Synopses & Reviews
Police departments across the country are busily "reinventing" themselves, adopting a new style known as "community policing". This approach to policing involves organizational decentralization, new channels of communication with the public, a commitment to responding to what the community thinks their priorities ought to be, and the adoption of a broad problem-solving approach to neighborhood issues. Police departments that succeed in adopting this new stance have an entirely different relationship to the public that they serve. Chicago made the transition, embarking on what is now the nation's largest and most impressive community policing program. This book, the first to examine such a project, looks in depth at all aspects of the program--why it was adopted, how it was adopted, and how well it has worked.
Review
"Skogan and Harnett offer here yet another exemplary, extraordinary study that incorporates both fascinating particulars and generalizable findings. It is well-designed and subtly orchestrated and should become required reading in the social sciences. Not only is it engaging and clearly written, it contains hopeful notes about the future of urban policing...Community Policing, Chicago Style masterfully sets out an experimental design, identifies the elements of the program, asserts a logical model by which program and results are connected, presents abundant data clearly, and is cautious about generalization and modest about findings."--Americal Journal of Sociology
Synopsis
Police departments across the country are busily "reinventing" themselves, adopting a new style known as "community policing." Chicago made the transition, embarking on what is now the nation's largest and most impressive community policing program. This book, the first to examine such a project, looks in depth at why it was adopted, how it was adopted, and how well it has worked.
About the Author
Wesley G. SkoganR, the author of numerous books and articles on the relationship between crime and society, is Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University.
Susan M. Hartnett was the Project Director for the Chicago study at Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research.
Table of Contents
1. Policing at Century's End
2. Police and Politics in Chicago
3. Crafting a Program
4. Bringing Officers on Board
5. Citizen Involvement
6. The Program in Action
7. The Influence of CAPS on Neighborhood Life
8. Reinventing Policing, Chicago Style