Kolektivismu: Karakterístika Konfrontos Violentos iha Timor-Leste?

Dionísio Babo-Soares*

Iha inisiu fulan Dezembro 2011, mossu fila-fali konfrontasaun violenta involve membrus balun hosi arte marciais (laos instituisaun), nebé resulta ema balun lakon vida, balun kanek todan iha área Betó ho área seluk iha Komoro, Dili.  Konfrontasaun nuné mossu dala-uluk ona iha fatin barak hanesan iha Baucau, Same no Suai nebé estraga uma ho propriedade barak, ema lakon vida ho hamossu deslokadus barak.

Akontesimentu nebé mossu iha fulan Dezembro 2011 iha Dili, akontesse iha tempo nebé tuir-lolos ema hotu túr hakmatek hodi komemora Natal, celebra ita Nai Jesus Cristo nia moris, ho hein tinan foun 2012 nebé Timor oan tomak sei halao festa democrasia ka eleisaun geral. Mesmo konfontasaun né involve deit individuais ka jovem nebé konsiderado nakar, no sira nebé tur iha dalan ninin, hemu tua tó lanu no deskontroladu, maibe sira nia afilisasaun ho grupos arte marciais nebé durante né involve iha konflitus violentos, assosía kedas involvimento instituisaun nian iha assoens hirak né.

Hatan ba akontesimento né, iha 22  Dezembro 2011, Konselho Ministro foti decizaun suspende aktividades arte marciais hotu iha Timor-Leste hosi tinan ida (1) to tinan tolu (3), no suspende jogos lotária nebé eziste, ho durasaun to fulan nen (6) nia laran.

Konfrontos violentos iha Dezembro 2012 né akotesse ho karakterístika hanesan sira-uluk, grupos kontra grupos (kolektivo) no autor mesak hanesan deit, elementos hosi grupos arte marciais. Hafoin tuir kedas ho assoens violentas nebé individuais sira maka halo hodi selu-hikas (revenge) derrota anterior. Maske iha nível lideransa grupo sira né rasik halo bebeik kompromissu, verbal no por escrita, katak sira hakribi violensia no promete sei la halo assoes violentas, akontesimentus sira né hatudu deit katak kompromisso sira né folin laiha. At liu tan, hatudu deit deskonfiansa katak ita labele sadere ba promessas, mesmo ke né halo rasik hosi lideransa boot grupos arte marciais nian. Né mos hatudo falta autoridade atu kontrola membrus sira iha karaik, liu-liu tanba, dala barak, ema nebé la sala, mak simu todan ka konsekuensia hosi konfrontos violentos hirak né.

Modelu konfrontos violentos entre grupos (grupos kontra grupo) hodi halibur malu, mobiliza massa grupo halo violensia laos fenómena foun iha ita nia rain. Tradisionalmente, mobilizasaun klan (grupo étnico) ka etno-linguístico hodi baku-malu ka halo-funu nebé uza meios violentos konhesidu ona iha ita nia história.

Iha eleisoens hirak liu ba, iha distrito balun, membro partidos balun ataka ema nebé konsiderado mai hosi partido seluk. Eventualmente, halo ema nebé kbiit laek mak térus.

Tanba sa mak konfrontos violentos nuné mossu bebeik iha Timor? Tanba sa mak sempre involve membrus arte marciais, no tanba sa sira sempre eskapa? Infelizmente, to agora laiha rezolusaun nebé sistemátiku no laiha investigasaun profunda iha parte criminal hosi hosi entidades seguransa, no laiha estudos ho peskizas científikas hodi bele ajuda rezolve.

Karakterístika Violensia Kolektiva

Geralmente, konflito ka violensia refere ba diferensa ka xokes de interesse entre ema/grupos bainhira sira kompete atu hadau rekursus nebé limitadu iha vida social. Nuné, mobilizasaun ema-barak ka grupos, ka uza instituisaun nebé sira reprezenta nia naran hodi hetan lijitimidade, mossu nudar karakterístika assaun violenta nuné. Normalmente, mobilizasaun hodi kompete ba “rekursus limitadus” hanesan kompete ba pozisaun polítika, kompete atu habelar área kontrolo, hadau poder, riku-soin ho rekursus seluk mak sai nudar objektivu eventual konfrontos hirak né. Maibe iha Timor-Leste karakterístika konflitus violentos entre grupos, mossu liu-liu tanba kompetisaun entre grupos arte marciais (perguruan), mós tanba ódio ho vingansa nebé originalmente, no dala barak, inicia hosi diferensas ka konfrontos individuais.

