Whose Problem is it Anyway?: Towards Innovative Changes in Police-Community Relations

• In Event: Perspectives from Police Officers on Police Reform

Abstract

In the wake of 2020, there has been a growing interest in community-police relations in the criminal justice system. Yet this is not new for the field of policing, which has experienced several decades of commissions trying to enact change, with community policing presented as the main vehicle for transformation. However, both policymakers and scholars alike have mostly focused on evaluating public perceptions and political motives towards change in policing. Few have engaged with the perspectives of those enacting the day-to-day practice of police work - the officers themselves, while organizational scholarship asserts that practitioner buy-in is fundamental. This study addresses this gap, by evaluating what officers at various levels of rank believe about innovative practices in police-community relations and provides implications for both research and practice.

Author

• Linda Phiri, American University