The future of community policing in the context of basic police academy training

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to forecast the likely and desirable conditions associated with community policing training during basic police academy training by seeking consensus among experts regarding selected conditions associated with community policing concepts and practices. The process utilized the Delphi method of inquiry. Experts in community policing and police training were selected to serve on one of two panels, an external panel and an internal panel. The external panel was tasked with developing a survey instrument. The internal panel was asked to respond to the statements of the survey designed by the external panel. This process was done in successive rounds during which the panelists were made aware of the previous round.s results to inform their rankings and commentary. The findings from this study show clear support from police training experts for community policing training to become an integral part of basic police training academies. Nevertheless, respondents surveyed indicate that little is currently occurring that integrates community policing into efforts of police training academies and, moreover, respondents have little faith that such integration will occur in the foreseeable future. In essence, based on their predictions, the state of community policing and basic police training appears likely to remain unchanged.