U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

COMMUNITY POLICING IN CANADA AND BRITAIN

NCJ Number
146120
Journal
Research Bulletin Issue: 34 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 36-42
Author(s)
B Koch; T Bennett
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This literature review compares community policing developments in Canada and Great Britain.
Abstract
A working definition of community policing involves police consultation with the public to determine and evaluate policing policy and practice, as well as collaboration with the public in addressing local problems. This review of recent literature from Canada and Great Britain shows few differences in community policing developments. There are no significant differences in the official declarations of community policing philosophies in the two countries, but the level of field commitment to these philosophies is not known. Both countries have begun organizational experiments that involve decentralization, and both countries have had implementation problems. The two countries have many examples of programs associated with community policing. Overall, there is little evidence to show that Canada is substantially ahead of Great Britain in the development of community policing. The two countries operate foot patrols and police shops or store fronts, and both have established some kind of community consultation arrangement. Any differences in the effectiveness of the programs in the two countries may be due to the special abilities of those who design, implement, and manage them. 32 references