Community Policing : The CPOP in New York

The Community Patrol Officer Program (CPOP), launched in New York in 1984, was designed to solve problems at the community level through the neighbourhood patrol officer. The authors of this volume present the research and findings of the CPOP. The multi-dimensional role the police officers were expected to play is examined and issues such as the effectiveness of the officers in implementing their new role, the obstacles they encountered, the attitudes of the officers and the perceptions of the community are explored. The book also suggests measures for improving and implementing similar programmes.

The Community Patrol Officer Programmes of the NY City Policy provides the subtitle of McElroy et al.′s book. Some, including myself regard long-term beat assignment as the most significant of the activities that take place in the name of CP. This book reports NY′s experience with the approach, which began in 1984 and expanded to all 75 precincts. Aimed at policy makers and police as well as academics, there is an able summary of the literature, highlighting requirements for organizational change. This study offers a good impression of the type of officers involved and their views, the role requirements and level of performance achieved, the requirements that rest on supervisors (highlighting occupational deviance), relations with non-CP officers, and community representatives′ views on CPOP. --Nigel Fielding in British Journal