The most significant aspect of this portion of the definition are the changes that must occur in the police organization itself, and the subsequent delivery of police services. In order to maximize a community s resources in dealing with identified problems, partnerships must be developed that can routinely bring the key stakeholders to the table on any particular problem. Partnerships must be developed and maintained for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the problem solving process. These partnerships include the residential community, the business community, public and private social service delivery agencies, and all other local governmental services in addition to the police.
Partnerships also develop trust and allow for customer input on a regular basis.
The collective identification of problems through customer input and a strong partnership base allow for the prioritization of police services from both a police and community perspective. The goal of problem solving is to address the underlying conditions causing a particular problem and eliminate or reduce a community s response to the effects of the problem, thus creating even more time and resources that can be applied to other situations. Information and data are key components in all phases of the problem solving process. Operationalizing the community policing philosophy serves to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and equitableness of police. By consistently emphasizing the customer based approach, the building of partnerships, and jointly working on problems, the police and community dramatically increases the mutual trust needed to improve a community s quality of life.