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Africa
Namibia: Community Policing Starts in Kunene
by Clemans Miyanicwe
MORE than 500 people from various areas in the Kunene Region have signed up for the Women and Men Against Crime Network since the beginning of this month.
On Monday about 100 people joined the network against crime in Khorixas at the town council chambers.
According to Vehangaiza Ruiter, a police community affairs officer, "community policing in the Kunene Region is positive, as people have signed up in big numbers from Epupa, Sesfontein and Khorixas constituencies".
"I believe you [Khorixas residents] are tired of crime and want a crime-free society," Ruiter said.
Ruiter said the community policing initiatives are not about creating jobs, but for the community to unite against crime.
Ruiter said community policing must be taken seriously by all, because the police alone are not enough to combat crime.
"By joining, you are doing your part; if you see police officers involving themselves in criminal activities, report them," Ruiter told the residents.
The community policing is voluntary and those above 18 years are welcome to join.
Khorixas Mayor Tryphosa Moloto also attended the launch of the network and said her office was open to work with community policing groups for a crime-free Khorixas.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201302210478.html
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Palestine
EUPOL COPPS Holds a Workshop on Community Policing
On Wednesday 20th February, EUPOL COPPS held a workshop in Ramallah for some 50 Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) officers to exchange best models of community policing and to show how a good working relation between police and the public can serve as a crime prevention tool.
During the workshop, which was funded by EUPOL COPPS, key speakers from the Mission and PCP drew a comparison between the conventional role of the police and that of the enhanced understanding of a community-oriented policing, which is dedicated to serve the public and interact with the people.
The participants represent all of the 11 West Bank districts and work in departments of the Family Protection Unit, Traffic Police, Media and Public Information Departments and Juvenile unit. These sections were targeted because they have greater interaction with the public.
The speakers explained the importance of forging links and partnerships with the society to better fulfill the Police mandate, which includes crime prevention and trying to solve the problems of the community. To do that, the Police remains dedicated to gain the trust of the people.
The PCP has carried out several activities to inform the public about their role in serving the community. The latest effort was erecting huge banners in major populated areas of the West bank about their interaction with the people.
One banner, showing a policeman shaking the hand of an old Palestinian man, has won the admiration of many people.
The workshop helped participants to share information and create a common vision on a community-oriented police.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/3990-eupol-copps-holds-a-workshop-on-community-policing
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Figi
Focus on police community partnership
by Dawn Gibson
THE Fiji Police Force's Community Policing Symposium starts in Suva today.
Police are expecting about 150 participants, including police and community policing officers from around the country, to participate in the symposium.
The two-day symposium with the theme "Advancing Community through Economic Growth" will be held at the Fiji Police Academy in Nasova.
The event's chief guest is the Minister of Defence, National Security and Immigration, Joketani Cokanasiga.
Police spokesman Inspector Atunaisa Sokomuri said the symposium was aimed at strengthening and highlighting the partnership between the police force and members of the community.
The police force hopes to use this partnership to work towards preventing crime around the country.
"It is also to launch Fiji's new community policing model," said Insp Sokomuri.
A delegation from Indonesia is also expected to be part of the symposium today.
Registration for the symposium commenced at the police academy yesterday afternoon, which saw several participants turning up to register themselves.
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=225814
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Ireland
Policing Forum meeting
BALBRIGGAN -- Community Policing Forum held its first public meeting this year in Balbriggan Town Hall
High on the agenda at this meeting were local concerns about an increase in break-ins to vehicles locally and worries over antisocial behaviour in the town.
Last night's public meeting gave the residents of Balbriggan and Balrothery an opportunity to go along and raise their issues with crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour to the appropriate authorities.
Public meetings are attended by An Garda Siochana, and the Fingal County Council and chaired by the Balbriggan Community Policing Forum.
Action is taken on the issues that are brought up at the meetings and feedback is given by An Garda Siochana and the Fingal County Council at the follow-on meeting.
Issues that have been presented by the public include such things as anti social behaviour with younger members of the community, burglaries, parking, speeding, signage problems, drug dealing on estates, drug taking, vandalism.
The Balbriggan Community Policing Forum is an independent body who aims to build community capacity, develop links and further enhance communication between the residents of Balbriggan, state agencies, local authority and An Garda Siochana. One of the most important elements of its work is the facilitation of these public meetings.
