New methods and technologies in service of community policing and transferable best practices

Expected Outcome:

Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

• Strengthened resilience of local communities against crime and radicalisation, lowered feeling of insecurity and improved law enforcing;
• Negative factors in local communities are identified early, possible threats are detected, and crime reporting is enhanced;
• Better recognition for community diversity within neighbourhoods, and tailored approaches to milieus including communities traditionally not engaging with statutory authorities resulting in comprehensive community empowerment;
• The interactions, and potential feedback between CP and alternatives to incarceration are explored;
• Identification and EU wide dissemination of validated community policing best practices;
• New methodologies, tools and adoption of technological support are developed; and
• Training curricula for Police Authorities are developed on community policing in non-homogenous local milieus with social complexities, including balancing of majority needs while recognising expectations of minorities and/or sub-groups.

Scope:

Community policing (CP) is an integral part of policing focusing on cooperation with local community for better understanding challenges and the given group needs and meeting them. From both a theoretical and a practical point of view, three ways of delivering CP may be outlined: reactive, proactive, and co-active - based on community consultations and common actions. While performing such actions, police provides information, initiates and participates in programs to prevent crime and ensures the protection of citizens in cooperation with other institutions. CP aims to create opportunities for positive, mutually respectful interactions between civilians and the police, to increase citizens` trust and enhance the ability of police to enforce the law. To maximise the impact of CP actions, proposals should analyse its potential relations with introduction of innovative alternatives to imprisonment.

Nowadays, Police Authorities, while carrying out their duties to provide community security, are faced with numerous economic and demographic challenges. As a consequence, more efficient solutions, tools and methodologies are sought. First responders cope with growing communities, tighter budgets, and diverse, quickly evolving milieus in their areas of responsibility, regularly facing challenges that initial professional training could not prepare them for. Moreover, rapidly changing social, economic and political environment, both domestically and internationally, complicates these problems and fuels new tensions.

New approaches should cover internal review of Police Authorities’ personnel training, possible change of attitudes and communication language, or countering existing misconceptions and biases. International exchange of validated best practices is encouraged. Proposals should eventually integrate societal findings, relevant new or already existing technologies and legal framework into a comprehensive CP model. The successful proposal should build on the publicly available achievements and findings of related previous national or EU-funded projects. Activities proposed within this topic should address both technological and societal dimensions of CP in a balanced way.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related innovation activities.