Justice

Raleigh Police Officer Shows Positive Effects Of Community Policing

September 14th 2015

Last week, Raleigh Police Officer J.D. Boyd shared a photo that exemplified quality community policing. The Facebook post explained that around a year prior, Officer Boyd and the man in the photo (pictured smiling) were "involved in a major altercation where he tried to stab me in the head and I nearly shot him," according to Boyd.

Today, the man is out of prison, has a full-time job, and another child on the way.

 

Most interestingly, he and Officer Boyd were able to meet as friends. "I was glad it ended well for us both that day and I am ecstatic now to learn that he has turned his life around and we can embrace as friends," Boyd wrote on Facebook.

"No one is ever lost forever," Boyd continued, "and as long as you continue to work to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday things will work out eventually. #‎CommunityPolicing #‎RaleighPolice #‎RPD."

The post has gone viral, with over 221,612 likes as of Monday morning.

In a broader sense, Boyd's hashtag "#CommunityPolicing" brings up a larger conversation about police tactics. There has been greater scrutiny of these tactics (including today's release of the Ferguson Commission report), and stories of police brutality, militarization, and/or excessive force continue to make headlines.

 

For many, community policing is seen as a better alternative because it means working with the residents to solve problems and build trust, according to the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services:

"Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime."

Community policing includes three tenets: community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving. To build trust, police develop positive relationships with residents, local business owners, churches, and any other stakeholder organization. Trust between the community and the police force is a vital component to community policing.

"Trust is the value that underlies and links the components of community partnership and problem solving," the Office of Justice Programs says. "A foundation of trust will allow police to form close relationships with the community that will produce solid achievements. Without trust between police and citizens, effective policing is impossible."

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