Australian Police

Australian Police

The Thin Blue Line – Australian Police

Community Based Policing

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Table of Contents

What is Community Based Policing?

Community Based Policing is all about the police actively working with the community to prevent crime and create a safer environment.

To achieve this police must be able to talk to you about community concerns and share important information. We need your support and your involvement.

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Communication.

Police listening to you.

Our communities are made up of many diverse groups of people and the police are making an effort to listen and find out about the concerns of the community.

  • Community Consultative Committees have been established. The committees are made up of the local Patrol Commander and people interested in preventing crime and improving the quality of life. They provide an opportunity for local problems to be solved by working together. You can participate in this process by contacting the Patrol Commander through your local police station.
  • Throughout the State and in many local patrols police are conducting surveys of community opinions in relation to policing issues.
  • The police have established closer contact with groups within our community who have special needs including youth, the aged ethnic groups, aboriginals, gays and lesbians
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We need You to Work with Us.

Community Based Policing relies on your input into police work. Without your participation in solving problems being faced by your community the police will not be able to address your concerns.

There are many ways in which you can work with us.

Contact you local police station to join or set up the following:

  • Community Consultative Committee.
  • Neighbourhood Watch.
  • Safety Houses
  • Other programs as they are set up in your area.

You can also participate in special annual phone ins:

  • Operation Noah for Drugs
  • Operation Hot Wheels for Car Theft

You can also provide information about crimes at any time. All information is important and no detail is to small.

You can remain anonymous if you wish.

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Working Together.

The police and the community have already been working together on problems which are of major concern. Our efforts to establish a safer environment have created a series of programs which have been developed through the Community Based Policing process.

These programs include

  • Protective Behaviours-teaching safe living skills to people at risk.
  • Neighbourhood Watch, Rural Watch, Marine Watch and Business Watch-involving the community in helping each other to prevent crime.
  • Safety Houses-providing a network of safe places for children.
  • Youth Clubs-providing a positive community environment for youth to reduce anti-social and criminal behaviour.
  • Blue Light Discos-providing an opportunity for youth to listen and dance to contemporary music in an environment free from alcohol, drugs and offensive behaviour.
  • Constable Care-producing education materials for children.
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New Developing Programs*.

  • Beat Policing-enabling police to develop a closer working relationship with their community.
  • Community Aid Panels-providing opportunities for suitable first offenders to do community work which is used as part of their defence before being sentenced.
  • Domestic Violence-a pilot program for early intervention with the Salvation Army.
  • General Duties Youth Officers-working with young people in the local community.
  • Lay Visitors Scheme-to allow selected community members to observe conditions under which prisoners are detained.
  • Operation Care Safe-a program aimed at reducing car theft.
  • Witness Watch-community volunteers trained to support victims and witnesses during trials.

*Available in some areas.

One thought on “Community Based Policing

  • The naive language (“aboriginals, gays and lesbians”), soldier-recruitment-poster capitalisation (“We need You to Work with Us”), and typos (“the aged ethnic groups”) of this page does not inspire confidence.
    Rather than Blue Light Discos, to which few teenagers go, please pour your resources into more everyday things.
    Police need to be more approachable, friendly and fair (I’m sure most police are unusually conscientious people, but as they are role models, they need to be extra scrupulous).
    Police shouldn’t park in a ‘no stopping’ zone when they pick up a take away coffee.
    They should use keep cups.
    Police on the street, with their clanking weaponry and equipment, are intimidating, not approachable. If I were living with low level domestic violence, I think I’d be scared to approach a police officer who happened to be near, and ask for the help that might prevent escalation.
    Police ideally would be conscious of their body language, the power of their uniforms, and learn to display authority without arrogance and swagger.
    When I go to my local police station with a lost wallet or a stat dec, or something more serious, I should meet a friendly, welcoming, not jaded and wary face.
    The lack of welcome means, even when I’ve gone to drop off a perfectly intact lost wallet, I feel like a criminal while I wait my turn at the desk.
    If I have to wait, my time should be treated with respect, and I should be told (by the friendly face), roughly how long I might have to wait.
    Police should make an effort to engage in chat about local community issues with the community members they encounter – to increase trust, and a sense in the community that the police have their fingers on the local pulse.
    Perhaps fewer people with mental health issues would be shot by police if they were known to their local police.
    There are myriad social services to help those who need help, but as they are small and constrained by tight budgets, it’s often hard to find them, and sort through them, even for those with internet access.
    Police should be able to connect people to a relevant service, and it should be well known that they are repositories of this information.
    Social work should be part of police training.
    I understand being a police officer, with exposure to many traumatic events, is very hard on the soul.
    I hope that there is a recognition of this in the police force. I hope police have all the counselling, mental health days, and support to pursue nourishing non-policing interests they need to help heal the damage done.
    More exposure to the happier aspects of their local communities might help both police and their communities.

    Reply

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