GENERAL POLICING: » COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Community Policing Principles

 Community Policing

  • Is an organisational strategy that allows the police, its partners and the public to work closely together to solve the problems of crime and disorder, improve community conditions and feelings of security.
  • Is managed within mainstream policing activity, integrated with other policing services and should not diminish activity to address volume and serious crime.
  • Requires evidence based deployment of community teams against identified need.
  • Establishes dedicated identifiable, accessible and responsive community policing teams which provide all citizens with a named point of access.
  • Reflects local conditions and is flexible and adaptive.
  • Allows the Police Service to work directly with local people in identifying the problems that are most important to them, thereby giving people direct influence over local policing priorities.
  • Establishes a regime for engaging other agencies and the public in problem solving mechanisms.
  • Uses intelligence and information as a basis for deployment.
  • Requires an effective engagement, communication and feedback strategy, and a clear explanation of where accountability lies.
  • Should be subject to rigorous performance management including clear performance monitoring against a local plan and commitments made to neighbourhoods. 

Samoa Police Community Policing Unit – Role and Function

The recognition of the importance of Samoan Police partnership activities are imbedded in the Samoa Police Service, Corporate Plan Priority Activity

It has been recognised that the Community Unit must encompass partners and be driven by the needs of the community. It has been agreed that in the first instance the pilots should include the Samoa Police and the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development, though this can expand to include other partners in due course such as health and Education.

In order for the partners to progress this, a workshop was held between Tuesday 30th October and Thursday 1st November 2007 comprising of approximately twenty key stakeholders from both Ministries. The workshop was facilitated and guided, providing international community policing experiences, but allowing the participants to develop a model based on the needs and traditions of Samoa. The purpose of the workshop was to build a Police/Partner Community Policing Plan that would be:

  • Designed, agreed and owned by the participants.
  • Taking into account traditional successful means of solving problems and dealing with issues.
  • Creating methods for addressing issues in urban area.
  • Be sustainable as policing partner activity and able to be built upon.
  • Capable of growth to include other key partners, such as Church, Education and Youth.  
  •  Identify and recommend two pilot test sites, one at village level and one urban/town area.
  •  Be presented to the Police Commissioner and CEO, Ministry ofWomen, Community & Social Development for discussion, agreement and preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding.

The participants developed and agreed that the following principles should apply to community policing in Samoa:

  • Recognises and utilizes cultural protocols.
  • Community Policing to be embedded in Corporate Plans of both, (all) Ministries.
  • Geographic ownership by named officers.
  •  Positive partnerships and sharing of resources.
  • Visible, responsive police service which meets community expectations  that is fair and just.
  • Open communications between Police and Ministry of Women.
  • Gains public trust and builds capacity from within the general public.
  • Consideration of the use of Auxiliary Officers and sponsorship.
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