Community-Oriented Policing in the Global South: A Systematic Review of the Impact on Interpersonal Violence

• In Event: Evidence-Based Crime Policy II

Abstract

Violence is a global public health problem with complex causes at the individual, family, community, and societal levels. The Global South is particularly affected by violent crime, with interpersonal violence a leading cause of death and disability. As part of a broader attempt at democratization and government institution building, community-oriented policing was adopted as a primary operational strategy in several Southern countries in response to dramatic upsurges in violent crime during the 1990s. Whilst there is evidence of the success of community-oriented policing in the Global North, we argue that this evidence is drawn from police agencies that are situated very differently to police agencies in the South, which often have long histories of military rule and no experience of a civilian police. Indeed, community-oriented policing approaches were often instituted as part of rapid state building activities, and these contexts may lack the physical infrastructure and governance mechanisms that form an essential background to successful community-oriented policing interventions. We report on a Campbell Collaboration systematic review of the evidence of the effectiveness of community-oriented policing interventions in reducing interpersonal violent crime in the Global South.

Authors

• Angela Higginson, Queensland University of Technology

• Lorraine Mazerolle, University of Queensland

• Michelle Sydes, University of Queensland

• Jacqueline Davis, University of Queensland

• Kerrie Mengersen, Queensland University of Technology