Our role in Community Policing

Community-oriented policing as a philosophy

Calling community-oriented policing a philosophy means that it is a new way of thinking and acting, not just another program or special unit that can come and go. The philosophy rests on the belief that it is the community that has the most to gain (or lose) from efforts to promote public safety. By forming new partnerships with the community, the police therefore benefit from harnessing the community's power to make their neighborhoods better and safer places in which to live and work.

Community-oriented Policing changes the dynamics from a top-down system to one where good ideas can bubble up from street level.

The Galveston Police Department has embraced this model of policing and problem solving combined with what has been called CAM. Consultation, Adaptation, and Mobilization is the formula by which neighborhood problem solving occurs.

Police Officers are empowered to consult with customers in order to determine the nature and extent of the problem, adapt and adjust our efforts to effectively resolve the problem identified, and mobilize the necessary resources to solve that problem. It is often the case that effective problem solving necessitates resources that are typically external to the police agency and that has been the case in Galveston. It was common to find that code violations of one kind or another led to the conditions that were at the core of the crime issues in a given neighborhood. It’s found that by addressing these issues leads to a safer and more secure neighborhood and that, if this model was effective in one neighborhood then it could be effective in others. The idea being that we could make our community safer by reducing the root causes of criminal activity one neighborhood at a time.

This approach proved effective in the triangle portion of the City of Galveston and many long time residents in that neighborhood are true believers that this process will work. The Galveston Police Department is poised to take our Community Oriented Policing efforts to the next level. This model provides us the best opportunity to have an impact on the direction our takes us over the next several years.

Reports from employees and citizens have been used as templates for senior management to develop a plan for

service delivery that incorporates the CAM model, emerging technology, and somereorganization that promises to improve the service delivery and organizational effectiveness. It is felt that the net effect will be a reduction in the rate of criminal activity and considerable improvement in the quality of life of our citizens.

If this model is determined effective over the next year or so, we will have met the challenge of taking the Galveston Police Department to that next level and the benefactors will be the citizens of the City of Galveston, and isn’t that as it should be?