge bui lding be in the larger urban areas and in particular in Dubl in work ing class and lower middle class communities. This alienation is part ly produced by the shortage of manpower and resources which has forced the Gardai to neglect 'to develop high technology responses" A system o f communi ty policing wou ld back to these communities. The actual strategy o f communi ty policing has three separate levels or dimensions. The first dimension is a change from the present system o f motorised patrol l ing to beat patroll ing. Gardai wou ld be appointed to cover a particular "beat" area. This area wou ld ideally be one which could be covered on foot and which wou ld correspond to what the document describes as "a locally defined chohesive e n t i t y " (ibid., p . 16). The Garda wou ld become involved w i t h the people of the area, through visits to houses, shops, businesses, schools, social services and voluntary bodies. H e 2 wou ld also do the routine enforcement activities o f the ordinary Garda such as serving summons and making arrests. Communi ty policing in this sense wou ld co­ exist w i t h the other types o f po l i c ing . 3 A t the second level communi ty policing involves the setting up of crime prevention committees in selected urban areas. These committees wou ld involve people f rom local government and statutory agencies, tenants associ­ ations, voluntary services, the clergy, the medical profession and o f course the Gardai. The committees wou ld have a range o f functions, two o f which are particularly important . They wou ld " ident i fy communi ty needs and problem areas that are providing a breeding ground for anti-social behaviour" and "encourage co-operation and j o i n t action by the various local agencies aimed at reducing c r ime" (ibid., p The th i rd level of communi ty present Communi ty Relations Of: 8). policing involves the expansion o f the ice at Garda headquarters to provide back-up support for the communi ty Gardai and for the crime prevention committees. The support w o u l d be in the form o f advice and assistance on how to liaise w i t h various bodies, hew to conduct research on crime and how to foster new crime prevention initiatives. Two final points about the proposal on communi ty policing should be noted. The first is the question o f the organisation o f communi ty involve2. The use of the male pronoun "he" when r the more cumbersome "he/she" is generally female members of the force. eferring to Gardai is for stylistic reasons. In the document used. The proposals obviously refer to both male and 3. This is in contrast to the system operatin officers "have no responsibility for operational community relations' is to an extent, separated p. 41). ; in London, for example. Here Community Liaison policing . . . the specialist function of 'operating good :rom police work itself" (Policy Studies Institute, 1983, merit. Here the document suggests that this role can best be performed by the Garda. "The evidence," i t is proposed, "shows that each and every police­ man and woman can be, and very often is, a leader of the communi ty to which he/she belongs". "Therefore", i t continues, "the potential for a central role on the part o f the Gardai, in co-ordinating the efforts of the various statutory and voluntary agencies towards the prevention of crime is clearly evident" (ibid., p . 10). The second poin t is the identif icat ion of areas suitable for communi ty pol icing. The document suggests that a study team wou ld t ry to identify those high crime areas in which there is a correlation between crime statistics and pathological forms o f social organisation. The results of such studies wou ld be presented to the local communi ty and the proposals for the Com­ muni ty Garda Scheme and the Crime Prevention Committees w o u l d be introduced to see what level o f support there wou ld be for them. I t is clear f rom the document, then, that communi ty policing, in i t ia l ly at least, wou ld be aimed at high crime areas. These would be urban in character and densely populated. Indeed i t is suggested in other parts of the document that at the outset such areas; w o u l d be in Dubl in . I l l T H E PROPOSALS CRITICISED Assumptions about Community The no t ion of communi ty is obviously central to communi ty policing. But latent i n this particular set of proposals is a common il lusion about the nature of communi ty in modern society and a misunderstanding of i t which is rooted in t radi t ional definitions of communi ty . This is that communities are found in particular places. Communi ty is the positive attachment of people to the places where they live. Thus the document says that com­ munities are "locally defined cohesive uni ts" . However, such a view of communi ty is mistaken. Communities should not be defined in such spatial terms but as Neuwir th (1969, p . 149) puts i t , they "should be defined in terms of the solidarity shared by their members which forms the basis o f their mutual orientation to socml ac t ion" and " i n the mutual feelings of belonging" that exist among groupis o f people. I f solidarity and feelings of belonging are the essence of communi ty life then there is no reason w h y its boundaries should be terr i torial . There is, for example, no reason to anticipate or to argue that "feelings of mutual belong­ i n g " should exist i n neighbourhoods in urban areas. Communi ty boundaries may in certain circumstances