And they want their police officers to be trusted members of their communities. The goal of community policing is to create a real partnership between the police and the communities they serve. While many other cities have instituted community policing programs, ours is a true makeover of the entire policing system. Community policing means reinventing the Chicago Police Department. The concept cannot work without citizen involvement and a stronger connection between police officers and their communities.
Community residents have to take responsibility and be equal partners in law enforcement.
We can provide the resources and make police officers more accessible, but residents have to take some extra steps. It means working with police to identify problems and situations that spell trouble, so crimes can be prevented before they occur. To reduce crime in communities, the police, the community, and other government agencies and service providers must work together. Our community policing program works to identify and solve problems of crime and disorder and to improve the quality of life in all of Chicago's neighborhoods. Our program officially began in April 1993 on a prototype basis in five of Chicago's twenty-five police districts.