The Balbriggan Community Policing Forum says its main achievement to date is the setting up of this public meeting system which allows the public to have open dialogue with the Garda and the county council in a local venue.
At the last public meeting which was held last November, a large crowd of over 80 people attended and brought their issues to the Gardaí and Fingal County Council.
At that meeting, community representatives were voted in by the public to sit on the Balbriggan Community Policing Forum board. Those elected were Thywill Bankole of Cardy Rock, Olaf Berthold of Hampton Green and David Brangan of Fancourt Heights.
Superintendent Noel Carolan gave a presentation at that meeting where he gave the crime statistics for 2012 for the area.
Burglaries statistics showed that burglaries are at their peek on a Monday compared to any other day of the week and also peeked at 4am when compared to other times of the day and night.
http://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/localnotes/policing-forum-meeting-29079757.html
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United Kingdom
Your chance to shape community policing
People are being sought to help shape policing in our community.
Leicestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable are seeking people to join the Joint Audit, Risk and Assurance Panel (JARAP) as one of four panel members, or as chairperson.
The JARAP oversees the systems and processes used by the Commissioner and the Chief Constable to deliver policing services to local communities in line with the priorities set out in the Police and Crime Plan, due to be published shortly.
Commissioner Sir Clive Loader, said: “We value the views of the local public and it is important that we empower them to help us to address policing, criminal justice and community safety concerns. With this in mind, we want to create a panel that is diverse and representative of the local communities of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
“We want to recruit independent people who genuinely care about local policing issues and are prepared to make challenges to bring about improvements, ensuring integrity is upheld and value for money is achieved.
“Whilst these are demanding roles, they provide a great opportunity to gain an insight into the work of the Commissioner and the Chief Constable and to play a part in making a real difference to communities. We are keen to hear from anyone who is interested in becoming the chairperson or a panel member.”
Members will be expected to devote a minimum of one day every two months to the JARAP meetings, which are normally held at Leicestershire Police Headquarters.
All members will receive appropriate training and be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred as part of this work.
For more information visit the {http://www.leics.pcc.police.uk/Our-Work/Joint-Audit-Risk-and-Assurance-Panel/Joint-Audit-Risk-and-Assurance-Panel-(JARAP).aspxJoint Audit, Risk and Assurance Panel website|Click here to link}
Anyone interested in joining the panel can apply for an application pack by phoning 0116 229 8980 or visiting www.leics.pcc.police.uk/Vacancies
The closing date for applications is midday on Monday, March 4.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview.
http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/community/your-chance-to-shape-community-policing-1-4800474
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New Jersey
Horsham, Hatboro Offer Community Policing Class
The 10-week Horsham, Hatboro Citizens Police Academy begins on Feb. 20.
by Theresa Katalinas
Have you ever watched "CSI," or "Law and Order" and wondered what it's really like to see a high profile case through?
Well, now you can have your chance.
Beginning on Feb. 20, the annual Horsham, Hatboro Citizens Police Academy will again teach a class of community members the ins and outs of law enforcement work.
For those with an eye for "CSI," Horsham Township Police Lt. Jon Clark said one of the 10-week sessions featuring Lt. Rich Nilsen, a homicide detective in the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, will not disappoint.
"He's going to present a case, a case that happened in the past," Clark said. "It gives the participants a chance to see, from beginning to end, how it's prosecuted."
Clark, along with Hatboro Sgt. Pete VanDolsen has led the Citizens Police Academy since its inception in 1999. Clark and VanDolsen invite other law enforcement officials to classes to offer insight on various topics ranging from police K-9, to firearms, use of force, drug awareness and more. At the end of the free 10-week program, participants receive a certificate of completion.
To date, more than 300 locals have graduated from the academy and gained a better understanding of the police officer's role, Clark said.
Part of that understanding, Clark said, is to not only get a glimpse of crime scene investigations, but to feel more comfortable reaching out to and interacting with police.
"I just want them to understand that we need the community to be our eyes and ears and help us do our job," Clark said. "The more they understand about doing the right thing and calling when they see something that doesn't look right gives everybody a better quality of life."