 Iha teoria konabá konflito social demonstra, violensia entre grupos mossu tanba karakter “kolektivu”. Ema ka grupo uza naran instituisaun ka grupo nudar identidade hodi bele define a’an no mos identifika sé mak inimigo, ka identifika sé maka lideransa iha grupo ida nia laran (in-group).  

Mesmo ke seidauk iha estudos profundus,  iha Timor ita bele konfirma katak konflitus arte marciais akontese frekuentemete ho modelu ka modus operandi hanesan: normalmente evolui hosi diferensas individuais no ikus mai buka lejitíma a’an iha grupo ka instituisaun arte-marsiais. Modus operandi né rasik maka konfrontos violentos, uza kroat, assaltu ho grupos, oho-malu no estraga propriedes ema nian. Bainhira lijitíma a’an nudar grupos, sira fasilmente distingi inimigo no identifika sé maka maluk-rasik (in gropu). Eventualmente, konfrontos violentos entre inimigos sira né involve ona ema barak ka grupos kontra grupos (antar perguruan).

Konfrontos violentos entre grupos arte-marsiais, to agora, laos tanba deit hadau-malu poder hanesan iha eleisoens gerais, maibe tanba deit odio ho vingansa ka mossu tanba polarizasaun interesse grupos nian, nebé movimenta grupos idak-idak hodi baku malu ho karakter kolektivu. Konflitus violentos kunhesidu nudar realidade natural iha vida social humana. Maibe oinsá atu resolve ka halakon violensia sira né, depende ba modelu kolektivu iha fatin nebé konflito sira n’e rasik mossu.

Ema matenek sira dehan iha sikun-rua (two aspects) nebé lahanesan iha modelu kolektivismo, kolektivisme inklusivu ho eksklusivo.

Iha kolektivismu inklusivu, individu sira nebé pretense ba grupo ida, bele komunika malu abertamente liu hosi diálogo ho negosiasaun ka liu hosi mekanismu judicial legal. Maibe identidade koletivismu inklusivu né mamar (ladun forte) hela tanba ema barak tebes nebé pretense ba kolektivismu inklusivu (grupo), no dala-ruma la kunhese malu. Tanba deit sira halibur hamutuk ho interesse/ objektivu hanesan, sira hare ema seluk nudar inimigo. Ezemplu membrus partido A barak mak la kunhese malu, maibe tanba deit sira partidu ida, sira halibur malu hamutuk. Nuné relasaun entre lideransa ho membrus sira imperativu maie dikursivu liu, ka hosi leten ba karaik deit.

Nuné, prosesu atu identifika sé mak inimigo liu hosi analiza kolektivu inklusivu né tenki halo ho kuidadu tebes, tanba membrus sira la kunhese malu hotu. Kolektivismu inklusivu normalmente eziste iha sosiedade urbana ho klasse media (white collar) nebé estabelecido ka diak ona ekonómikamente no ema nebé iha edukasaun nível a’as.

Iha kolektivismu eksklusivo, ema ladun komunika abertamente ka laiha diálogo ou negosiasaun entre sira ho grupo seluk. Sira hateke liu ba sira nia a’an ka grupo nia laran (auto-introspection) no revindika (claim) katak sira mak monopolía lia-los (monopoly of the truth), no haré grupo ka ema seluk hanesan salah hela deit, fraku no ladiak. Ema sira né sempre iha persepssau katak grupo ka ema seluk ladiak, la halo buat ida, no só sira mak bele, só sira mak defende lia-lós, só sira mak halo buat hotu.

