This course will firstly undertake a critical review of the relationship between policing and crime in a democratic society. Themes such as police accountability and police culture will be also examined in the context of law enforcement and community policing, the latter forming a significant part of the course. The course will discuss the various definitions and major concepts in community policing. It will then treat community policing within a social psychological framework so as to provide students with the conceptual and methodological tools to understand, develop and implement the various strategies which can be used to gain effective police-community linkages. Operational slogans such as zerotolerance, ‘broken-windows theory,’ target-hardening, etc. will be critically examined. The course will seek to examine the practicality of forging the necessary partnerships between the police and citizens for effective, sustainable community policing programmes. Therefore, issues such as police authority, law enforcement, role conflict and police culture will be treated alongside such issues as civilian confidence in the police, level of community readiness, citizens’ needs vs. the police agenda, and motivating citizens for community support in crime reduction and crime prevention. Some attention will be given to measuring and evaluating community policing. The dilemmas of community policing in a democratic society will be treated in the context of the elements which facilitate and hinder community-policing partnerships.
Department of Behavourial Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences
Cost: TT $3198 (including all Compulsory Fees)
- Pre-Requisites: an undergraduate degree, in a related discipline, from an approved university
- Course Credits: 3
- Assessments: Coursework 40%; Final Examination 60%
- Duration: January 20 – April 11, 2025
- Lecture Time: TBA (UTC−04:00)
- Mode of Delivery: Face to Face