United Nations

Department of Peacekeeping Operations

Department of Field Support
Ref. 2018.04

Manual

Community-Oriented Policing in
United Nations Peace Operations

UNHQ, New York, 2018

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CONTENTS:
1. Terms and Definitions

2. Purpose

3. Scope

4. Rationale

5. A Community-Oriented Policing Approach for the United

Nations Police

6. The Benefits of Community-Oriented Policing in Conflict &

Post-Conflict Environments

7. The Five Essential Elements of Community-Oriented Policing

8. Implementing Community-Oriented Policing

8.3. Understanding and Consulting with Communities
8.4. Responding to Communities
8.5. Mobilizing Communities
8.6. Solving Recurring Problems
8.7. Sample Action Plan

9. Resources Mobilization Strategies

10. Monitoring and Evaluation

11. References
11.3. Normative or Superior References
11.4. Related Policies

12. Monitoring and Compliance

13. Contact

14. Annexes
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1. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Capacity. Aptitudes, resources, relationships and facilitating conditions necessary to act

effectively to achieve some intended purpose.

Capacity-building. Efforts to strengthen the above components of capacity. Capacity-building

targets individuals, institutions and their enabling environment.

Community-Oriented Policing. A strategy for encouraging the public to act as partners with
the police in preventing and managing crime as well as other aspects of security and order
based on the needs of the community.

Gender mainstreaming. The process of assessing the implications for women and men of
any planned action, including legislation, policies and programmes, in all areas and at all
levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an
integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and
programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit
equally and inequality is no perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.

Gender equality (Equality between women and men). Gender equality refers to the equal
enjoyment of human rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and girls and
boys. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that rights,
responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether a person is born male or female.
Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are
taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men.
Gender equality is not a women’s issue, but should concern and fully engage men as well as
women. Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a
precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centred development.

Law enforcement official. All officers of the law, whether appointed or elected, who exercise
police powers, especially the powers of arrest or detention. In countries where police powers
are exercised by military authorities, whether uniformed or not, or by State security forces, the
definition of law enforcement officials shall be regarded as including officers of such police and
other law enforcement agencies.

Peacekeeping operation. Operation led by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Police and other law enforcement agencies. Includes police, gendarmerie, customs,
immigration and border services, as well as related oversight bodies, such as ministries of the
interior and/or justice.

Police component. All United Nations police officers in a given mission, i.e. individual police
officers (IPOs), Specialised Police Teams (SPTs) and/or Formed Police Units (FPUs).

Police development. Efforts to strengthen a host-State police service through reform and
restructuring, as part of capacity-building.

Programmatic activities. Programmatic activities involve activities for mandated tasks

funded as a project or programme. These include but are not limited to capacity-building,
infrastructure projects, training, procurement of material and equipment, temporary
consultancies and technical expertise.
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Programmatic funding. Programmatic funding involves the utilization of assessed funding for
operational costs of programme delivery to implement missions’ mandated tasks.
Implementation can be carried out both by missions and through collaborative arrangements
with implementing partners, e.g. United Nations Country Team members.

Public order management. Police actions aimed at facilitating the population’s exercise of
their fundamental rights, without any disturbance or unjustified hindrance and preventing
assemblies from threatening or actually harming public safety.

Public safety. Day-to-day security that allows full freedom of movement, virtual absence of
crime and disturbances.

Rule of law. Principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and
private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally
enforce and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human
rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures to ensure adherence to the
principles of supremacy of the law, separation of powers, participation in decision-making,
legal certainty, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency (see report
of the Secretary-General, S/2004/616).

Special Political Mission (SPM). United Nations operations led by the Department of Political
Affairs.

Quick Impact Projects (QIPs). Quick Impact Projects are small-scale, rapidly-implementable
projects, of benefit to the population, developed and implemented in a participatory manner.
These projects – funded through the mission’s budget – are used by UN peacekeeping
operations to establish and build confidence in the mission, its mandate, and the peace
process, thereby improving the environment for effective mandate implementation.

United Nations police (UNPOL). Includes both Headquarters staff in the United Nations
Police Division (inclusive of the Standing Police Capacity) and mission staff in United Nations
police components.

United Nations police component. United Nations police organized within a peace
operation.

2. PURPOSE

2.1 This UN Police (UNPOL) Manual on Community-Oriented Policing in United Nations

Peace Operations (hereafter referred to as ‘the Manual’) spells out the fundamental principles,
concept and approach to community-oriented policing for United Nations police.

2.2 The Manual is designed to assist police components in the fulfilment of their mandated
community-oriented policing role principally in providing operational and capacity-building
support to host-State police and other law enforcement agencies, as well as whenever UNPOL
is mandated to undertake interim policing and other law enforcement duties. Except where
noted, this Manual assumes the United Nations police have been mandated to provide
capacity-building assistance to the host-State police and other law enforcement agencies. The
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purpose of this is to allow for the provision of guidance on a full range of tasks the United
Nations police may be mandated to undertake in this regard.

2.3 This Manual is to be read in conjunction with a specific mission’s mandate as per the
relevant Security Council Resolution(s), the Mission Concept, the UN Police Component’s
Concept of Operations and the DPKO/DFS Policy on United Nations Police in Peacekeeping
Operations and Special Political Missions, Ref. 2014.01.

2.4 This Manual outlines the structure of the philosophical, strategic and operational
aspects of community-oriented policing by providing a methodology to establish a
standardized approach to community-oriented policing for the United Nations police in their
capacity as advisers, mentors, and trainers in peace operations to assist the host-State police
and other law enforcement agencies in their capacity-building and development. Further
guidance in this regard in contained within the DPKO/DFS Guidelines on Police Capacity-
Building and Development, Ref. 2015.08 and DPKO-DFS Manual on Police Monitoring,
Mentoring and Advising in Peace Operations, Ref. 2017.14.

3. SCOPE

3.1 This Manual should be read in conjunction with the overarching DPKO/DFS Policy on
Police in Peacekeeping Operations and Special Political Missions and the associated
Guidelines on Police Operations, Police Command, Police Administration and Police Capacity-
Building and Development, and the accompanying UNPOL Manuals on Mission-based
Planning and Donor Co-Ordination and Fund Management in Peace Operations. This Manual
shall provide the context for the future development of standard operating procedures and
training materials related to community-oriented policing.

3.2 The Guidelines shall apply to all staff of the United Nations police components in
missions led by DPKO. They shall also apply mutatis mutandis to United Nations police officers
serving in special political missions (SPMs) led by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), in
regional and hybrid support missions and in potential future roles as mission environments
and needs evolve, e.g. deployments through the Global Focal Point for the Police, Justice and
Corrections Areas in the Rule of Law in Post-conflict and other Crisis Situations (GFP).

4. RATIONALE

4.1 The role of United Nations police in peacekeeping differs fundamentally from domestic
policing. In general, a police officer in his or her domestic police service operates within a clear
legal framework with well-defined authorities; they understand the culture and speak the
language of the communities they serve; and that their police colleagues’ training and service
are similar to their own; and in generally, the operate within institutional structures that
reinforce command and control, accountability and that are adequately resourced. In contrast,
United Nations police deployed in post-conflict settings cannot presume any of these and
instead frequently work in unfamiliar environments where most, if not all, semblance of
domestic policing and other law enforcement may have either broken down or been
incapacitated by the conflict, and where they must navigate among the sometimes differing
policing approaches of colleagues from many different countries and agencies. Further,
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conflict and post-conflict environments are often characterised by widespread human rights
violations, weak protection for civilians and increasing criminality, violent extremism and
terrorism, in which authority, power and rules for social interaction are fluid; and a general
breakdown of the rule of law and absence of State authorities. This, combined with weakened
institutional structures often creates an environment of “opportunism” of a criminal nature,
“institutionalized” corruption and corrupt practices, while also contributing to the possibility of
the prevalence of serious and organized crime, and the perpetuating of circumstances often
identified as root causes of conflict; that inevitably impact upon the safety and security of
communities and the population at large.

4.2 Missions are also increasingly multidimensional in nature, requiring United Nations
police officers to cooperate closely with elements which may rarely interface in a domestic
setting, including the mission’s own military, political, humanitarian, human rights and other
civilian components, as well as host-State and international actors.

4.3 Within this already challenging context, the nature of police peacekeeping continues
to evolve and new threats keep emerging. Contemporary police peacekeepers must perform
a variety of increasingly complex tasks mostly unforeseen at the dawn of United Nations police
peacekeeping, including supporting the host-State police and other law enforcement in
addressing such threats as serious and organized crime, terrorism and corruption. In some
cases, the United Nations police are mandated to assume either partial or full executive
policing responsibility and other law enforcement duties within a designated territory while the
host-State police and other law enforcement agencies regain functional self-sufficiency. More
commonly, DPKO-led mission mandates foresee an operational support role for the United
Nations police, including helping the host-State police and other law enforcement to conduct
investigations and special operations and to ensure public safety and security, based on
overarching policing strategies that are oriented towards the communities they serve and
guided by the strategic use of criminal intelligence.

4.4 The immediate and daily operational support United Nations police provide to host-
State police helps foster stability and the environment needed for longer-term capacity-building
and development work, which in turn strengthens the effectiveness of joint operational
activities. One such area is the protection of civilians (POC). While POC is the primary
responsibility of the host State, in most contemporary situations one of the United Nations
police’s core operational roles may be to support the implementation of the mission’s civilian
POC strategy, along with other integrated mission elements, including the military, civilian and
human rights components. In a mission with such mandate elements, the United Nations police
are directly responsible for the physical protection of civilians against imminent threats, e.g.
through force projection and/or high visibility and increased patrolling. More often, United
Nations police provide operational support to host-State police in protecting civilians under
imminent threat of physical violence through on-the-spot advice on planning and conducting
operations, supporting investigations into incidents or augmenting security for internally
displaced persons, as well as helping to build and reform host-State institutions so they are
able to sustainably and consistently protect their own citizens.

4.5 By defining a standardised approach on community-oriented policing for United

Nations police, this Manual shall serve to guide mission planning and operations either
unilaterally or in coordination with other mission components, relevant UN Country Team
(UNCT) and international partners, and serve to inform host-State police how United Nations
police will approach the implementation of their mandated community-oriented policing-related
responsibilities. In the same way, this Manual shall inform Member States of the skill sets
required of specialized community-oriented policing officers on secondment to United Nations
peacekeeping operations and special political missions. This Manual and related guidance
 6

materials are to be inculcated in pre-deployment training, induction training, United Nations

police leadership and other training and shall be used in the evaluation of the performance of
United Nations police operations in the field of community-oriented policing.

4.6 This Manual shall apply in situations where United Nations police are mandated to fill
the policing and other law enforcement vacuum, either partially or entirely, until host-State
police and/or other law enforcement agencies are able to take over their domestic
responsibilities. It shall further apply mutatis mutandis to any operational support tasks
undertaken by the United Nations police and also serve as a point of reference in contexts
where United Nations police are mandated to assist in the capacity-building and development
of host-State police and other law enforcement agencies.

