View Research by Author - David Thacher

Publications

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has provided grants to promote community policing strategies through officer participation with community residents in crime control and prevention activities. This case study documents the experience of the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, as it developed a crime control plan that encompassed the core elements of community policing. The police and city residents jointly identified several public safety goals for the city and carried out specific initiatives to accomplish them. The police department built support through community partnerships with residents and businesses and collaborated extensively with outside agencies and elected officials.

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has provided grants to promote community policing strategies through officer participation with community residents in crime control and prevention activities. This case study documents the experience of the city of Portland, Oregon, as it bolstered its long-held problem-solving approach with additional tenets of community policing: increased planning capability, team-based management, and a formal process for tracking community problems. The case study focuses on the role of leadership and the COPS grants in effecting the changes. It also considers how the existing organizational structure and culture impeded or accelerated the change toward community policing.

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has provided grants to promote community policing strategies through officer participation with community residents in crime control and prevention activities. This case study documents the experience of the city of Riverside, California, as it bolstered its long-held problem-solving approach with additional tenets of community policing: increased planning capability, team-based management, and a formal process for tracking community problems. The case study focuses on the role of leadership and the COPS grants in effecting the changes. It also considers how the existing organizational structure and culture impeded or accelerated the change toward community policing.

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has provided grants to promote community policing strategies through officer participation with community residents in crime control and prevention activities. This case study documents the experience of the city of Savannah, Georgia, as it advanced community, problem-oriented policing through decentralization of policing services and devolution of command accountability. A formal reorganization of the police department was the jumping-off point for reforms. The reforms also involved honing the problem-solving skills of officers, expanding training, and managing new policing capacities that required greater flexibility, accountability, and initiative from officers at every level.

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has provided grants to promote community policing strategies through officer participation with community residents in crime control and prevention activities. This case study documents the experience of the city of Spokane, Washington, as it shifted from a classic, professional-style police department to a community-based approach. Strategic initiatives flowed from all levels of the department, patrol officers were encouraged to solve problems and work with the community, and thousands of city residents began to serve as volunteers within the department.

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has provided grants to promote community policing strategies through officer participation with community residents in crime control and prevention activities. This case study documents the experience of the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, as it formally instituted community policing. The roots of community policing have long been in place in St. Paul; patrol and investigative functions were largely decentralized, carried out from three district stations, four substations, and 12 storefront offices throughout the city. Community-oriented programs ask citizens to assume joint responsibility for public safety and crime reduction.

The COPS program was designed to increase the scale of policing in America, and to change the predominant strategy of American policing from an emphasis on reactive law enforcement to an emphasis on proactive community problem-solving. To evaluate the progress of the program, the Urban Institute surveyed police departments and focused intensive scrutiny on a small number of departments to develop case studies. This report examines the organizational change in case-study departments and analyzes the impetus, leadership and process of the change, and the role of COPS grants in generating change.

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