Relasaun iha kolektivismo ekslusivo (grupo nia laran) – entre lideransa ho nia membrus sira – akontesse ho karakter represivu ka obrigatório hosi leten ba karaik (top down approach). Tanba né, naran lideransa hatudo deit katak ema ka grupo seluk nudar inimigo, restante seluk halo tuir deit. Bainhira lideransa temi grupo B ka C nudar inimigo, membro hotu-hotu sei halo mobilisasaun kolektiva, moralmente ho fisíkamente, hodi ataka inimigo né.

Tuir matenek-nain ida naran Korotelina iha Identity Conflicts (2009), tendensia kolektivismu eksklusivu hili liu konfrontasaun violenta (agresão física) no rejeita atu halo komunikasaun abertamente ho grupo nebé konsiderado inimigo. Kolektivismu eksklusivu normalmente eziste iha sosiedade nebé ekonomikamente sei fraku, ema kiak barak, no ema ladun iha asessu ba sistema edukasaun moderna.

Tanba né, tuir lolos konfrontos violentos entre grupos arte marsiais iha Timor tenki hetan ona atensaun makas, hosi autoridades seguransa nian, lideransa grupos arte marciais nian, sociedade sivil no entidades sociais no polítikas hotu-hotu. Iha Timor, tendensia atu liga grupos arte marciais ka partidos politicos ho identidade kolektivismu exklusivu boot tebes, tanba né mak sepre hamosu violensia entre grupos (collective).

Né laos buat foun ida tanba iha grupos etno-linguístiku barak iha Timor-Leste maka sei iha tendensia atu taka-an (menutupi diri). Nia membros sira, maski moris iha komunidade pluralístiku hanesan iha Dili, bainhira komunika ho grupo etnía seluk, uza deit sira nia língua etnía no la interesse ema seluk. Tendensia social ida né maka halo tiha segregasaun natural iha sociedade ida nia laran no kria divisionismu (gap/separasaun), no sempre hamosu konflitus violentus.  Kolektivismu ekslusivo akontesse iha grupos sira né nia laran, no kria konflitus inklui iha konflitus arte marsiais.

Preciza Assaun Afirmativa

Infelizmente, durante né maski mossu konfrontasaun entre grupos arte marciais ho karakter kolektivismu ekslusivu, laiha mekanismu ida atu resolve to nia abut. Iha Policia ho nia atuasaun nebé diak, hodi hapara no hamate assoes violentas sira né maibe parece ladauk ke to nia abut. Mossu espekulasaun oin-oin hosi sosiedade sivil, Nasoens Unidas, no analista social sira, maibe fakta hatudo katak kolektivismu eksklusivu tuir lolos tenki iha aproximasaun nebé intensivu ho bebeik.

Iha semana rua kotuk, Konselho Ministru hasai ona decizaun atu hapara aktividade arte marciais ho aktividade bola guling tanba hamossu bebeik konflitus nebé alastra hosi individual ba konflitus violentos entre grupos. Será ke né efektívu? Iha kurto-prazu ita bele dehan sim. Maibe oinsa ba oin? Hapara deit to ona?

Tuir lolos iha nível seguransa bele prevene konflitu sira nuné. Idealmente, instituisoens seguransa nian tenki iha no implementa konseito nebé integradu hodi bele transforma konfrontos violentos iha sosiedade atu sai fali koligasaun dame, hakmatek no domin. Iha plataforma seluk nebé ita bele uza maka diálgu, resolusaun liu hosi mekanismu legal, no laos violensia.

Karik kolektivismu eksklusivu sei sai nudar faktu ida iha ita nia rain, instituisoens seguransa estadu nian preciza halo programa específiko, para além de hametin seguransa hosi parte polisial, hodi bele muda karakter kolektivismu eksklusivo transforma fali nudar kolektivismu inklusivo. Nuné bele ajuda resolve violensia entre grupos ho karaktes sira iha leten.

Ita rekunhese katak dalan diálogu mos halao bebeik ona mais la konsegue resolve. Karik nuné dalam legal ka aplikasaun lei ho firmeza sai nudar alternativu diak ba resolusaun problemas mais tenki mos hare progama seluk hanesan kompetisaun arte marciais nebé activu liu, regulariza aktividades sira né hotu, kampanha non-violensia nebé focus no halo mekanismu restrisaun nebé bele kontrola aktividade arte marciais ho dignidade.