5. A COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING APPROACH FOR THE UNITED NATIONS

POLICE

5.1 Community-oriented policing recognizes that community problems require community-

engaged solutions and support. Accordingly, the term 'community-oriented policing' as per
Security Council Resolution 2185 (2014) and the DPKO-DFS Policy on Police in Peacekeeping
Operations and Special Political Missions, is defined as:

-“a strategy for encouraging the public to act as partners with the police in preventing
and managing crime as well as other aspects of security and order based on the
needs of the community.”

(DPKO-DFS Guidelines on Police Operations in United Nations Peacekeeping

Operations and Special Political Missions, Ref. 2015.15, para. 28)

5.2 As per the DPKO-DFS Guidelines on Police Operations:

“The United Nations police are a community-oriented service. … Restoring and

nurturing the consent of the public in their own police is a core task of the United
Nations police. The United Nations police shall promote the concept of policing by
consent and shall encourage the public to become partners in preventing and detecting
crime in their communities. The United Nations police shall respond to the public’s
security concerns, value their advice and act in a fair, honest and impartial manner at
all times, including through communications and outreach”. (Ref. 2015.15, para. 16)

5.3 The United Nations police is mandated and committed to the creation of a safer
environment where the community will be protected to ensure sustainable peace. Broader
community engagement helps the mission to design better protection strategies to ensure the
improvement and quality of lives of the people it is deployed to serve and protect1. Community-
oriented policing recognizes that community problems require community solutions and
support.

5.4 The Police component shall ensure that gender equality and Women, Peace &
Security (WPS) mandates are mainstreamed within all the activities of the police including the
prevention, detection and investigation of crime, protection of persons and property, and the

1
Report of the High-Level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, 16 June 2015
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maintenance of public order and safety. United Nations police shall use a gender analysis and
incorporate gender considerations into key aspects of United Nations police operations such
as assessment, planning, management, budgeting and capacity development programmes for
police reform. It shall promote non-discriminatory and adequate representation of qualified
women in host-State police at all levels and work actively to ensure that women in the host-
State police are provided equal capacity and career development opportunities. United
Nations police shall ensure adequate participation of female police officers in decision making
in the police reform process.

5.5 Respect for and protection of human rights: All United Nations police operations –
prevention, detection and investigation of crime, protection of persons and property,
maintenance of public safety and law and order as well as community-oriented policing – shall
be guided by the obligation to respect and protect human rights, norms, ethics and standards
in crime prevention and criminal justice, human rights and international humanitarian law. In
all aspects of their operations, United Nations personnel shall comply with human rights
standards and shall be prepared to intervene, including through the use of force where
mandated, to stop ongoing human rights violations and to protect civilians. There shall be a
clear agreement and understanding of the responsibilities of the UN police and the host-State
authorities and in the provision of support to host-State police and other law enforcement
agencies and their operations in adherence to the United Nations Policy on Human Rights Due
Diligence on UN Support to non-UN Security Forces – HRDDP (2013).

5.6 The UN Police should work to ensure that their host-State police counterparts
implement fully their human rights commitments, including non-discrimination, prohibition of
torture, as well as as in the use of force, arrest and detention. Any provision of police-related
assistance needs to have a risk assessment conducted in conjunction with the mission’s
Human Rights component in accordance with the HRDDP. The results of such an assessment
will guide UNPOL and the Human Rights component in what risk mitigation measures should
be undertaken as well as the specific human rights aspects that would need to be incorporated
in any programmatic support if eventually deemed appropriate for implementation.

5.7 The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) has identified
community-orientated policing as a good practice that helps ensure police compliance with the
human rights obligations of its country and adhere to international norms and standards in
criminal justice and crime prevention.

6. THE BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING IN CONFLICT & POST-

CONFLICT ENVIRONMENTS

6.1 Community-oriented policing is based upon a consultative approach to policing

thereby enhancing public trust and accountability, but it is also an approach to make policing
more effective at managing and preventing crime. Community-oriented policing is based on
the recognition that police will be much more successful in carrying out their responsibility for
protecting society if they have the support of the public on their side. By enlisting the
cooperation of the public, police get improved information about crime, new material
resources, moral support for their activities, and respect. Co-operation with the public will
increase the reliability and respect of police and therefore help police to perform its duties more
effectively.

6.2 Community-oriented policing recognizes that the ability of the police to maintain
security and manage crime through law enforcement based exclusively on their own resources
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is limited. There are not enough police to provide an effective visible deterrent to crime or to
be on-hand when emergencies occur. Experienced police officers around the world know this
to be true. Indeed, community-oriented policing is by no means a new philosophy. It is strategy
that supports the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively
address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social
disorder, and fear of crime. It is the sort of policing that exists in smaller rural communities
where police live with the people they serve and the police are readily accessible to them and
the police are able to translate this into influence.

6.3 Why is it important to enlist the community in crime prevention and control? How can
the public make the police more effective? What can the public provide to the police that the
police do not have on their own? The implementation of community-oriented policing brings
benefits both for the police and community and they can be identified as follows:

6.4 Community trust. When community works together with police to build safer
environment, it increases the trust and allows community to have more trust and less fear in
police. The community will have better understanding of law enforcement which helps them to
respect police work. It also encourages the community to participate in building their own safer
environment safer with the police and other law enforcement agencies.

6.5 Crime prevention. When a community trusts police, it is encouraged to identify and
report its concerns in their communities, e.g. factors that may contribute to disturbing the peace
or which may give rise to criminal activities: quarrelsome families, unruly bars, repeat
offenders, dangerous physical conditions, and rude or harassing behaviours including hate
speech which instigates violence or distress.

6.6 Information about crimes. In order to deter potential criminals by enforcing laws,
police need information that only the public can provide. Very simply, if the public doesn’t report
crime, the police cannot take action against it. Very little crime is discovered by the police
without information from the public. In most criminal investigations, too, the likely identity of
the culprit is almost always provided by the victim or bystanders - a name, a relationship to the
victim, an address, a detailed description, and a license plate number. Such information is the
beginning of most successful criminal investigations. Without it, police do not know where to
begin.

6.7 Advance warning. The public can also provide information about conditions that lead
to problems for the police, such as quarrelsome families, unruly bars, repeat offenders,
dangerous physical conditions, and rude and harassing behaviour. It should always be kept in
mind that men and women often have different perceptions of security and/or access to
information about possible threats and that should be considered in both risk assessments
and the planning of activities.

6.8 Community resilience. Crime prevention depends a great deal on what the public
does for itself by way of enhancing its own community’s resilience to criminal threats. The
police cannot be everywhere, but the public is. Community-oriented policing gives priority to
educating people about measures they may take to protect themselves, such as avoiding high
crime areas, securing their cars, establishing neighbourhood watch schemes and installing
locks and alarms in their homes.

6.9 Information sharing. Research has shown that police are more effective at controlling
crime when they have information that allows them to focus resources on particular people or
locations. The information that allows police to do this comes from communities. Furthermore,
through close interaction with the public the police learn to distinguish innocent law-abiding
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people from the repeat offenders, as well as identifying the current hot spots for criminality with
community. In this way, they avoid offending people who are potentially their friends, while
deterring those whom most people in the community view as problems.

6.10 Gaining support for policing and other law enforcement. By consulting with
communities about their needs and concerns, the police develop support for law-enforcement
actions, such as random breath-testing of drivers of motor vehicles, questioning people on the
street after crimes have occurred, taking truanting children to their parents or schools, raiding
drug-houses, or photographing men who solicit prostitutes in residential areas. The strategies
of community-oriented policing allow police to work with the community rather than against it.

6.11 One of the more frequent issues faced by UN police components is the need for the
prevention or mitigation of inter-communal conflict through mediation and, in conjunction with
specialised agencies comprising the United Nations country team, implementing measures to
address its root causes. Community-oriented policing within communities in conflict can make
in-roads to leverage:

1. willingness on the part of the authorities and traditional community leaders to play a
constructive role in resolving inter-communal conflict peacefully,
2. strengthened traditional and informal conflict resolution mechanisms and
greater respect thereof,
3. a willingness on the part of the authorities and other parties to the conflict to fulfil their
responsibilities in regard to preventing or resolving inter-communal clashes
4. the provision of access to UN personnel to facilitate mediation efforts, as well as
implement measures that address root causes, including on community safety and
security concerns,

6.12 Mutual Respect. Community-oriented policing provides opportunities for individuals

to offer opinion and insight to the police. It provides opportunity for communities to express
concerns over certain police practices or events, that allows both the police and these
communities to examine these actions to either justify an approach, thereby alleviate concerns,
or to seek solutions. These kinds of interactions tend to promote understanding of differing
viewpoints and is a basis for cultivating mutual respect where both parties. For the police, it is
a form of public accountability, where the police become more trusted and, in turn, more
respected.

6.13 The public is the most under-used resource available to police and other law
enforcement agencies worldwide; and in post-conflict settings, community involvement
remains among the most challenging dimensions in which to bridge issues of trust and
cooperation among police and communities. Further, as post-conflict settings often remain
highly volatile or unsteady in terms of the security, communities that remain isolated from the
police are susceptible to exploitation by “spoilers” intent on using the insecurity as a “means-
to-an-end” including the disruption of peace processes, the re-establishment of good
governance and the rule of law, as well as the legitimacy of host-State institutions.

6.14 Community expectations and public information. Newly introduced community-

oriented policing initiatives are all too frequently too quick to promise much and on occasion
may deliver little of tangible benefit to the recipient communities; which with time and
repetitiveness are likely to actually undermine confidence, trust and respect in the police and
can leave police-community relations in a worse position than before. In responding to
heightened community expectations, the police need to quickly develop a practice not only of
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explaining what they can and cannot do, but also “why”. Whilst naturally respecting
confidentiality and preserving operational security, the key aspect here is the use of the word
“because” - the police cannot do XX, because of YY. While such an explanation will not always
satisfy the community, it will present a degree of openness and transparency which is likely to
help gain or maintain their respect.

6.15 In summary, community-oriented policing is a strategy for making the police more
effective at responding to communities, consulting with communities, mobilizing communities
and solving recurrent problems. This approach is essential for crime prevention and control
and thereby improving quality of life in communities by encouraging the help and support of
the community.

