Creating sustainably safe neighbourhoods is something even the most effective and efficient police services can’t do alone. Transforming Community Policing demonstrates how police can empower community actors to exert social control in a way that fosters community growth and development, minimizing the need for police-led emergency response.

By reviewing theories and philosophies surrounding community policing and translating them into practical strategies, this text asserts that the most effective problem-solving occurs when police engage with the public they serve, and shifts the emphasis from “police” to “community.”

Topics such as community mobilization and engagement, risk-focused policing, and police legitimacy are explored in terms of the impact they have on communities both in theory and in practice. Examples featured within the text are based on real-life incidents from communities across Canada. Through these examples, readers will see how community policing fits any and all crime and social disorder threats.

Drawing on 45 years of hands-on experience and research, author Hugh C. Russell provides readers with the information necessary to promote and maintain communities that are happy, healthy, and safe.

• Features contributors Mark Simchison, Cindy McDonald, Stephen Duggan, Stephanie Ashton, Sarah Gilliss, Arun Dhanota, and Henri Berube, who work together to offer a nation-wide perspective
• Includes In the Community and On Patrol scenarios, written by instructors from colleges and universities across Canada, that showcase examples that effectively reinforce key concepts
• Provides a working framework for planning community safety initiatives
• Explores theories, teaches techniques, and describes examples of police enabling community members to work towards community safety and security
• Addresses police legitimacy and stresses its importance as the most critical enabler of effective community policing
• Emphasizes the responsibility that community members have in regards to safety and security
• Depicts a web of community agents who share responsibility and accountability for safety and well-being
• Features a coil binding, allowing this resource to be carried from backpack to squad car

Part I: Communities and Community Policing
Chapter 1: Communities, Crime, and Social Disorder
Chapter 2: Evolution of Community Policing

Part II: Police Roles and Capabilities
Chapter 3: What Police Do Well, What Police Do Poorly, and Where Police Face Challenges
Chapter 4: Roles of Police in Community Safety and Well-Being

Part III: Mobilization and Engagement
Chapter 5: Problem-Solving and Problem-Oriented Policing
Chapter 6: Transformative Community-Building Practices
Chapter 7: Collaborating with Other Agencies and Organizations
Chapter 8: Collaboration, Information, Knowledge, and Risks

Part IV: Knowing What to Do, and Seeing if You Did It
Chapter 9: Community Safety Planning
Chapter 10: Applying Risk Analysis to Violent Extremism
Chapter 11: Evaluating Community Policing Initiatives
Epilogue (It Is All About Relationships)

Chapter 5: Problem-Solving and Problem-Oriented Policing

“Transforming Community Policing is an excellent text that outlines not only the importance of community policing but also how it can and should be implemented. Many currently serving community policing officers don’t have this level of knowledge and understanding regarding community policing, and this text would be useful for police departments to use in their training.”

— Kelly Bramwell, Mohawk College

“I worked 36 years in policing with 10 in community policing and I found many of my personal experiences reflected in this text.… This text forms the basis for making community work. The author is not shy about dealing with the various roles the community members have and the responsibility that ultimately falls upon them to make a transformation in their own communities.”

— Michael Burns, Confederation College

“Given the current emphasis on police–community relations, this textbook provides an excellent basis on which future police officers can change those relationships into something better.”

— Rick Sinnamon, Conestoga College

“As a police leader with two decades of municipal policing experience … I wish to say that Transforming Community Policing provides the most comprehensive and informative overview of community policing in Canada that I have read to date. Dr Russell provides the insight and a multitude of practical tools enabling community and neighbourhood officers to strengthen relationships, collaborate with community members, and solve problems at a local level. This book strives to showcase methods designed to improve community safety and strengthen police legitimacy. I would recommend this book to any student or professional who has the ambition to learn more about the benefits and future of community policing.”

— Paul B. Rinkoff, PhD

“Almost every chapter highlights the one factor that underpins transformative community policing: relationships. Relying on the latest and best research in “police legitimacy,” plus practical experience with street checks and other police-public interactions, Russell asserts that police cannot simulate community action if their relationships with the community are not positive and strong. Therein lies a challenge for the future of policing.

This is an excellent teaching book. It should be the cornerstone for all justice and police foundations programs and the bible for active police officers.”

Read the full review here.

— Andrew Fletcher, Chief of Police, South Simcoe Police Service
Excerpt from Blue Line Magazine, November 2017

Transition Guide: Transforming Community Policing

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