Nudar iha rai seluk nebé iha problema hanesan ita, programa sira né inklui programa sosializasaun ba mekanismo judicial, treinamento lideransa no mekanismu resolusaun konflitu tuir dalan dame nian. Nuné mos oinsa kria programa seluk atu bele transforma kolektivismu eksklusivo, inkluindo kria programa atu hadia porgrama juventude nian.

Problema dezemprego, kiak, ho edukasaun baixa sai nudar konsidaun fundamental nebé halo ita nia sosiedade difisil atu sai hosi karakter kolektivismu eksklusivo. Né tanba ema kiak sira sente katak so liu hosi kolektivismu eksklusivo deit sira bele espressa sira nia frustrasaun. Tanba né dezenvolvimento iha seitor ekonomia nebé bele aumenta bem-estar tem ke lao makaas, selae kolektivismo exklusivo sei forte nafatin iha sistema social sociedade nian.

Konflitu arte marciais iha Timor-Leste hamossu vítima barak ona, no vítima sira né mossu tanba aksaun kolektivismu eksklusivo nian. Tanba né ita tenki buka transforma modelu kolektivismu eksklusivo né ba kolektivismu inklusivo liu hosi aktus antisipasaun no prevensaun, hodi transforma kolektivismu eksklusivo iha sosiedade nia laran, atu nuné konflitus violentos iha ita nia rain, bele resolve ho dame, no ho dignidade.

*Autor, Sekretario Geral CNRT, no membro corpo dosente iha Universidade Nacional (UNTL) ho UNPAZ. Artigo né opinião pessoal no la representa institusaun nebé autor representa.

AS ELEIÇÕES DE 2012 EM TIMOR-LESTE E A NECESSIDADE DA PRESERVAÇÃO DA PAZ

No ano de 2012 realizar-se-ão em Timor-Leste as eleições presidenciais e legislativas. Para que essas eleições sejam justas, é indispensável que elas decorrem num clima de paz e de tranquilidade. Para que haja paz e tranquilidade nas aldeias, vilas e em todo o país, é necessário que os Timorenses se eduquem para a paz, para a democracia, para o diálogo e vivam numa cultura de paz.

Mas o que é a paz? Em Tétum a paz diz-se “dame”, em Bahasa Indonésia “kedamaian”, em Português paz. A palavra portuguesa “paz”, a espanhola “paz”, a italiana “pace”, a francesa “paix” e a inglesa “peace”, provém da palavra latina “Pax, pacis”. O termo pax, pacis com o dativo pacem, corresponde ao termo hebraico shalom, palavra que deriva da raiz “shelemut” e, significa perfeição, plenitude.

No Império Romano o conceito de Pax indicava o período em que a nível interno, não havia lutas, nem conflitos nem guerras civis. Pelo contrário predominava uma ordem geral de ordem, de tranquilidade. Essa ordem geral chamava-se “Pax Romana”. Ligado ao conceito da paz, os romanos cultivavam outros conceitos abstractos, como concordia (concórdia), honor (honra), fides (fé), virtus (virtude), victoria (vitória).

No contexto judaico-cristão, ao termo Shalom existem termos associados como harmonia, tranquilidade, felicidade, prosperidade, bem-estar, graça. Shalom significa ainda bênção, manifestação da graça divina, justiça, verdade. No livro do profeta Isaías a “paz é fruto da justiça” (Is. 32,17). Segundo o mesmo Profeta “Deus é Príncipe da Paz messiánica (Is. 9, 5).

Nos Evangelhos, a palavra paz ocorre em várias passagens. Na noite em que nascia o menino Jesus, os Anjos cantavam: “Gloria a Deus nas alturas e paz aos homens de boa vontade”(Lc 2,14s); Depois da sua Ressurreição, Nosso senhor Jesus Cristo dirige palavras de paz aos seus discípulos: “ A paz seja convosco” (Jo. 21, 19 e 21); “Deixo-vos a paz, dou-vos a minha paz” (14,27). São Paulo afirma que a verdadeira paz é o pessoa de Jesus Cristo: “Ele é a nossa Paz” (Ef.2, 14).