7. THE FOUR ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING

7.1 Community-oriented policing is proactive policing that needs to be owned by the entire
police organization. Its vision and intent must be mainstreamed in policies, procedures, job
descriptions, supervisory practices, management direction, performance evaluations,
personnel development processes and all day-to-day activities and interactions with the public.
The concept of United Nations community-oriented policing is developed from four principle
strategies2, designed to encourage the community to become partners in controlling and
preventing crime.

consultation
with
communities

solving Community- responding

recurring oriented to
problems policing communities

mobilizing
communities

Figure 1: Four essential elements of community-oriented policing

7.2 Consultation with communities: In the initial stages of a mission, it is essential to

consult communities to get their regular inputs about crime, disorder and activities that
generate fear. By consulting them, police show that they care about the needs of individual
citizens and establish two-way communications to prioritize problems and the approaches
needed to address them. United Nations police gather information and carry out analysis in
consultation with stakeholders such as local councils, government departments and the
community, to establish better shared understanding in developing solutions. They participate

2
Guidelines on Police Operations in United Nations Peacekeeping operations and Special Political
Missions (2015.15) p. 30
 11

through providing information, collaboration, coordination and partnership with various

community groups/fora on community issues. United Nations police give high priority to the
safety and security needs and concerns of individuals and/or groups/fora of community
members3. The community know more about their own concerns about criminality and other
public safety in their neighbourhoods than the police and their input is essential to the effective
use of police and other law enforcement resources. Consultation with communities is an
important medium to demonstrate that police is serving the public by responding to its needs.
Likewise, direct in-person consultation with women and girls is important to assess the
particular security threats they face or are concerned about.

7.3 Responding to communities: The United Nations police must always demonstrate
willingness and ability to respond to the security needs of individuals and groups living in their
communities. According to the United Nations mandate, the United Nations police are
prepared and committed to respond to the host-State public’s security concerns, value their
advice, and will act in a professional, ethical, fair, honest and impartial manner. United Nations
police seek the public’s support in providing information about matters of concern, including
crime and circumstances that create crime, as well as the public’s time and resources to crime
prevention programmes4.United Nations police give priority to obtaining the public cooperation
that is essential in successful crime prevention and in identifying security needs. If they cannot
provide what is needed, the United Nations police should, wherever feasible, advise people
about alternative avenues of redress and assistance. In short, the United Nations police treat
the public as clients to be served5.

7.4 Mobilizing communities: Mobilisation refers to the activities that police and law
enforcement agencies undertake to ensure that communities assist them in protecting
members of society, and solving problems that generate crime, violence or insecurity. The
United Nations police should proactively offer to assist in organizing the community to help
them in managing and preventing crime. The community has distinct powers to influence
people to behave properly through informal social control from that of the police through the
enforcement of laws. Assistance may take many forms, from providing information about crime
and criminals, serving as volunteers in crime prevention campaigns, donating facilities and
equipment, promoting unifying recreational programmes and community projects and adopting
self-protection measures to mediating local disputes.

7.5 A community-oriented policing strategy strengthens the community in a way to combat

ethnic differences that can deeply affect marginalised groups. This strategy emphasizes the
need for strong relationships and engages the community to promote harmony and social
cohesiveness. However, this is not the police handing over policing responsibilities wholesale
to the community. The police must always retain the authority and control for policing in order
to maintain their legitimacy.

7.6 Solving recurring problems/problem-oriented policing: Community-oriented

policing works preventively to change conditions that lead to crime rather than responding
repeatedly to individual incidents. United Nations police through community-oriented policing
shall analyse patterns of criminality and disorder, adjusting their activities to focus on particular
people and places. United Nations police shall treat crime as groups of problems to be solved,
not as separate events where one or more persons are caught and punished. United Nations
police shall also broaden the range of preventive activities undertaken, supplementing police

3
ibid, p. 9
4
Guidelines on Police Operations in United Nations Peacekeeping operations and Special Political
Missions, 2016, p. 9
5
ibid, p.9
 12

and law enforcement with regulatory, educational and developmental activities6. A community-
oriented policing strategy creates an atmosphere inside the police that supports collaborative
problem-solving and promotes community confidence and trust in the police service, which is
particularly important in conflict and post conflict settings. Problem-oriented policing is
proactive and prioritizes crime prevention and focuses on establishing crime-prevention
knowledge in consultation with the population.7 When community-oriented policing is based
on trust, confidence, transparency, respect and mutual understanding, community partnership
can foster a common purpose of keeping the area safe and dealing with quality of life issues.

8. IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING

8.1 Local Assessments - A crucial step in implementing community-oriented policing is

assessing the fit between its core strategies and local conditions both inside and outside the
police. Although every locality has different traditions and capacities, several are
fundamentally important to the practice of community-oriented policing anywhere. These
factors fall into two primary categories:

a) the nature, sensitivities and capacities of the communities with which the police must
work; and
b) the capacity and capabilities of the police to be responsive, consultative, mobilizing,
and problem solving.

8.2 Drawing on the experience of the international community in providing assistance for
police development, the categories identified are among the most important to assess in terms
of strategies when exploring community-oriented policing in a host-State context and critical
to the successful planning and execution of actions in support of community-oriented policing
in varied contexts and often fluid and evolving security environments.

8.3 Understanding and Consulting with Communities

8.3.1 What are the grassroots groups with which the police should consult? There are
various possibilities:

• Residents’ associations based on geography, such as housing estates and

neighbourhoods;

• Economic interests, such as banks, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, and apartment

owners;

• Public service providers or organizations, such as hospitals, shelters for

battered women, and halfway houses for paroled criminals;

• Leaders of social/ethnic groups, such as tribes in Africa, castes in India, and

immigrants everywhere;

• Women’s organizations and leaders

6
ibid, p. 34
7
UNODC, Introductory Handbook on Policing Urban Space (2011)
 13

• Village and community elders;

• Religious leaders;

• Groups in vulnerable situations or otherwise at risk– visible minorities,

internally displaced persons (IDPs), women and children, LGBT and intersex persons,
elderly persons and/or those with disabilities;

• Marginalised groups – drug users, migrants; and

• Other possible post-conflict formations of communes (for example former

combatants).

8.3.2 Choosing partners in crime prevention is a sensitive matter. It can confer status
on groups and by implication deny it to those not so recognized. It can also be seen as an
attempt to control grassroots institutions. Although working with communities can be
enormously beneficial to police, police must be alert to the impact of their outreach on the
communities themselves. All sections of the communities must be approached and
involved. Otherwise, one or more groups may accuse the police of being discriminatory
and having a too close relationship with the other sections of the same community.

8.3.3 Are there traditional justice/mediation systems that the police should cooperate
with in controlling and preventing crime?

8.3.4 Police must be careful that their activities work with rather than against
traditional systems of social control and discipline. At the same time, the police need to be
alert to the fact that some traditional practices may be against the law and should not be
encouraged. The police should be very careful that they do not ally themselves with groups
that are fundamentally opposed to human rights and the rule of law.

8.3.5 Do community groups, whatever their character, have the ability to work as
partners with the police? This depends on their ability to act and think independently. If
cannot, they may not be able to organize effective community crime-prevention
programmes. In such situations, there is a danger that they will be seen as agents of the
police, weakening their standing further and increasing local alienation from the police.

8.3.6 Are there groups in society that are at special risk from crime and
maltreatment? If there are, the police should make special efforts to assess their needs
and devise programmes of liaison and support. What are the security threats being faced
specifically by women and girls? What are the options for women and girls to seek redress
for crimes committed against them?

8.3.7 What is the distribution of respect/disrespect for the police in the population?

8.3.8 Programmes of community-oriented policing must be adapted to the reputation

of the police in different places and among distinct groups. Community-oriented policing is
relatively easy to establish, for example, among prosperous middle-class and professional
groups. Regrettably, community-oriented policing often seen to work best where it is
needed the least. It requires much more effort with communities that are poor,
unemployed, lacking in education, ethnic groups/minorities/etc composed of victims of
 14

mass persecutions, survivors of genocide/ hate crimes and those that have high
concentrations of migrants.

8.3.9 Is there a tradition of encouraging community groups to be active in social and

economic development independently of government?

8.3.10 In societies where there is already existing tradition of active engagement

between community groups, partnership and community-oriented policing can be
established relatively easily. Where there is not, it can be expected that people will be
suspicious of any outreach efforts by the police and the police will have to make extra
efforts to demonstrate that they are interested in genuine grassroots input and that this is
not purely an information gathering or informant recruitment exercise.

8.3.11 As a general proposition, it is better to work with community groups/fora that

already exist and are accepted by the population than to create entirely new ones. This,
however, depends on the strength, legitimacy, and lawfulness of these indigenous
institutions.

8.3.12 Managing community-oriented policing - Do police leaders have the skills

to manage the changes required for community-oriented policing?

8.3.13 Community-oriented policing is often received as going against the grain of

traditional policing which is oriented to reaction to emergency situations, especially to
serious crime and public disorder. Changing this orientation to include proactive crime-
prevention requires extraordinary ability as well as long-term commitment and buy-in on
the part of senior officers. The first step in developing community-oriented policing in many
police agencies will be to provide training on community-oriented policing and change-
management to senior managers, since without their support the initiative will not be
sustainable or mainstreamed throughout all policing activities.

8.3.14 Does the management style of the organization facilitate collaborative

decision-making or is it the traditional directive, quasi-military kind?

8.3.15 Do the police officers assigned to community-oriented policing tasks have the
skills to do what is required, such as treating the public as clients, soliciting community
input, and encouraging cooperation?

8.3.16 Community-oriented policing requires professionalism in the management of

human resources. This is also true of other police strategies, but is frequently ignored. This
means that police personnel must be recruited, promoted, and assigned on the basis of
merit, not personal connections. It should also be representative of the population and
include both men and women.

8.3.17 What is the customary orientation of the police toward the public: sympathetic
and polite or suspicious and directive?

8.3.18 If the culture of the police supports behaviour that is unsympathetic and
authoritarian, then efforts to develop community-oriented policing must begin with
changing attitudes force-wide. Moreover, such counter-productive behaviour must be
monitored and corrected.

8.3.19 Do the police effectively control misbehaviour by officers, in particular

corruption and the use of force? Code of Ethics and Professional Standards.
 15

8.3.20 There must be effective internal control of discipline. Police whose behaviour
is offensive will not be successful in transforming the public into allies against crime no
matter what programmes they undertake called “community-oriented policing.”

8.3.21 Does the development of community-oriented policing need to take place in

one or several police agencies; and/or is there a need to tailor community policing
strategies specific to various police agencies or communities? Are capacity levels among
various police and communities sufficient to engage or implement strategies?

8.3.22 In some countries, there may be more than one police force - – judicial, traffic
border etc. Policing may also be organized, for example, at different levels of government
(national, regional, and local), in terms of different territories (rural/urban), or by function
(crime, operations, operations support, VIP protection, transportation security, political
intelligence). In order for the public to work cooperatively with police, it may be necessary
to undertake reform in more than one police institution.

8.3.23 These assessments of the nature of the community and of the police need to
be made collaboratively with local stakeholders, leaders, and experts. In this way, the
enterprise of assessment becomes a powerful mechanism for demonstrating the
commitment of the police to the ideals of community-oriented policing, particularly
consultation with the community.

8.3.24 The development of community-oriented policing is often a dilemma. The

defects in police performance that make community-oriented policing necessary and
potentially valuable are precisely the conditions that make its implementation difficult. The
only course of action is to proceed with community-oriented policing both as a cure for
past problems and as a lever to reform the police in other ways. The strength of reform as
community-oriented policing is that it links organizational change to improved
effectiveness in making communities safer by addressing crime and fear of crime locally.
It places public safety at the centre of reform, thus fulfilling the mandate of all police
agencies.

