Community Oriented Policing
Problem Solving
Presented by the Florida
Regional Community
Policing Institute
With Funding from:
Department of Justice, COPS Office
http://cop.spcollege.edu
Purpose of Course
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Historical development of COP
POP and COP
Problems are part of Policing
A Problem Solving Model
SARA and how it works
Practical application of SARA
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Characteristics of Traditional
Policing
• Police are reactive to incidents
– Driven by calls for service
– 911
• Limited information from
community
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Characteristics of Traditional
Policing
• Leadership is focused on internal
operations:
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Budget
Staffing
Internal Affairs complaints
Policies and procedures
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Characteristics of Traditional
Policing
• Patrol officers follow orders - have
little encouragement to be
innovative in solving community
problems
• Evaluations based on numbers:
– Arrests
– Tickets
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Characteristics of Traditional
Policing
• The police have few external
partnerships
• Police view themselves and are
viewed as quasi-military
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The Effectiveness of Traditional
Policing
• Saturation patrol did not reduce
crime - displaced it
• Routine patrol rarely encounters
the crimes that terrifies people
• Response time to calls has little
effect on catching criminals
• Most crime not solved through
criminal investigations
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Problem Oriented Policing
• P.O.P
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Herman Goldstein - a Problem
Oriented Approach to Policing
• Responding to calls is only the 1st
step in a policing strategy
• Find permanent solutions to
problems that lead to calls for
service
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Goldstein Theorized:
• Underlying conditions create
problems
• Problems in turn lead to incidents
• Many incidents lead to police calls
• Incidents appear to be isolated
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Incidents
• They can arise from a single
common source
• Police usually only deal with the
symptom of the problems:
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Gangs
Vandalism
Street terrorism
Burglaries, robberies, etc.
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Problem Oriented Policing
• A routine method for:
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Identification of problems
Analysis of problems
A response to problems
An evaluation of effectiveness
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Limitations of POP
• All community policing involves
problem solving…..but………………
• Not all Problem Oriented Policing is
Community Policing
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Limitations of POP
• Problem Oriented Policing does not
always:
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Seek input from the community
Include permanent patrol assignments
Utilize decentralized stations
Evaluate effectiveness of problems addressed
http://cop.spcollege.edu
The Preference for POP over COP
• There is a difference between POP
and COP
• POP is the safer of the two to
implement:
– Less risk by not involving community in decision
making and setting priorities
– It offers the ability to solve problems and move
on
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Community Oriented Policing
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Defining COP
• Not easily defined:
– Not one size fits all
– “Authorities” have many different ideas as to its
definition
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Herman Goldstein
(Father of COP) Observed:
• “Indeed the popularity of the term
has resulted in its being used to
encompass practically all
innovations in policing—
• From the most ambitious to the
most mundane: from the most
carefully thought through to the
most casual.”
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Community Oriented Policing
• The popularity of the term forces a
need to find a definition for
Community Oriented Policing
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Community Policing Defined:
• Community Policing is a
philosophy and an organizational
strategy that promotes a new
partnership between people and
their police. It is based on the
premise that both the police and
the community must work together
to identify, prioritize, and solve
contemporary problems such as—
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Community Policing Defined:
• —crime, drugs, fear of crime, social
and physical disorder, and overall
neighborhood decay, with a goal of
improving the overall quality of life
in the area.”
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—and
• Community policing is a
collaborative effort between law
enforcement and the community
that identifies problems of concern
to communities and works to solve
them.
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The Two Key Elements of
Community Policing:
• Partnership
– Partnership between the police and community
• Problem Solving
– Working to solve the problems identified by the
partnership
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Goals of Community Policing
• A decentralized and personalized police
service to the community
• Police do not impose order from the
outside
• Police are a resource to solve problems
identified by the community
• Implement organizational philosophy
and strategy that is flexible and meet the
needs of the community
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What's Needed to Achieve
Community Policing
• Obtain and analyze information
internally and externally
• Continually create mechanisms for
direct community involvement to
set police objectives and establish
priorities
• Management empowers decision
making by people closest to
problem
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What's Needed to Achieve
Community Policing
• Ensure that evaluations of police
officers are directly linked to the
skills needed for community
policing
• Constantly evaluate results and
strategies for effectiveness and
make the necessary adjustments to
meet community needs
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The Nature of Problems
• Upstream / Downstream
• page 13 of text
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Problem Solving
• Problems
– A problem is a basic unit of police work
• Problem Solving
– The process of devising and implementing a
strategy for finding a solution or for transforming
a less desirable condition into a more desirable
one.
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COP Definition of a Problem
• Any condition that alarms, harms,
threatens, or has potential for
disorder in the community,
particularly incidents that may
appear as isolated, but—
• ...Share certain characteristics
such as common pattern, victim or
geographic location.
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How incidents are related
• The police look for common
elements that link this particular
crime to other crimes.
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The Crime Triangle
Location
Victim
Perpetrator
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Seeking the Underlying
Conditions
• Police often deal with symptoms of
a problem when answering calls for
service
• Characteristics of people who live
or enter into a neighborhood
• How people feel about where they
live
• The condition of the neighborhood
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Expected Outcomes of Problem
Solving:
• Eliminate the problem entirely
• Reduce the number of occurrences of
the problem
• To reduce the degree of harm caused
by the problem
• To improve the way the problem is
being dealt with.
