Advancing Community Policing Through Community Governance A Framework Document

About 25 years ago, a number of progressive police departments began experimenting with a new approach to policing that focused on improving relations between police officers and the communities they serve. This approach to policing, called community policing, focused on developing partnerships between the police and the community, addressing community problems through systematic problem-solving efforts, and finding ways to ensure that officers’ efforts in these areas receive support from the police department. Today, community policing is widely accepted in police departments across the county, and the vast majority of community members and local politicians want their police department to be a community policing agency. As police departments implemented the community policing philosophy, they developed a deeper understanding of what it means to partner with the community. The community is not merely the people living or working within a city, but also the city’s nonprofit and community-based organizations, local businesses, and, also important, government agencies. As police departments strengthen and advance their community policing efforts, they call on their colleagues in other departments of their own city government to assist with problem-solving efforts in the community. At this same time, many city administrators are seeking ways to increase community involvement in local government matters. These same managers are also trying to create a more transparent government structure that stresses accountability and responsiveness to the community. Cities that pursue these efforts are beginning to adopt a new approach to local governance-one that is service-oriented. We refer to this philosophical approach to local governance as “community governance.” At its most basic level, community governance takes the philosophy and elements of community policing to the citywide level. It stresses collaboration among city agencies and with the community, systematic problem-solving efforts, and organizational changes to support this new orientation. Advancing Community Policing through Community Governance: A Framework Document serves as a basis for defining the community governance approach and what it looks like in practice by taking the first step of starting the discussion about community governance. We hope that additional projects and research in the future will expand the community governance knowledge base. This document will be of particular interest to police chiefs, city managers, mayors, and other municipal agency executives who are interested in developing a more collaborative approach to local governance in responding to community problems and issues.