Community policing is the practice of decentralizing police command and instituting more police on a local level, under the pretext of working from within the community to create partnerships that reduce crime and increase trust. This is based on two primary false notions: first, that more police create a safer environment, and second, that the violence caused by policing is due to a breakdown of trust with the community. Additionally, community policing amounts to both an increase in funding for police, and an increased scale of policing.
This is a short PDF of excerpts from Philip V. McHarris’s essay “Community Policing is Not the Answer,” (which can be found in full here: https://theappeal.org/community-policing-is-not-the-answer). This essay addresses the fundamental issues with community policing, which on its face appears to be a positive reform.
