Policing on the web

Policing on the web

Article Type: Policing on the web From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 31, Issue 3

In 1979, Herman Goldstein penned an article that has generated a great deal of debate, discussion, research and innovation in the field of policing; as well as contributing to the development of a new approach to policing communities. In “Improving policing: a problem-oriented approach”, Goldstein called for police agencies and scholars to shift from a focus on the means by which communities were policed to a focus on the outcomes associated with policing efforts. Almost 30 years after Goldstein’s article was first published, the Problem Oriented Policing Movement is still alive and flourishing (Goldstein, 1979).

The Center for Problem Oriented Policing is an organization dedicated to the “advance the concept and practice of problem-oriented policing in open and democratic societies” by providing “information about ways in which police can more effectively address specific crime and disorder problems”[1]. The web site for the Center for Problem Oriented Policing (www.popcenter.org) plays a key role in providing access to a wide array of information and materials about problem oriented policing, ranging from the basics of problem oriented policing to practical guides to multimedia-based learning modules.

For the problem oriented policing practitioner, the organization’s web site offers the ability download electronic copies of problem oriented policing guides. These guides cover such diverse topics as improving the problem solving capacities of crime analysis units, implementing a publicity campaign for crime prevention efforts, the ins-and-outs of electronic surveillance of public places via closed circuit television cameras, and using crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) in problem solving policing efforts. Also available, are reports on in-the-field applications of problem solving. For example, users can download reports on the use of problem oriented policing to address such problems as burglary of single-family houses in Savannah, Georgia, drug dealing in apartment complexes in Baltimore, Maryland, and street prostitution in Raleigh, North Carolina.

An interesting feature of the web site is the ability for users to complete multimedia-based learning modules (accessible through the web site’s Learning Center). In one such 90-minute module, users must advise the Mayor on how to solve a problem of street prostitution. In another module, users learn 25 techniques of crime prevention. The Learning Center also offers users the opportunity to download a video interview with Herman Goldstein in which he discusses problem oriented policing, including such topics as the basics of problem oriented policing, the development of the concept, and the continued evolution of problem oriented policing. For the criminal justice educator, the Learning Center also offers a model version of a problem oriented policing undergraduate curriculum, including detailed PowerPoint presentations, required textbooks. It lives up to the web site’s claim that it is a “complete course, ready to go!”

Finally, the web site for the Center for Problem Oriented Policing offers a link to information about the annual Problem Oriented Policing Conference. Users can find all the information needed to register for the conference, as well as, information on group discounts and local accommodations.

The web site for the Center for Problem Oriented Policing makes a major contribution towards the fulfillment of the organization’s goal of making information about problem oriented policing readily available. The site is extremely user friendly and much of the information is available in several different languages, with more translations in production. One caveat with the web site, much of the information is presented as PDFs and requires that the user have Adobe Reader (available as a free download online) in order to view them. However, many of the reports and guides are also offered as web pages and require no special software to access. Whether one is a problem oriented policing practitioner, a criminal justice educator, or a student working on a term paper, the web site for the Center for Problem Oriented Policing is worth surfing.

Center for Problem Oriented Policing web site, available at: www.popcenter.org

J.W. Carter IICollege of Mount St Joseph, Cincinnati, USA