• Change the environment (CPTED)
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SARA Problem Solving Model
Scanning
Response
Analysis
Assessment
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Problem Solving Involves
S
A
R
A
Scanning
Identify
neighborhood
crime
and disorder
problems
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Problem Solving Involves
S
Scanning
A
R
A
Analysis
Identify
Understand
neighborhood conditions
crime
that cause
& disorder
problems
problems
to occur
http://cop.spcollege.edu
Problem Solving Involves
S
Scanning
A
Analysis
Identify
Understand
neighborhood conditions
crime
that cause
& disorder
problems to
problems
occur
R
A
Response
Develop &
Implement
Solutions
http://cop.spcollege.edu
Problem Solving Involves
S
A
R
Scanning
Analysis
Identify
neighborhood
crime
& disorder
problems
Understand Develop &
conditions Implement
that cause Solutions
problems to
occur
Response
A
Assessment
Determine
the Impact
http://cop.spcollege.edu
Problem Solving Involves
S
A
R
A
Scanning Analysis
Response
Assessment
Identify
Understand
neighborhoodconditions
crime
that cause
& disorder
problems to
problems
occur
Develop &
Implement
Solutions
Determine
the Impact
http://cop.spcollege.edu
Conceptualization:
Problem-Solving Process
S
A
R
A
A
A
R
S
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Summary of Scanning
• First
– Laundry List of Potential Problems
• Second
– Problems Identified
• Third
– Problems Prioritized
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Summary of Scanning
• Fourth
– State the Specific Problem
– Examples of Where the Problem Occurs
– Which Setting is Causing the Most Difficulty
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Summary of Scanning
First
Second
Third
Fourth
• General Goal Statement
• How Will Data be Gathered and
Reported
• When Will Data Collection Begin
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Summary of Analysis (Part I)
• What Conditions or Events Precede
the Problem?
• What Conditions or Events
Accompany the Problem?
• What Are the Problem’s
Consequences?
• What Harm Results from the
Problem?
First
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Summary of Analysis (Part I)
• How Often Does the Problem
Occur?
• How Long Has this Been a
Problem?
• What is the Duration of Each
Occurrence of the Problem?
Second
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Summary of Analysis (Part II)
• Define a Tentative Goal
• Identify Resources that May Assist
in Solving the Problem
• What Procedures, Policies, or
Rules Have Already Been
Established to Address the
Problem?
Third
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Summary of Response
• Brainstorm Possible Interventions
First
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Summary of Response
• Consider Feasibility and Choose
Among Alternatives
• What Needs to be Done Before the
Plan is Implemented?
• Who Will be Responsible for
Preliminary Actions?
Second
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Summary of Response
• Outline the Plan and Who Might Be
Responsible for Each Part
• Will This Plan Accomplish All or
Part of the Goal?
• State the Specific Goals This Plan
Will Accomplish
• What are Some of the Ways Data
Might Be Collected?
Third
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Summary of Response
• Realistically, What Are the Most
Likely Problems With Implementing
the Plan?
• What are Some Possible
Procedures to Follow When the
Plan is Not Working or When It is
Not Being Implemented Correctly?
Fourth
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Summary of Response
• Implement the Plan
First
Second
Third
Fourth
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Summary of Assessment
• Was the Plan Implemented?
• What Was the Goal as Specified in
Response?
• Was the Goal Attained?
• How Do You Know if the Goal Was
Attained?
First
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Summary of Assessment
• What is Likely to Happen if the Plan
is Removed?
• What is Likely to Happen if the Plan
Remains in Place?
• Identify New Strategies to Increase
the Effectiveness of the Plan
• How Can the Plan be Monitored in
the Future? Second
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Summary of Assessment
• Post-Implementation Planning
• Plan Modification
• Follow-Up Assessment
Third
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Principles of Problem Solving
• Don’t take anything for granted.
• Old patterns may hinder solutions.
• Trial and error may work as well as
logic.
• Pay attention to the way the group
works.
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Principles of Problem Solving
• Look at problems from different
angles.
• Anticipate obstacles to problem
solving.
• Take the emotion out of problems.
• Learn from losing.
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Common Errors in Problem
Solving
• The problem is not clearly defined
and or the group does not have
enough information to understand
the problem.
• The problem is stated too narrowly.
Real problem will not be resolved.
Only a symptom is affected.
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Common Errors in Problem
Solving
• Tentative solutions are chosen too
early in the process (before the
problem is understood).
• The range of information gathered
is too narrow.
• Some major constraints to solving
the problem are ignored.
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Common Errors in Problem
Solving
• Traditional solutions are preferred
despite lack of effectiveness.
• Priorities among problems are not
established.
• A plan stating who will do what
when, is not developed or is not
well thought out.
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Common Errors in Problem
Solving
• Resources needed to carry out a
solution are not clearly specified or
obtained early enough in the
process.
• The costs of a solution is not
weighed against the potential
benefits.
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Common Errors in Problem
Solving
• Feedback and evaluation
procedures are not built into the
solution, therefore, no mechanism
exists to monitor progress and
determine effectiveness.
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