8.3.25 The inculcation of a community-oriented policing approach in a post conflict

setting will likely be even more challenging, due to capacity deficits, possible para-military
orientation of policing and institutional culture, and other related factors that inherently
distance police and community, such as corrupt practices and victimization of
communities. These circumstances reinforce the importance to instil methods and
approaches that promote and foster normative police practices and an organizational
culture of accountability and to communities within the scope of capacity building and
development, as well as in the delivery of operational services.

8.3.26 An efficient way to implement community-oriented policing is to establish

consultative committees that meet regularly with police to provide information about local
problems and to discuss strategies for meeting them; such committees may be created at
different levels of police organization – stations, districts, divisions, regions, and force-
wide.

8.3.27 Consultative committees may also be based on social identities, such as tribes
and religions, or occupations, such as taxi drivers and retail store owners. In any case, it
is important to promote gender balance amongst participants in all consultative
committees.
 16

8.3.28 Creation of liaison officers to make regular contact with groups who have
special needs, such as tribal and aboriginal people, women, youth, ethnic, religious and/or
sexual minorities is also useful.

8.3.29 Liaison at appropriate levels with representatives of the growing private

security industry.

8.3.30 Assigning police officers to work in schools to teach crime prevention, address
problems of truancy, substance abuse and vandalism, assist school officials in dealing with
delinquent students, and monitor individuals who prey on young people.

8.4 Responding to Communities

8.4.1 Responsibility of the United Nations police leaders: The United Nations police
commanders should strive to ensure that:

• United Nations police personnel are committed to community oriented policing,

whether operational, developmental or support; and that those specifically tasked or
assigned to a specific community-oriented policing team have sufficient technical
knowledge, experience and commitment to advance the police component or host-
State strategies for community-oriented policing.

• Assigned officers are well-trained in building alliances and seeking solutions

rather than considering the community as an adversary.

• Depending on the size and configuration of a United Nations police

component, the value added through presence, engagement and patrolling,
unilaterally and jointly with the host-State police, should be considered in developing
and implementing strategies to re-establish community trust and confidence.

• United Nations police should - to the extent feasible - assign police officers on
a long-term basis (e.g. not less than six months) to manageable patrol areas where
the public can get to know them by name and encourage the host-State police to do
likewise. These patrol areas should be delineated on a map aligning with local council,
tribal, neighbourhood lines as far as possible.

• United Nations police must be self-initiated and able to work independently

with limited supervision. in line with overarching component strategic and operational
intent.

• United Nations police must be able to work with limited supervision and that
they do not just follow orders. Commanders must set limits –it should be agreed that
lower ranks have some flexibility to deal with basic community issues, continually
referring ‘upwards’ takes time and decisions are seen to be slow in coming which
frustrate communities – discretion and delegation are required. Generally, though,
some considerations might be - so long as any decision does not:

• Involve extra resources being committed;

• Involve extra and substantial funding from police;
• Contravene Human Rights, International Covenants or professional ethics
(e.g. community want police to beat/torture someone);
 17

• Contravene international or domestic law; or

• Contravene police policy or other UN guidance.

• United Nations police officers are good listeners to the community and attend
community events regularly It is highly recommended that the same police officers
regularly attend the same meetings in order that they can follow-upon previously held
discussions in order to further engender trust and confidence with the community,

• Assigned police officers are skilled in mediation and negotiation. In mediation

process, police act as an impartial third party to assist in resolving an issue.

• The police need to incorporate female police officers where possible to enable
further access to women in the community and role model female police officers.

• United Nations police will assist as appropriate to mandate, and work

collaboratively with host-State police personnel and appropriate office and social
agencies during their duty.

8.4.2 Officers working as the primary service provider: United Nations police who are
working as patrol officers and the community-oriented policing officers are the primary services
providers and have the most extensive contact with community members. Effective
community-oriented policing efforts depend on optimizing positive contact between patrol
officers and community members as they work as the link between the police and the
community. This may include:

• Emergency access for individuals to get police assistance; whether by phone,

in person or other means.

• Clean, comfortable reception rooms in police stations to encourage walk-in

crime reporting.

• Separate facilities and referral protocols for victims of SGBV to ensure their
protection and access to services when reporting crimes.

• Police station staff trained to respond promptly, intelligently, and

sympathetically to requests for service.

• Police contact offices dispersed so as to be close to where people live and

work, such as koban in Japan and neighbourhood police posts in Singapore that can
provide immediate assistance to most requests.

• “Beat” or “Neighbourhood” police officers assigned to patrol specific areas

where they become familiar, are highly visible, easily accessible and the primary
contact between police and residents. These community-oriented police officers
familiarize themselves with the particular security problems of their areas and working
cooperatively with the public to devise appropriate crime-prevention programmes.
Such officers may have small offices within their beats and be required to patrol on
foot or bicycle.
• Naturally, in a conflict or post-conflict environment armoured vehicles may be
required to fulfil a ‘duty of care’ to the police officers involved, and even military
assistance may be required to secure entry into a particular area. Naturally, in such
circumstances the police officers themselves as well as their supervisors should be
 18

aware of their personal safety and not place them or the public in an unnecessarily
compromising or dangerous situation.

• Requiring “beat” officers to contact each residence and business within their
area regularly to inquire about potential security problems and to offer advice about
improving protection.

• Programmes to help victims recover from the effects of crime in a gender-

sensitive way.

• Programmes that support both victims and witnesses in understanding and

participating in trials and other official proceedings.

• Requiring first-line supervisors to re-contact people who have solicited police

help to inquire whether they were satisfied with what the police did and how they were
treated.

• Reassuring citizens in vulnerable situations through visits or visible presence

from police officers at regular intervals.

• Promoting initiatives such as creating government assistance centres in local

areas where representatives from various government agencies, including the police,
will be available to respond to requests for service; consistent with national priorities
for recovery and peacebuilding. These are sometimes called “one-stop government
shopping centres.”

• Ensuring that important laws and legal procedures are translated into local
languages and made freely available to the relevant communities.

8.5 Mobilizing Communities

8.5.1 Advising individuals and communities: To advise individuals and communities

about crime prevention, United Nations police shall facilitate occasions and formal or informal
interactive fora for communication i.e. joint police-community workshops, public meetings, and
police open days where communities can exchange views on issues of mutual concern. A
regular town hall meeting as a trust-building tool allows the community to voice their concerns
and identify the priorities they would like to address, but could itself also pose a security risk
so has to be appropriately assessed within a given conflict/post-conflict context. However,
these mechanisms empower the population to engage actively in the issues related to their
safety and security. To elicit a broad range of views, these public forums should be open to all
segments of the community. Specific efforts may need to be made to ensure that groups such
as ethnic minorities, women and young people become involved in these processes.

8.5.2 Facilitating confidence building programmes: To Improve public perceptions of

community safety, United Nations police develops a number of confidence building and
coordinated programmes aimed at local community problems such as domestic violence,
child-abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation, HIV/AIDS and on the street drug traffic and drug
related crimes in neighbourhood. Community campaigns on cleanliness drives, traffic
awareness and promotion of accident free driving also can be effective tools. In the IDP areas,
a number of confidence building and camp based activities can be carried out, ranging from a
drug awareness campaign to the youth to oversee all safety security issues. Engaging
 19

communities, in this way, on a broad-array of community safety and quality life allows
community to address their concerns.

8.5.3 Motivating local government: The long-term success of community-oriented policing

in transforming the police and law enforcement profession depends on the willingness and
buy-in of local governments to pursue effective integration. Elected and appointed
administrators need to understand the police and law enforcement agency’s implementation
strategy and participate in its development. The role of the mayors, city managers, legislative
representatives, and other government executives is to help implement a community-oriented
policing strategy effectively.

8.5.4 Inspiring partners in crime prevention: The community-oriented policing practice

involves all levels of civil society, including host-State administration and non-government
entities, particularly those engaged in crime prevention activities. Towards attaining this
objective, United Nations police with the host-State police and donor support, will actively
organize seminars, workshops and conferences on a regular basis. United Nations police will
assist host-State police on how to set-up security projects and elaborate programmes related
to strategic assessment and progress of social security situation. United Nations police must
be careful that their goals and strategies fit into the national cultural context of the host country
and that no external concepts that are not appropriate and adaptable to local conditions will
be imposed.

8.5.5 Encouraging local actors to buy in: The ability of the United Nations police to work
effectively in a peace situation depends on their understanding of the specific socio-political
context of the mission. In a partnership approach, key stakeholders i.e. political leaders, social
leaders, religious leader etc. need to be motivated by “what’s in it for them”. The most effective
strategy to win their support is to present them the benefits of community-oriented policing by
arranging some motivational programme. This improves the relationship between the police
and all communities, resulting in increased effectiveness and efficiency in crime prevention
and crime reduction efforts.

8.5.6 Educating public about crime prevention: United Nations police educate the
communities about preventing crime. Public fora permit police actions to be discussed
including sharing of personal experiences by police officers and members of the public. They
also provide the opportunity for community members to give input on their concerns and
prioritize the problem, and on how they think their neighbourhood should be policed – for
example, where and when police patrols might be necessary. Also, the public need to be
informed about community-oriented policing and its objectives and ideally at some point there
should even be joint police and community training on it.

8.5.7 Developing conflict resolution strategy: To sensitize the community, all patrol
officers and community-oriented policing officers can be expected to be involved in peace
dialogue meetings, mediation and reconciliation programs within the community to sort out
local problems, incidents and conflicts between individuals or communities. They will also
arrange open forum discussions where people can express their ideas on how they can solve
this problem. Mediation is one of the tools that can be used to foster dialogue between
community members and officials and ensure transparency in resulting decision-making. In
mediation, both parties will have the opportunity to say- how to prevent future conflict and
ensure community stability, safety and security.

8.5.8 Gender aspects in the mobilization programme: United Nations police shall in
accordance with eight Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security 1325
(2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and
 20

2242 (2015) highlight the differential impact of conflict on women, men, boys and girls and
therefore the necessity to mainstream gender perspectives into peacekeeping. The
DPKO/DFS Guidelines on the Integration of Gender Perspectives into the Work of United
Nations Police in Peacekeeping (Ref. 2008.30) and the UNPOL Gender Toolkit should be
utilised to ensure that women’s rights are upheld within the community at large; including:

• In any events, both women and men should be invited and should have
possibility to attend and speak freely.

• It may be necessary to do some outreach to allow more women to attend

events. Separate female-only discussions might be necessary to ensure women and
girls are able to speak openly.

• In planning time and location, the different roles, responsibilities and needs
should be considered.

• All publications related to the event (invitations, leaflets, agenda, press

release, reports, speaking points etc.) should highlight the gender aspect of the event
and try to make it appealing to both men and women (e.g. Using photographs
representing both sexes).

