COMMUNITY POLICING AND POLITICAL POSTURING: PLAYING THE GAME

The movement in law enforcement toward community-based policing has prompted debate about such things as broadening the police mission, empowering officers, the effects of community policing on the police role as a government department, and the difficulty of organizational change. While inferred by the literature, community policing as a political dynamic has had limited discussion. Specifically, this paper discusses a range of variables which relate to managing change in light of politics as related to community policing. Discussions of politics and the police frequently produce assumptions of unprofessional behavior, unethical relationships, or a taint on the impartiality of police processes. What must be recognized is that political relationships are not inherently “good ” or “bad”. Rather, they pragmatically reflect processes which are normal in the course of doing business, whether that business is manufacturing, sales, or public service. Political maneuvering and negotiation are as natural as the ebb and flow of the sea. They are processes which, to the experienced navigator, can be used to achieve organizational goals or, to the novice, can be a frustrating impedimen