Community Policing in the EU

Abstract

Community policing is open to numerous descriptions from academics, practitioners and community members. It is not a clear concept as it now encompasses a major cultural shift in the way police do things in local communities. Community policing persuades the police to think of themselves as more than a reactive agency for calls from the public, promoting a more proactive, problem-solving role in tackling community problems. However, in adopting a closer interface with the community, the police are faced with a dilemma — how involved do they become in resolving community problems and how far should this be their job? For example, police are regularly drawn into policy discussions on issues such as drugs, prostitution, homelessness, anti-social behaviour, sectarian issues, race relations and asylum seekers, while playing a leading role in social inclusion partnerships and community safety initiatives which are at the core of local and central politics in many EU states.