• Regular awareness programmes in the community on sexual and gender

based violence, as well as gender equality in the context of human rights and gender
mainstreaming, should be sufficiently coordinated, including among for example,
UNPOL, officers host-State police, other UN entities, bilateral donors, NGOs and/or
humanitarian agencies, and community stakeholders. Further education of men and
boys in this particular regard may lead to a reduction in gender-based crimes and of
the wider community becoming more supportive of these and other female
empowerment initiatives.

• Supporting or assisting in the creation of Victim Safety Response Teams or

Victim Support Centres can assure women more support and trust on policing.

8.5.9 Proactive initiative to prevent future conflicts: Implementation of community-

oriented policing can play a vital role in not only reducing the post conflict suffering, but also
in preventing future conflicts by actively engaging the community in dealing with sensitive
conflict causing issues. Promoting awareness about small arms control initiatives, rights and
duties of the citizens, creating pressure groups through community-police partnerships can go
a long way in preventing conflicts and improving the overall security scenario. Community-
oriented policing also promotes good governance and democratic principle of the rule of law
through generating awareness on elections, human rights, individual rights and duties to create
a sense of community responsibility.

8.5.10 Involving with community in safety issues: United Nations police may enlist and
train community members to patrol the streets or to keep watch during the night to supplement
the deterrent presence of the police. High visibility and effective response contributes to
community safety and security; and reduce potential for community vigilantism, that often
emerges when crime or perceptions of crime exceed host-State capabilities to deliver. A
regular visit with the community to local market, community events, local municipal assemblies
and hospitals may help police to identify the cause of the crimes and the people’s expectation.
However, great care must be taken with in the ‘mobilization’ of communities and ensure that
the police do not handover policing duties to community groups nor are perceived to have
 21

done so, and activities of the community members must be clearly defined and their
performance monitored by the police.

8.5.11 Playing a networking role: United Nations police may coordinate with other
government agencies, such as the Department of Sanitation, Mental health Services, Justice
and Social Affairs, to address conditions that generate crime and disorder. To prevent youth
crime and violence, some community based sports events, recreational programmes,
educational programmes and promotional initiatives can be organized with the concerned
offices. United Nations police may make arrangement with the business sectors to provide
guidance and opportunities for youth to find jobs.

8.5.12 Reintegration initiative: With the support of the local community, business sectors,
and other UN entities, United Nations police can initiate some awareness programme for ex-
combatant/militia and their family to motivate them to return to the normal life. United Nations
police shall visit the cantonment sites, and record the feelings of the cantoned members of
militias. The enemy of yesterday is the citizen of tomorrow. An updated list of the ex-
combatants and regular reports can be sent to the senior management by the United Nations
police regularly.

8.5.13 School-based strategy: Sensitization activity enables the police and school
communities to work more closely together in new ways to address community-wide youth
related problems beyond a narrow focus on individual crime incidents. United Nations police
shall take following school based strategies to prevent youth based crime and violence, such
as:

• United Nations police may organize conferences in schools and education

institutes together with host-State police.

• United Nations police may encourage dialogue with the young generation,
delivering messages of civil education and respect.

• The assigning police officers may discuss the crime prevention issue and how
to address problems of using drug, truancy and vandalism. Where the parents or
guardians of the pupils should also be invited to such meetings.

• United Nations police can assist school officials in dealing with delinquent
students, and minor individuals who prey on other young people.

• Professors from within the local communities themselves or neighbouring cities

may be contacted by the United Nations police and offered them to deliver lessons to
schools normally out of reach.

8.5.14 Engaging local media: Media is an important tool in awareness rising on crime
prevention as it can best convey information to the public. Police and other law enforcement
agencies can share their experience and expectation to the public widely by media to maintain
a good public image and develop public trust. United Nations police can arrange discussion
programme on crime prevention and public safety enhancement in the local media including
radio, local channels, social media etc. and invite community to participate in this programme.

8.5.15 Arranging promotional programmes: United Nations police may assist in

developing some leaflet/posters for people at risk of different sorts of crime, such as snatching,
theft, burglaries, road traffic issues, drug dealing and its consequences, prostitution/sex work,
harassment or women and children issue. Some of these chronic problems that account for
 22

repeated attention and have been subject to problem-solving. This pro-active policing
develops community relations.

8.5.16 Neighbourhood Watch is undoubtedly the most familiar mobilization programme. It

organizes people to notify police about possible criminal activity and educates them about
appropriate crime prevention measures. Although most common in residential
neighbourhoods, it has been adopted by businesses, such as banks and bar owners, by the
owners of large apartment buildings, and by farmers in rural areas. In each case, the police
take the lead in organizing the programme, providing crime prevention information and
participating in regular meetings. The authority and responsibilities of any neighbourhood
watch groups must be clearly defined, they must be trained and monitored by the police and
held accountable for their behaviour and performance.

8.5.17 Providing security hardware (such as locks, alarms, etc.) to residents and businesses,
usually at cost, and providing technicians to install them.

8.5.18 Preparing crime-prevention leaflets for people at risk of different sorts of crime, such
as purse-snatching, theft from motor vehicles, day-time burglaries, or harassment on public
transportation.

8.5.19 Creating special access procedures where citizens may provide information
anonymously to the police (“hotlines” and/or “crime stoppers”).

8.5.20 Developing networks of clearly marked safe houses where children and other
vulnerable people may go for help if they feel threatened.

8.5.21 Training local elders or other leaders in dispute resolution and mediation so as to
prevent neighbourhood problems from leading to violence or serious property damage. Where
this already exists by way of parallel and/or informal resolution mechanisms, community-
oriented policing activities must pay attention to this and - as long as it is ethical, professional,
legitimate and legal – look to incorporate this.

8.5.22 Coordinating with other government agencies, such as departments of sanitation or

mental health services, to address conditions that generate crime and disorder.

8.6 Solving Recurring Problems

8.6.1 Community-oriented policing requires a change in management style, mission

statement and structural organization. A key to community service is linking policing to the
delivery of service which translates into customer service. This can be ensured by adopting
problem-solving strategy that requires police to develop the capacity to address the conditions
that generate criminal activity and recurrent calls for police assistance.

8.6.2 Traditional strategies of policing around the world are visible patrolling and the
investigation of criminal activity. These strategies are reactive, relying, by and large, on
immediate enforcement of law. The problem-solving strategy adopts an explicitly proactive
approach, while at the same time preserving the traditional practices. Problem-solving requires
police to develop the capacity to address conditions that generate criminal activity and
recurrent calls for police assistance. Problem solving involves four basic activities:

• Identify recurring problems.

 23

• Analysis of the causes of these problems.

• Development of programmes of remediation that can be organized by the police with

the help of the community and other government agencies.

• Assessment of the success of the remedial programmes.

8.6.3 This process is known by several acronyms, the most famous being SARA, for “scan,”
“analyse,” “respond,” and “assess.” The problem-solving approach focuses all the strategies
of community-oriented policing – responding, consulting, and mobilizing – on situations that
repeatedly require police attention but cannot be solved by police and other law enforcement
alone.

8.6.4 Some of the chronic problems that account for repeated police attention and have been
subject to problem solving include the following:

• disorderly youths at markets or other locations;

• street prostitution/sex work in residential areas;

• thefts from cars in parking lots;

• sick elderly persons living alone;

• families that threaten and harass their neighbours;

• homes and apartments vulnerable to daytime burglary;

• unsafe traffic routes (such as intersections or crosswalks, near schools);

• drug dealing in public places;

• purse snatching from women on streets and markets; and

• disputes between drivers and riders in public transportation.

8.6.5 Because conditions vary from place to place, it is not possible to summarize the
solutions that police have found for problems like these. Fortunately, however, there is
extensive writing about problem solving, as well as websites devoted to sharing information
about programmes that police agencies have developed to deal with different problems (See
below “Further Reading”). Here is a selection of some of the approaches that problem-solving
police agencies have used:

• Enforcement of health and safety codes to close troublesome bars and nightclubs;

• Assisted apartment owners to evict tenants who engage in disorderly behaviour;

• Developed plans with other government agencies to provide playgrounds and social
clubs for young people;

• Collaboration with building and architectural firms to design buildings and communities
that reduce opportunities for crime;
 24

• Educated staff at convenience stores and bars about handling unruly patrons without
violence;

• Negotiated understandings with people about how to get along with one another, such
as school students and shop owners, youths and elderly people, and drivers and riders of
private transportation vans;

• Passage of ordinances against public nuisances, such as begging or urinating in

public;

• Issuance of court orders requiring individuals to stop acting in a particular manner or

from frequenting a type of location;

• Obtained consent from communities for the police to undertake surveillance and
questioning in order to discourage specified forms of law breaking, such as drug dealing
or weapons carrying; and

• Coordinated enforcement of laws with public prosecutors and judges, so that arrests
and citations for minor offences resulted in significant punishment rather than routine
dismissal.

8.6.6 Community-oriented policing is a means to an end, namely, providing effective and

humane protection of communities. Community-oriented policing is smart policing because it
recognizes that community problems, of which crime is one, require community solutions and
the focusing of all community resources, including those of the police.

8.7 Sample Action Plan for Community-Oriented Policing Capacity Assistance

8.7.1 Thoroughly assess the current community-oriented policing capacity, which may well
completely absent or delivered partially in highly compartmented siloes and make this the
baseline for all future action.

8.7.2 Persuade key stakeholders to adopt community-oriented policing - The key

stakeholders are the senior executive officers of the police, especially the chief or
commissioner, and the political leaders of government, especially those responsible for police
and public safety. Without their public support and commitment, any programme of strategic
change in the police will fail. It is relatively easy to obtain verbal commitment to the idea of
community-oriented policing, but much more difficult to obtain commitment to the operational
changes required for it. Their commitment is particularly crucial when it comes to providing
sufficient human and financial resources to implement community-oriented policing.

8.7.3 Time must be taken at the beginning of UNPOL missions to ensure that local
community leaders and the local police (which may be being trained to take over policing
responsibilities from UNPOL) understand the operational requirements of community-oriented
policing as well as its costs. In order to do this, UNPOL officers must be able to articulate the
difference between traditional policing approaches and that of community-oriented policing.
The key to obtaining sustainable commitment is showing how community-oriented policing can
increase the effectiveness of police in preventing crime. Most police take seriously the job of
making communities safer. Community-oriented policing will be accepted in so far as it
responds to this professional concern.
 25

8.7.4 Also, it is important to highlight that the successful implementation of community-

oriented policing will likely lead to an increase in reported crime as trust and confidence
between communities and the police improves. This data may be misused by sceptics and
mispresented as showing community-oriented policing does not work and is ‘soft on crime’.
Therefore sufficient time should be taken to explain that it is probable that a similar level of
crime was always there but not reported as trust and confidence was low in the police,
therefore it is only the reporting which has increased and not the actual amount of crime.