Os Padres da Igreja nas suas catequeses insistiam muito a paz, a ordem, a tranquilidade, a justiça e o amor ao próximo. Santo Agostinho,  bispo de Hipona (séc. IV), no norte da África, dizia que a paz  é a “tranquilidade na ordem.”

No século XX, depois das duas Grandes Guerras Mundiais (1914-1918) e (1939-1945) As Nações Unidas publicaram a Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos (1948). Logo no Preâmbulo se pode ler:  “Considerando que o reconhecimento d dignidade inerente a todos os membros da família humana e dos seus direitos iguais e inalienáveis constitui o fundamento da liberdade, da justiça e da paz no mundo.”

Ainda no século passado a Igreja Católica quer através dos Documentos do Concílio Vaticano II quer através do magistério dos Papas (João XXIII, Paulo VI e João Paulo II) tem repetido em várias ocasiões que questão da Paz é fundamental para a vida dos homens e do planeta.

O Concílio Vaticano II afiram que a paz não é só a ausência da guerra e nem se reduz ao estabelecimento de equilíbrio entre forças adversas (cfr. GS, n. 78). Para se edificar a paz é necessária a vontade firme de respeitar a dignidade dos outros homens, outros povos e, portanto, é necessária a prática da fraternidade.

Segundo o Papa Paulo VI (1963-1978) o novo nome da paz é desenvolvimento. Porém, não se trata apenas de um desenvolvimento económico, mas um desenvolvimento autêntico que visa promover todos os homens e o homem todo. Nesta perspectiva, a paz significa a erradicação de injustiças e desigualdades de ordem económica ou social; erradicação de invejas, de desconfiança e do orgulho que grassam entre os homens e as nações e que são uma constante ameaça a paz (cf. a Carta Encíclica Populorum Progressio, n. 5, n. 13, etc.).

O antecessor de Paulo VI, o Papa João XXIII (1958-1963), escreveu a Encíclica Pacem in Terris. Na perspectiva do Papa, “as mútuas relações internacionais devem regular-se não pelo recurso à força das armas, mas pela norma da recta razão, isto é, na base da verdade, da justiça e de uma activa solidariedade.”(cfr. P. in T., nn. 34-38).

(continia no próximo número).

Porto, 30 de Dezembro de 2011.

Dom Carlos Filipe ximenes Belo

Community Based Policing: The factors that influence Police Forces to engage more closely with a local community

Written by Agio Pereira

Díli, December 2011

Abstract

Community based policing has become an important policing option for many developed and developing countries; countries where institutional frailty, particularly in the area of law enforcement sector, consider community policing as an important component of overall policing strategies. Why is community policing is important and how best to approach this policing strategy is still an ongoing debate in the realms of policy-makers as well as academic community and the police force itself. One reason is because crime prevention and crime eradication is a constant part of society and the root-cause of crime is researched but consensus is not an easy place to land. Since Adam Smith’s ‘Wealth of Nations, Cesare Beccaria’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ and Colquhoun’s ‘A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis – Containing a detail of the various crimes and misdemeanors by which public and Private Property and Security are, at prefent (sic), injured and endangered and suggesting remedies for their prevention’, considered to be the first book ever comprehensively written on policing, still there is no answer to how communities should deal with crime. One reason is because the problem is not crime itself, but the way communities generate fear and respond to the perceived factors of fear under different circumstances of community’s existence, including the space, the politics, the level of social integration and inter-community relations within a state. In the meantime, ‘beat policing’ is increasingly adopted as the best approach to generate community confidence in the police force because it increases the perception that police officers are present within the community or, at least, readily accessible in case they are needed. Crime cannot be exterminated by the police, but together with the community, the element of fear can be mitigated so that healthy living can be the focus of living as a community. Increasing the cost of crime further contributed towards this end.

