1. Community Policing and Collaboration: Implications of a Flat World William Wells Center for the Study of Crime Southern Illinois University Carbondale March 31, 2006

2. The Flat World The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty- First Century (2005) – By Thomas L. Friedman It is more possible today than at any other time for more people to collaborate – “...a global, Web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration – the sharing of knowledge and work – in real time, without regard to geography, distance, or, in the near future, even language.” (p. 176)

3. The Flat World What are some of the implications of a flatter world that are relevant for policing? 1. The playing field has shifted from top down (vertical) to side to side (horizontal) operations Management practices change from command and control to connecting and collaborating The small can act big; fosters individual imagination (Innovative) Responses result from horizontal collaborations between actors and groups more so than from top down approaches. Distinct specialties with unique values can be combined

4. The Flat World Implications (continued) 2. A connecting and collaborating approach means sorting out is necessary One implication of horizontal collaboration is that is might create strange bedfellows Power must be shared

5. The Flat World Implications (continued) 3. Trust is necessary for a flat world. Threats can’t paralyze – Trust facilitates openness, innovation, and flattening. Trust allows for barriers to be knocked down and friction to be reduced – Greater collaborating means more interactions between people who are not familiar with one another.

6. The Flat World of Policing Police reliance on public support and cooperation; importance of collaboration Policing innovations, including community policing, appreciate the importance of collaboration and have advocated for developing new collaborative relationships and enhancing existing ones Several examples illustrate the flat world of policing

7. Evidence St. Louis consent-to-search program Intended to reduce youth gun violence by targeting high risk youths and searching their homes for guns – Idea resulted from a police – community meeting Parents gave consent for searches of their homes Guns seized but no prosecutions (trust) – Collaborative rather than top-down; goal was to get guns out of kids’ hands, not necessarily arrests

8. Evidence St. Louis consent-to-search program Early success of the program has been attributed to the degree of collaboration – Citizens identified homes to search (trust) – Officers were assigned to geographic area and used a non-confrontational approach – Community support for the program – 98 % consented; 510 guns seized in 18 mos.; average of 3 guns seized per house

9. Evidence St. Louis consent-to-search program Second phase of the program focused on using search warrants and making arrests; little collaboration; few consent searches – Fewer guns seized (6% of the total seized during Phase I) and less community support National Research Council (2005, p.236): the program placed a “premium on effective communication and trust with the community not found in most problem-oriented policing projects.”

10. Evidence Crisis Intervention Team Police responses to persons with a mental illness (PwMI) – Innovative approach is CIT (Memphis, TN PD) – Goal is to link PwMI in crisis with the most appropriate services and avoid arrest when not necessary – Two primary components

11. Evidence Crisis Intervention Team Recent attempt to implement CIT in Lafayette, IN Led by the efforts of local advocates – NAMI – WCI Strong degree of cooperation from 5 police agencies that serve the greater Lafayette community Working relationship between police agencies and local mental health service providers was poor Difficult for officers to link PwMI with MHSP Officers reported poor working relationships with MHSP

12. Evidence Crisis Intervention Team Working group to build consensus for changing current responses to PwMI – Representatives from key local agencies and stakeholders – Relationships with MHSP never materialized / improved

13. Evidence Crisis Intervention Team Results – CIT training – Evidence of positive outcomes from the training – Response options for police officers remain unchanged Some of the most important barriers to more effective responses to PwMI remain – Without collaboration with key agencies the reform will not realize its full potential

14. Evidence Community Policing Police collaborations with a host of different “communities” and social service agencies is a central dimension of community policing – Effective responses to complex problems requires more than just the police – Positive relationships are inherently valuable

15. Evidence Community Policing Distinction between community involvement and community collaboration – “Involvement” is superficial – Collaboration represents power sharing Decision making is a shared process –Multiple actors / groups shape the efforts, not just the police –Problems to address –Responses –Acknowledging different agendas

16. Evidence Community Policing What are community policing agencies doing? – Partnership building tactics have grown Community meetings and surveys; joint crime prevention; citizen action / advisory boards (Roth et al., 2000) – Engaging residents, advocates, businesses, and government agencies – Purposes include problem solving and improved communications Multiple actors / groups engage in problem solving activities In many cases the forms of communication are limited to one- way approaches (citizen police academies) Some reluctance to share power and allow for meaningful community input (Roth et al., 2000)

17. Conclusions Like businesses, police agencies recognize the value created by a flatter world where greater collaboration is possible Evidence suggests that police have the opportunities to collaborate in successful ways – A commitment to true collaboration, not mere involvement, is required – Trust and sharing seem to be critical dimensions – Can be assisted with two-way, symmetrical forms of communication (true public relations)