8.7.5 Create an implementation task force within the host-State police (if it exists),
chaired by the chief officer, to carry out the community-oriented policing programme -
Ambitious projects of organizational change require direction at high-levels of command,
drawing on the expertise of managers and operational officers throughout the police. A
common way of achieving this is through the creation of a task force reporting directly to the
chief police officer that is responsible for developing a community- oriented policing plan and
then monitoring its implementation. The leader of the task force should be a senior police
officer, such as a deputy or assistant commissioner that has the necessary qualifications,
experience and motivation; or when building capacities of host-State, an appropriately
qualified candidate who can be readily trained and developed to lead the community-oriented
policing efforts at the executive, operational and tactical levels.

8.7.6 Jointly assess with local police the factors that will shape the practice of
community-oriented policing locally - It is essential for UNPOL officers to understand that
circumstances for implementing community-oriented policing in post-conflict environment
differentiates from the ones in their home countries. The recommended practices should be
tailored to host-state and mission-specific conditions. Police advisers in UN missions, as well
as in bilateral assistance programmes, have been criticized for recommending practices that
do not fit local conditions. They have also been criticized for giving different and even
conflicting advice about operational practices drawn from experience in their home countries.

8.7.7 Although the principles of community-oriented policing can be applied universally, they
need to be adapted to the conditions of each country. This requires assessments to be made
of the local conditions that can affect how community-oriented policing is practiced. Advisers
should discuss with local police, government officials, and non-governmental experts the ways
in which the strategies of community-oriented policing can be applied. The purpose of this
assessment is to decide which local institutions and police capacities can be used to
implement community-oriented policing and which need to be changed.

8.7.8 It should be understood, however, that every country is to some extent unique and
advisers need to be open minded and add or subtract from their own list as circumstances
require.

8.7.9 Develop and publish a plan for making community-oriented policing the core
strategy of policing to which police leaders and other stakeholders are formally
committed - On the basis of the assessments of local institutions and capacities, UN advisers
and host-State police managers should formulate practices that can be implemented with
reasonable expectation of acceptance by the local police and public. This kind of informed
strategizing is the key to success in implementing community-oriented policing. Development
of the community-oriented policing plan jointly by local police, government representatives,
and UNPOL is also a critical means for obtaining the local commitment that is essential for
initial acceptance and long-run sustainability.

8.7.10 UN advisers should obtain written agreement to the operational programme, including
funding at required levels as per the DPKO/DFS Guidelines on Police Capacity-Building and
 26

Development (2015.08) and the accompanying UNPOL Manual on Donor Co-ordinations and
Fund Management in Peace Operations (2018).

8.7.11 The implementation task force must determine how the management of
community-oriented policing will be organized within the police and who will be
responsible for it - In order to implement community-oriented policing, the local police must
determine who will perform the activities required by community-oriented policing and who will
be responsible for them. There are several alternatives, with strengths and weaknesses to
each. They are summarized in Chart 1.

8.7.12 Assign responsibility for implementing community-oriented policing to a senior

commander who reports directly to the chief officer - The chief police officer will have too
many responsibilities to devote operational attention to developing community-oriented
policing. Because the same is likely to be true of any senior commander in charge of an
existing portfolio, the best course of action is to create a position whose exclusive responsibility
is managing the implementation of community-oriented policing. Community-oriented policing
needs a full-time champion who will attend to all facets of its development and who will defend
it against attempts to use its resources, especially its personnel, for other purposes. It is also
essential that there be stability in this appointment, so that leadership may be consistent
throughout the development of community-oriented policing.

8.7.13 Provide training for managers and frontline supervisors in the requirements of
community-oriented policing - Strategic change can never be achieved by directive alone.
It requires commanding officers at all levels to support community-oriented policing and, if they
are in the community-oriented policing chain of command, to facilitate the practices that lead
to responsiveness, consultation, mobilization, and problem solving. Of particular importance,
they must make sure that subordinates have time to devote to the activities of community-
oriented policing. This is often difficult because police agencies tend to be organized around
responding to emergencies. Because such needs take precedence, community-oriented
police officers are often viewed as an under used reservoir of additional manpower.

8.7.14 Develop pilot projects in community-oriented policing - Because community-

oriented policing requires changing the customary activities of policing, police agencies should
consider creating pilot projects to develop experience with the practices of community-oriented
policing. In world practice, pilot projects are generally based on geographical commands, such
as police stations. Pilot projects allow mistakes to be made and corrected without discrediting
the entire programme. It also develops a cadre of practitioners who can be used to expand the
programme when the time comes. Because police learn best from one another, such
“pioneers” can be invaluable in convincing dubious rank-and-file that community-oriented
policing can make a positive difference.

8.7.15 In order for pilot projects to succeed, there must be continuity in institutional support,
stability in personnel assigned to them, especially its senior commander, and an operational
environment conducive to learning from experience.

8.7.16 Develop criteria for evaluating the performance of community-oriented police

officers that are consistent with the goals of community-oriented policing - While the
objective of community-oriented policing is the same as traditional law enforcement, namely,
crime prevention, its methods are different. Therefore, the performance of officers assigned to
it must be evaluated and awarded these positions according to the new requirements. The
community-oriented police task force should, as a matter of priority, develop criteria for role
profile/job descriptions as well as the evaluation of the performance of officers to fit the
community-police specifications. Officers will not seek assignment to community-oriented
 27

policing roles or participate wholeheartedly in it if they think that the new activities will not be
appreciated and rewarded.

8.7.17 Educate all personnel in the objectives and methods of community-oriented

policing - Police services often begin implementing community-oriented policing by giving all
personnel basic instruction in it. This is a mistake unless much more in-depth and specialised
training is given to officers who have an immediate opportunity to practice what they have
learned. Moreover, education in community-oriented policing needs to be adapted to the jobs
officers will perform – senior command, frontline supervision, and operational practice. The
best strategy, therefore, is to plan for the delivery of community-oriented police training when
officers are assigned to it and their responsibilities have been made clear.

8.7.18 At the same time, the requirement that policing be provided as a service to individuals
does require long-term “indoctrination” of all personnel, civilian as well as sworn, in order to
secure their real buy-in. This should become a fixture in the training of recruits as soon as
possible. The training should include how to interact with the public, listen respectfully to
complaints about police service, refer people in need of help to appropriate offices and
agencies, obtain advice about crime prevention, and coordinate activities with community-
oriented policing specialists. If at all possible, it is preferable to include the community and its
genuine inputs in the design and delivery of this training to ensure what the community
wants/needs, their fears and expectations, how much they want to interact with the police are
accurately addressed.

8.7.19 As community-oriented police activities expand beyond the experimental stage, all
police need to know what it is and why it is being developed. It is particularly important for all
members to understand and appreciate how community-oriented policing may assist in
reducing and preventing crime, in particular so as to counteract the notion that community-
oriented policing is “soft policing” in which laws are not enforced. Community-oriented policing
is as “real” a form of policing as patrolling, investigating, and responding to emergencies.

8.7.20 Monitor and evaluate the pilot projects - After the pilot projects have had sufficient
time to develop community-oriented policing and for their programmes to have had an effect,
they should be evaluated in terms of goals of community-oriented policing. In order to do so,
they may need to enlist the assistance of outside experts. UNPOL could play a major role in
helping to design sound evaluation programmes and providing resources for them.

8.7.21 Devise ways to demonstrate publicly that community-oriented policing enhances

safety and reduces fear of crime: quick wins.

8.7.22 Because community-oriented policing will inevitably face doubt and active dissent,
attention should be given to showing its value. Police officers as well as the community will be
impatient with a programme that does not show perceptible benefits in fairly short order or
even worse be blamed for the increase in reported crime. To be sustained as a core strategy,
community-oriented policing must produce a perceptible improvement in public safety, fear of
crime, and satisfaction with police service in a reasonable time.

8.7.23 At the same time, it should be recognized that demonstrating the crime-control
effectiveness of any police strategy, including community-oriented policing, is not easy. Crime
data is often inadequate and analysis is complex methodologically. Community-oriented
policing should be held to account, but no more so than any other police strategy designed to
reduce crime.

8.7.24 Revise the local implementation programme in light of these evaluations.

 28

8.7.25 The primary objective of creating pilot projects is to correct shortcomings in

implementation, not to make a final decision about the worth of community-oriented policing
programmes. Crime control and crime prevention are complex. No single strategy, especially
one as demanding as community-oriented policing, can be expected to prove its worth
immediately. It follows, therefore, that the development of community-oriented policing is a
long-range proposition and must be given time to revise and fine-tune it practices.

8.7.26 Expand the practice of community-oriented policing to all appropriate operational units.

8.7.27 A number of police agencies worldwide have tried to implement community-oriented

policing immediately and everywhere. This is a mistake. Community-oriented policing requires
not only a change in the responsiveness of all police officers, but in the development of
particular forms of interaction with communities and approaches to crime-prevention – namely,
responsiveness, consultation, mobilization, problem solving. Such reorientation does not take
place overnight. It is also unrealistic to expect the value of community-oriented policing to be
understood immediately by every police officer. It is better, therefore, to start small and well
than large and badly. Community-oriented policing will take hold in police agencies when there
are officers within them and the communities around them that have seen its benefit and insist
on having it themselves.

9. RESOURCES MOBILIZATION STRATEGIES

9.1 Police and other law enforcement agencies alone do not have the resources to
address all contemporary problems; however, a well thought through community-oriented
policing strategy can be a catalyst for mobilizing resources at the national, regional, and/or
local levels to impact these problems more successfully. Where possible, the United Nations
police may suggest funding from donor agencies/nations on community-oriented policing
projects, especially for relevant public awareness campaigns aiming to reduce violence and
crime and upgrading or building of facilities in the police stations for such purposes. Therefore,
the United Nations police must develop close cooperative links with all community-oriented
policing partners who are able to contribute to the problem-solving process, and assist in
explicit procedures that facilitate the appropriate use of the sought resources.

9.2 Bilateral international partners often play a major role in the reform, restructuring and
rebuilding of police and other law enforcement agencies in conflict and post-conflict-situations.
The establishment of a joint national-international co-ordination mechanism for donor funding
which co-chaired by a senior representative of the host-State authorities and the Head of the
UN Police Component is highly recommended in order to, principally, provide an open and
transparent forum for the co-ordination of financial aid and other contributions of materiel
support for police-related activities; as well as avoid duplication and waste. More information
can be found in the accompanying UNPOL Manual on Donor Co-ordination and Fund
Management in Peace Operations.

10. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

10.1 Monitoring
 29

10.1.1 Based on the original baseline analysis, assessments of local institutions and
capacities, United Nations police and local managers should formulate practices that can be
implemented with reasonable expectation of acceptance by the host-State police and public.
To achieve a realistic and achievable goal, United Nations police with all strategic and
operational partners shall monitor, evaluate and communicate progress towards meeting this
target.

