What Qualifications Does a Community Police Officer Need?
A comunity police officer is assigned to a specific neighborhood. Police image by Zeno from Fotolia.com When people hear the term “community police officer,” they think of an officer who works, and possibly lives, in a neighborhood. They know that this person is a policeman. Like other law enforcement officers, the community police officer has attended and graduated from the police academy. It is not uncommon for him to have worked in drug, gang and domestic violence investigations. The community police officer must take an offensive approach when dealing with problems in the community before they get out of hand. In order to be effective, the community police officer has to have some special skills. Building Partnership with the Community The community police officer must be effective at forming an alliance with the community. It is important that residents and business owners trust him. Building this partnership includes spending time with the residents at their homes, business sites
