Ross Macmillan, University professor of sociology, researches criminology. Macmillan said research has shown community policing improves public perception of law enforcement if not necessarily reducing crime. In that respect, community policing is probably a better way to go about things than your traditional problem occurs, police arrive in a vehicle, spend five minutes there and then take off again. Macmillan added that community policing is more effective in well-defined communities. In recent years, large cities like New York and Detroit have instituted community policing.
Some critics dismiss it as assigning social work to police officers.
But the approach is hardly revolutionary. Macmillan said community policing dates back to the last century. But suburbanization after World War II put officers in squad cars, he added. The Minnesota Daily, all rights reserved.