If you go
To register for the Horsham, Hatboro Citizens Police Academy, or for more information on the free program, click here to read more in Patch's events calendar.
http://horsham.patch.com/articles/horsham-hatboro-offer-community-policing-class
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Georgia
Deputies Heading To The Classroom To Learn "Community Policing"
by Barclay Bishop
Augusta, GA -- The Richmond County Sheriff's Office is taking its officers back to the basics...putting them in the classrooms. They're learning a new philosophy on "community policing" and how to better get their citizens involved to help keep their streets safe.
It started at the beginning of February and will wrap up at the end of this month. The officers are learning how to be more proactive, rather than reactive. The goal is to build better relationships with those they protect.
Next week, the first of 3 community police academies will begin where select citizens will take part in a 13-week course, learning every facet about the sheriff's department. Officers say it's important for folks to know their rights because the boundaries for them are just what the limitations of the law allow.
"We have usually one person who is assigned to particular area, it's a large area, it's a lot for him to cover and there is no way he can catch everything. But, if we have the community in partnership with that deputy specifically, then they'll be quicker to call us, to talk to us, to give us the information that we need to hopefully prevent crime," says Gerald Metzler, of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
The first academy is already full, but you can still take part in one of the next two. To learn how you can be enrolled call Community Services for the Sheriff's Office at 706- 231-0436.
The Sheriff's Office is taking about 15 to 20 people per 13-week course, so inquire early to get involved.
http://www2.wjbf.com/news/2013/feb/20/richmond-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-heading-c-ar-5640831/
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Missouri
An inside look at "hot spot policing"
by Kay Quinn
ST. LOUIS (KSDK) - "Hot spot policing" is a term you've heard a lot since last August, when former SLU volleyball player Megan Boken was shot and killed in the Central West End. But the crime fighting approach did not start with Boken's death. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has used it for years.
Inside a St. Louis Police Department conference room, 60 or more members of law enforcement meet face-to-face one morning a week to talk about crime.
"We made 51 bench warrant arrests, we found a gun last night right in our target area," reports Captain Daniel Howard, commander of the first district, during a recent meeting.
It's in this weekly meeting that patterns of crime become apparent. So-called hot spots are identified, and a plan of action is developed. Around the table, senior command: the captains of each city police district, homicide detectives, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson and in chairs around the room, officers from probation and parole, the circuit and U.S. Attorney's Office, the DEA and ATF.
"Some of them recognize the names of individuals they've arrested previously," says Chief Dotson, "and know that they work on this specific block or they're from this neighborhood. It helps give perspective to everybody in the room."
On a big screen, what are called "information products," up-to-the-minute statistics marking crimes that have happened in the past week, the past month.
The meeting's called CompStat which stands for computer statistics. It's basically tackling crime by the numbers. A style of policing that came out of New York City in the mid-1990s.
"It's a science," Says Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence O'Toole, deputy chief of the Bureau of Community Policing. "It's not an exact science but it's a science and the technology available to us to help us drill down to where we can really have a positive influence on crime."
"We want to start re-educating everyone in the city. People are leaving iPads out computers and everything so we're going to keep sending flyers out or mass e-mailings," reports Captain William Swiderski, commander of the second district, during a recent meeting.
Specific strategies for cooling off hot spots are decided here. It could mean foot patrols, street check-points, door-to-door canvassing.
"Once you figure out that hot spot, it's the strategies within that hot spot you really try to look into," says Lt. Col. O'Toole. "See what one strategy is more effective than others, and then try to develop that strategy for where ever that crime is.
Compstat is designed to give the force a more efficient look at what crime-fighting strategies are working, and allows them to quickly change strategies if crime stats show it's needed. Managing crime this way is also designed to hold people from all areas of law enforcement and criminal justice accountable.
A probation and parole officer from the state of Missouri attends every week. Chris Cline is with the Missouri department of corrections.
"When our clients are discussed in these meetings and we can better tailor our supervision needs to help public safety in general," says Cline.
A lot of what's discussed here is sensitive and privileged information. And I was asked not to include names of suspects and some other references to hot spot strategies. But even senior commanders believe more transparency about how Compstat works is a good thing.
"The community, it's good for them to see how seriously we take this crime and what we try to do," says O'Toole.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/364276/3/NewsChannel-5-given-exclusive-look-at-crime-fighting-few-ever-see