10.1.2 As an ongoing and flexible process, community-oriented policing focuses on long-term

effects and subject to regular evaluation based on the desired results and outcomes. Ongoing
input, evaluation, and feedback from both inside and outside the police organization are
essential in making community-oriented policing work. All phases of community-oriented
policing implementation must be carefully planned and properly timed to maximize success;
even good ideas can fail if they are poorly executed. Planning must be responsive to changing
needs, conditions, and priorities.

10.1.3 United Nations police shall establish realistic and achievable goals both long and short-
term, with clear priorities and targets to achieve. They shall hold partner(s) accountable for
actions they commit to and shall initiate any changes requires improving results in the mission
environment. A regular record keeping of the community-oriented policing data will help for an
effective monitoring of the programme as this enables to review the existing implementing
process of community-oriented policing strategies.

10.1.4 As an outgoing concern, community-oriented policing is subject to regular evaluation

based on the desired results and outcomes. At the same time, research and development
should be encouraged by the management of the police and law enforcement agencies to
enhance its service delivery based on the community-oriented policing theme. The
implementation of the strategy will be monitored and evaluated by the HoPCs through the
existing monitoring and reporting systems currently in use by the missions8. United Nations
police will recognize, celebrate and publicize success of the community-oriented policing
programme. Evaluation will be shared with the key stakeholders and government, if necessary.

10.1.5 With regard to the continuous evaluation, a special report shall be made available at
the end of a special period, e.g., quarterly, semi-annually or annually. The report should reflect
the following predictors, indicators, assessments, analyses, good practice, lessons learned
and recommendations for improvements:

a) Most importantly, community trust and confidence in rather than mere “satisfaction”
with their police has to be monitored and measured no matter how imperfectly this
process may be in the beginning. This one qualitative indicator is likely to be more
significant to the long-term success for community-oriented policing than the more
quantitative ones below.

b) Statistics on crime reports/complaints received during the period, specifically divided

into crimes involving life (homicide, rape, etc.) and crime involving property (theft,
fraud, etc.).

c) Statistics on crime prevention activities by sector, districts, etc. and number of

officers involved in the prevention activities, e.g. beat and patrols, awareness and
sensitization programmes, etc.

8
Please see details in “Manual on United Nations police mentoring, monitoring and advising”.
 30

d) Trend study; i.e. comparative study of the period under review and the previous one.
Noting that reported crime is likely to have increased if community-oriented policing is
being delivered successfully.

e) Research and development of new methodologies and approaches in community-

oriented policing as a benchmark of best practices adopted from other police and other
law enforcement agencies.

f) Studies of indicators and predictors of societal behaviour and the impacts brought
about by economic, social, political, environmental, legal and technological changes.

g) Identification of lessons learned from past practice.

h) Provision of recommendations for the advancement of community-oriented policing.

10.1.6 An effective monitoring and evaluation system owned by all will restores trust in the
police and other law enforcement which in turn will aid a post-conflict situation in becoming a
more stable society.

10.2 Evaluation

10.2.1 This Manual discusses the importance of undertaking evaluations and recommends
several principles for constructing them. It concludes with a short discussion about minimizing
the costs of evaluation without sacrificing rigor.

10.2.2 The evaluation programmes presented here address three questions:

a) How well has UNPOL implemented its community-oriented policing programmes?

b) How successful have the host-State police been in incorporating UN-sponsored

community-oriented policing into their operational programmes?

c) How successful has UN-sponsored community-oriented policing been locally in

improving crime control and prevention and in improving relations between police and
the public?

d) How have the trained community-oriented policing officers put their skills to use,
what problems have they encountered in carrying out their duties (both internally and
with communities), how have management deployed them; what is their average
period of tenure in community-oriented policing?

10.2.3 The Importance of Evaluation - It is important to evaluate public policies, such as the
UN’s encouragement of community-oriented policing, for several reasons:

a) Evaluation shows whether investments of time, money, and effort are achieving
desired results?

b) Such demonstrations are important in order to persuade stakeholders as well as

participants to continue to support new and innovative programmes.
 31

c) Evaluation provides information for improving the administration of programmes,

allowing them to be adjusted so that their chances of succeeding improve.

d) Evaluation is the basis for learning what works and what doesn’t. It is the means by
which “best practices” are discovered, so that planning for similar ventures in the future
can be done more expertly. Without evaluation, the experience of the past is often
wasted.

10.2.4 Principles of Evaluation - Although the benefits of evaluation are generally

recognized, they are not commonly undertaken in governmental organizations. One reason is
the defensiveness of programme managers. They fear that results may be disappointing and
their programmes put at risk. Another reason is that evaluation seems intellectually complex
and difficult. This concern is mistaken. Constructing a programme of evaluation is largely a
matter of common sense. Here are several principles for developing effective, reliable, and
consumer-friendly programmes of evaluation:

a) The choice of criteria for judging the success of any programme should be based on
the goals of the programme to be evaluated. Meaningful evaluation begins with clarification
of the goals that planners hope to achieve. Choosing evaluation criteria is not a technical
matter that can be delegated to experts. In the case of community-oriented policing, the
goals for UNPOL will be the development of its four basic strategies – consultation,
responsiveness, mobilization, and problem-solving – in the operational practices of foreign
police. For the host-State police, the goals will be improving crime control and prevention
through collaboration with a willing public.

b) Evaluation should focus on what programmes achieve (outcomes) rather on what they
do (outputs). Although programmatic activity must be carefully charted, described, and
measured so that corrections can be made in delivery, activity is not an end in itself.
Success should be measured in terms of what programmes achieve rather than how much
money has been spent, people deployed, locals trained, or equipment provided.

c) Because goals are often complex and multi-faceted, evaluators should use multiple
performance indicators. The more performance criteria the better, provided that each one
closely reflects an important aspect of the goal.

d) Performance criteria should be chosen that appear reasonable as measures of success

to the people most involved. In other words, they should make sense to programme
practitioners and programme clients. If they do not, evaluation will lose credibility, and thus
its ability to influence the implementation of programmes.

e) Performance criteria should be as simple and easy to understand as possible. Avoid

measures that require a great deal of expert interpretation. Complexity is not a virtue.

f) Evaluations should not be undertaken before programmes have had a chance to

succeed. Premature evaluation is a wasted exercise and does a disservice to the
programmes being evaluated.

g) Evaluations should not be undertaken as an afterthought when programmes are already

in the field. Planning for them should be a part of programme development, so that
requirements for information can be foreseen and provision made for documentation
during implementation. When this is not done, essential information is often found to be
unavailable.
 32

10.2.5 Three programmes for evaluating the UN’s efforts to develop community-oriented
policing are presented below. Each one represents a different level of implementation activity,
and hence a different set of goals:

a) Evaluation of the delivery of community-oriented policing by UNPOL within an

executive policing mandate.

b) Evaluation of the impact of UNPOL’s community-oriented policing programmes on

host-State police institutions and practices.

c) Evaluation of the effect of UN supported community-oriented policing activities by

the host-State police on public safety and community relations.

10.2.6 Guidelines for the construction of evaluations for these levels are presented in three
charts, each with three columns. Column 1 lists the goals of the programme being evaluated;
column 2, the performance indicators to be used in determining whether goals have been
achieved; and column 3, the sources of information for each performance indicator. Also, the
reports on the performance indicators should be disaggregated by gender and age.

10.2.7 The programmes represented in the three charts should not be considered exhaustive.
Depending on the context, other measures may be more appropriate and some of the ones
listed here may not be relevant. In particular, as the mandates governing UN actions shift from
situation to situation, so too must the performance criteria and sources of information.

10.2.8 In chart 1, guidelines are presented for evaluating UNPOL’s efforts to deliver
community-oriented policing within a peacekeeping mission with an executive policing
mandate. Referring to the principles of evaluation in the previous section, this is a programme
for evaluating the “output” of UNPOL community-oriented policing programming, not for
measuring its impact. The following two sections address the “outcomes” of UNPOL supported
community-oriented policing, namely, their impact on host-State police practices and their
consequent effect on public safety and community relations.

CHART 1
UNPOL Delivery of Community-Oriented Policing

Goals Performance Indicators Sources

1. TRAINING
(a) UNPOL
personnel
Quality of curricula Curriculum documents
Quality of delivery Selective observation
UNPOL officers’ knowledge of:
• SGF doctrine
• process of Written tests and
implementation interviews with students
• process of local
assessment
(b) Host-State
police at
three levels:
• Induction
• Advanced
 33

• In-service
• Agency-wide
Quality of curricula Curriculum documents
Quality of delivery Observation
Officers’ understanding of:
• doctrine
• process of Written tests and oral
implementation interviews of students
• local assessments
needed
2. ADVISING
a) UNPOL Evidence of a written UN-mission Mission documents
personnel plan for advising
Assignment of responsibility for Same
• delivery
• monitoring
of the advising plan
Whether the plan for locating Same
advisers reflects “best practices”
Frequency of interaction between Internal reports and
advisers and local officials selective observation
Quality of interaction Self-assessments and
selective observation
3. RESOURCING
Amount of mission resources: Mission documents
• personnel
• equipment
• material
• support services
Judgments about the adequacy • Mission documents
of mission resources for • External
developing community-oriented evaluations
policing • Interviews with
mission personnel
and local officials
Response of the international • UN documents
community to mission requests • Interviews with
for development assistance mission personnel
and local officials
Relevance of resource requests • Mission documents
from the host-State police to the and external
goals of community-oriented evaluations
policing • Interviews with
mission personnel

10.2.9 The goals of the UN’s programme are the institutionalization of the core strategies of
community-oriented policing in the host-State police. The core strategies are responsiveness,
consultation, mobilization, and problem solving. They are listed in column 1 of chart 2.
Success, however, does not mean that these strategies are simply tried and then forgotten. It
means that they become the customary practices of local policing. That is what is meant by
“institutionalization.” Because institutionalization is an explicit goal of UN programmes and
 34

because it requires unique performance indicators, it is listed as a fifth category of goals in

column 1.

CHART 2
Institutionalization of Community-Oriented Policing in the host-State police:

Goals Performance Indicator Sources of Information

I. Responsiveness
% change in telephone requests for police statistics
service
% change in walk-in requests for police statistics
service
% change in on-street requests for police statistics
service
Change in nature of requests for police statistics
service: increase in minor and non-
criminal requests
Quality of telephone reception of • public survey
requests for assistance • supervisor call-backs
• observation
Quality of reception/response at • Public survey
police stations or from the police • observation
Quality of access to police facilities • public survey
• observation
% of police officers assigned to police documents
preventative uniformed patrol

II. Consultation
Evidence of an inventory of • Police documents
potential consultative groups by the • Public officials and leaders
police
Evidence of documentation of the • Police documents
groups that the police have regular • Public officials and leaders
contact with

Frequency of police meetings with • Police documents

consultative groups • Interviews with group leaders
Number of dedicated police liaison Police documents
personnel
Inventory of local community crime- Police documents
prevention programmes
III. Mobilization
Inventory of crime prevention Police documents
materials prepared
Number and nature of
persons/groups receiving crime
prevention materials
Procurement, distribution, and • Police documents
installation of protection equipment
under police guidance • Public surveys
 35

Number and nature of volunteer • Police documents

citizen initiatives • Interviews with members
Number and composition of • Police documents
community groups/fora • Interviews with members

Inventory of crime prevention • Police documents

activities undertaken by community
groups with police support • Interviews with members

Longevity of community crime • Police documents

prevention groups • Interviews with members
IV. Problem-solving
Knowledge of problem-solving • Written tests
process among the host-State • Interviews
police
Understanding of police problem- • Written tests
solving among local population • Interviews
Number and nature of problems Police documents
identified and worked
Community evaluation of problem- Public survey
solving
Evidence of internal system for • Observation
sharing problem-solving “best • Interviews with police
practices”
Reduction in calls and/or requests- Police documents
for-service as a result of problem-
solving

Cooperative actions undertaken • Police documents

jointly with other government • Interviews with police and other
agencies government officials
V. Sustainability of
community-oriented policing
locally
Demonstrated commitment of • Policy directives
senior police leadership • Interviews with senior officers
Demonstrated commitment by • Evidence of formal agreements
government officials and political • Interviews
elites
% police budget dedicated to Police documents
community-oriented policing
Assignment of command • Police documents
responsibility for community- • Interviews
oriented policing
Presence of strategic plan for the Police documents
development of community-oriented
policing
Evidence of a multi-year training Police documents
programme in community-oriented
policing for:
• Recruits
• In-service
 36

• Civilian employees

Organizational plan for • Police documents

implementing community-oriented • Observation of practice
policing
Evidence of regular evaluation of • Police documents
community-oriented policing • Interviews
programmes:
• by police
• by groups outside the police
Development of criteria for Police documents
performance evaluations of
community police officers

10.2.10 The goal of community-oriented policing is to encourage the public to assist

the police as willing participants in the task of controlling and preventing crime. Accordingly,
the goals to be evaluated are reductions in crime, especially the sort of crime that police activity
can reasonably affect, and the public’s fear of crime and sense of safety and security. Because
these crime-related goals are to be achieved through changing the orientation of the public
toward the police, it is also appropriate to evaluate the public’s experience with and attitudes
toward the police. Finally, it is important to explore the effect of community-oriented policing
on the police themselves, especially their morale in the face of change and their perceptions
of whether public attitudes toward them have changed. All of these appear in column 1 as
goals to be evaluated.

CHART 3
Local Effectiveness of Community-Oriented Policing

Goals Performance Indicators Sources of Information

I. Crime
% change serious crime • Reported crime
• Victimization survey
% change police- • Reported crime
preventable crime • Victimization survey
% change in crime Police documents
clearances
Assessments of the • Interviews with
reliability of reported crime police
statistics • External
assessments
II. Fear of Crime
Public’s sense of security: Public survey
• at home
• in the
neighbourhood
• at work
• traveling
• in other public
places
 37

Perception of the orderliness Public survey

of the environment: are
things in control?
Vitality of local business • Sales statistics
• Survey of business
people
• Business start-ups
• Selected interviews
Sense of security among Targeted surveys
selected stakeholders:
• business owners
• media
representatives
• medical personnel
• social service
providers
• international actors
Public’s assessment of Public survey
public safety in the future
Changes in local property Government documents
values
Changes in IDP/displaced targeted surveys
persons returns
% changes in insurance Insurance companies
rates
III. Public attitudes toward
police
Confidence in the police Public survey

Respect for the police Public survey

Assessment of the Public survey
prevalence of
• corruption
• brutality
IV. Public interaction with
police
Willingness to contact the Public survey
police
Public satisfaction with Public survey
treatment received in
contacts with the police

Victim’s satisfaction with • Public survey

police response • Call-backs by police
supervisors to
victims
Public’s willingness to work Public survey
with the police in crime-
prevention programmes
Willingness to work Public survey
cooperatively with police in
 38

local crime prevention

activities
Satisfaction with consultative Survey of public participants
process with police: in consultative groups
• Did police listen?
• Did police
incorporate
community
suggestions into
local policing plans?
V. Police Attitudes
Change in morale of police Police survey
officers

Changes in police Police survey

perception of the public’s
respect for them
Attitudes toward community- Police survey
oriented policing
Perception of changes in • Police survey
police knowledge of local
communities • Observation
Perception of changes in Interviews with criminal
useful criminal intelligence investigation personnel
coming from the public
Morale of designated Police survey
community police officers

10.2.11 In terms of providing a protective environment, especially to IDPs and

displaced and vulnerable populations, the following indicators could provide valuable
evaluation of Community-oriented policing:

• Security and stability (as indicated by an absence of serious crime or violent

conflict) for civilians within camps for internally displaced persons and
temporary settlements.
• Security and stability (as indicated by an absence of serious crime or violent
conflict) for civilians in areas outside of camps for internally displaced persons
and temporary settlements, including in particular in areas adjacent to camps.
• Reduction in the number of violent crimes against civilians.
• Reduction in human rights violations, including incidents of sexual and gender-
based violence, as recorded by local police, international human rights officers and
mission’s police personnel.
• Reduction in the recruitment of child soldiers by the parties to the conflict.
• Improved environment for the protection of civil and political rights, including
through the development of sustainable foundations for professional, democratic
policing and law enforcement.
 39

• The prevalence of arms and armed actors is reduced through the disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of combatants.

10.2.12 In post-conflict situations with inter-communal violence being a major issue,

some elements that would demonstrate progress in relationships between communities would
include:
• Dialogue between conflicting communities over peaceful coexistence and shared
access to natural resources.
• Interventions by the authorities and traditional community mediators, facilitated by
the Mission, that prevent or resolve violent inter-communal conflict.
• Dialogue between conflicting parties over local settlements to violent inter-
communal conflict.
• Conflicting parties enter into and adhere to local agreements that settle violent
inter-communal conflict.
• Reduction in the number of incidents of and new displacement resulting from inter-
communal conflict.
• Transitional justice mechanisms are established and operating in accordance with
international human rights standards and best practice.
• Improved access to justice through the adoption of measures aimed at enhancing
victims’ rights to truth, justice and remedy.

10.2.13 Simplifying Evaluation - Collecting the sort of information described in the

three evaluation programmes can be costly, time consuming, and complicated. Moreover,
interpretation of such data can be controversial. People may disagree about whether the
changes that have occurred are enough to constitute success and whether the changes can
be attributed to police actions as opposed to other factors. These problems, added to the
disinclination of programme planners and managers to be evaluated at all, reduce the
likelihood that public agencies will devote much attention to evaluating their programmes’
success.

10.2.14 There is, however, a short cut that can produce reliable judgments more
quickly and at considerably less cost. The alternative is to create panels of independent,
experienced experts to observe operations in the field and to report on their quality, impact,
and likely sustainability. A panel of 3-5 experts with experience in similar programmes can
make sound, insightful, qualitative judgments in short periods of time. Their evaluations will be
based on the study of programme documents, interviews with participants, and observations
in the field. Being qualitative does not mean that such evaluations are exercises in thoughtless
subjectivity. They must specify the evaluation criteria in advance and develop a reliable
methodology that is followed consistently in the field. It is especially important that the
panellists be capable of independent judgment. They cannot be permanent employees of the
contracting agency, in this case the United Nations, or have a financial stake in the future of
the programme being evaluated.
 40

10.2.15 The major benefit of this approach, assuming the panellists are carefully
chosen from knowledgeable experts unconnected with the employing agency, are evaluations
that are insightful, easy to understand, timely, and persuasive with stakeholders. The major
costs involved are salaries, travel, and maintenance rather than complicated data-collection
procedures. At the same time, it would be enormously helpful if money is provided for surveys
of public opinion and experience. Indeed, given the goals of community-oriented policing, such
surveys should be part of the implementation plan of the host-State police.

11. REFERENCES

11.1 Normative or Superior References

• Security Council Resolutions: on policing 2185 (2014) and 2382 (2017); and on women,
peace and security: 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010),
2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015).
• Report of the Secretary-General on United Nations policing, S/2016/952, 10 November
2016
• Report of the Secretary-General on United Nations police, A/66/615, 15 December 2011.

11.2 Related Policies

• DPKO/DFS Policy on United Nations Police in Peacekeeping Operations and Special

Political Missions, 1 February 2014, Ref. 2014.01
• DPKO/DFS Guidelines on Police Capacity-Building and Development, Ref. 2015.08
• DPKO/DFS Guidelines on Police Command in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations
and Special Political Missions, Ref. 2015.14
• DPKO/DFS Guidelines on Police Operations in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations
and Special Political Missions, Ref. 2015.15
• DPKO/DFS Guidelines on the Integration of Gender Perspectives into the Work of United
Nations Police in Peacekeeping, 17 June 2008, Ref. 2008.30
• United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy on United Nations Support to Non-
United Nations Security Forces – HRDDP (S/2013/110)
• DPKO-DFS Manual on Monitoring, Mentoring and Advising (20017.14).
• DPKO-DFS Manual on Mission-based Police Planning (20017.13).
• DPKO-DFS Manual on Donor Co-ordination and Fund Management (forthcoming).
• OHCHR/DPKO/DPA/DFS Policy on Human Rights in UN Peace Operations and Political
Missions, 01 September 2011, 2011.20
• OHCHR Participation of Minorities in Policing: Community Policing as a Good Practice,
August 2013.
• DPKO-DFS Policy on Civil Affairs (2008.09)
• DPKO-DFS Manual on Civil Affairs Handbook (2012.02)

12. MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE

12.1 In field missions, this manual will serve the Head of Police Component assisted by
other managers, specifically the heads and staff of units responsible for Community-Oriented
 41

Policing. At Headquarters, the Police Adviser to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations

and Director of the Police Division shall monitor compliance with this document.

13. CONTACT

13.1 The Chief of the Strategic Policy and Development Section, Police Division, Office of
Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
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Annex-A: Community Profiling

Education Employment
• Education institutes • Unemployment rates
• Educational level of the community members • Five largest employers
• Percentage receiving social assistance payments

Geography Education
• Major geographic profile • Education institutes
• Administrative subdivisions • Educational level of the community members
• Area details

Public safety and Medical Services

Demographics
• Number of Medical services and details
• Fire stations details • Total population
• Emergency services • Racial and ethnic details
• Age distribution

Recreation Civic and religious organizations

• Local sports event • Statistics of religious and civic organization
• Recreational facilities • Their resources details

Media Business
• Circulated media and their view
• Major retail business and resources
• Local news coverage
• People's engagement

Problems
• Nature of problems
• Who are responsible
• How will we resolve the problem?
• Identify the partners to resolve the problem(s)
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Annex-B: Community-Oriented Policing Matrix

Meeting: Date:

Present: (Members, Minority groups,

Vulnerable groups)

Task/primary Prioritization Involved Probable Resolve Resources Desired Review/Remarks

goals of the group/s solutions by required outcomes
problem