 Introduction

Time magazine’s essay ‘Peace Through Security’, by Tim Padgett, rightly argues that Central America’s crisis calls for better policing, not more military.[1] This call reflects concern for legitimacy as well as a reflection on whether the military can ever respond to situations of civil unrest and systemic criminality. Around the world, situation of crises, high criminal rate and systemic disorder, focusing on effective policing in the community has become the answer because the aim is to enhance police legitimacy and the trust of citizens on the institutions of law enforcement and, ultimately, on the state itself. But what is community policing? In short, community policing is a natural phenomenon derived from the survival instinct of the individuals as well as a collective need for survival. Police forces evolved from this basic instinct. Society, community, family and individual citizens are interdependent;[2] and since the division of labor[3] evolved within society, partly imposed by the concept of property,[4] the need for protection became increasingly institutionalized. It is about curbing greed in the society[5] so that predictability can be enhanced and harmonious society becomes viable and strengthened. Man also became ‘conjoined’[6] with citizen and the duties to the state. Community policing is also needed because ‘even if man were born in a condition to desire to enter society, it does not follow that he was born suitably equipped to enter society…distrust, suspicion, precaution and provision against fear are all characteristic of men who are afraid’.[7] The state and the citizen share mutual fear; helping each other to overcome it brings about the state’s prerogative of mutual benefits. Successful community policing can enhance restraints, which in the English of the seventeenth century, Colquhoun posits ‘as the means of preventing Crimes, are fuch (sic) as muft (sic)  produce this falutary (sic) effect, without hindering the privileges of innocence; fince (sic)  they apply to thofe (sic)  claffes (sic)  only, the nature of whole dealings, from being in many inftances (sic) both unlawful and immoral, immediately affect …the Country at large.’[8] Therefore, community policing is about overcoming fear in the community as well as the concern of the police forces about their inability to impose sufficient restraints on the citizens so that society can be free from fear. This essay highlights beat policing as an example of community based policing and then attempts to explain the factors influencing a Police Force to engage more closely with local communities.[9]

Police, crime and the local community: a symbiotic relationship

On Beat Policing and the Community

A report by the Queensland (Australia) Crime and Misconduct Commission evaluating beat policing in Queensland, asserts that ‘beat policing is expected to have an impact on crime, in part because officers embark on proactive, preventive strategies, and in part because officers provide a visible police presence in the community or shopping centre.’[10] The key findings pertaining to neighbourhood beats include reduction in overall crime rate as well as property crime rates and increase in the rate of reported crime.[11] However, on the perceptions of crime and personal safety, although ‘beat policing aims to build community partnerships and improve the relationship between police and the public’,[12] the report established that, generally, ‘beats do not necessarily make residents feel safer; nor do shopfronts necessarily make shoppers and retailers feel more safe’.[13] Hence, the report recommends that beat officers should be allowed to respond to more matters in their area and manage their workload more effectively,[14] remain focus and continually meet the needs of beat-area residents.[15] Nevertheless, neighborhood beats led to residents in higher perceived levels of crime and disorder to believe that these problems were improving,[16] allowing for the conclusion that ‘beat officers are responsive and effective in addressing crime and disorder in their neighborhoods’.[17] The need to regular evaluation and review of success and failure, as well as effectiveness[18] and relevance[19] were particularly identified as important for successful police beats. One factor favoring beat policing is the rationale related to the ‘utilitarian theory’.[20] It ‘assumes that criminals are rational and balance the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action’,[21] and that ‘when criminals are given the choice of illegal versus legal avenues of economic gain, they more often choose the latter when the costs of crime increase.’[22] It follows that the presence of beat policing can increase the costs of crime, making criminal acts less attractive.      

But what is a local community? - Nowadays, there are virtual communities such as the Facebook community, the twitters community and the Wikileak community. There are the real communities like the Retired Service League (RSL) or the war veterans’ community, the elderly community,[23] the gangs’[24] community and the more geographically emphasised ‘local community’.[25] What is important from community policing point of view is that there are ‘common ties and social interaction’[26] within a local residential area. Citing Lowry Nelson, Hillery points out that “in general, the term community[27] refers to a group of people inhabiting a limited area, who have a sense of belonging together and who through their organized relationships share and carry on activities in pursuit of their common interests.’[28] One challenge for community policing is how to profile the problems facing a particular local community. In the case of Australia, commonness and common interests may be clear in terms of duties towards the state, paying taxes and expecting the Government to deliver social programs reflecting value for money. At a micro level, however, kinship and common historical and ethnic background tend to play more important role in social cohesion. Blocks of buildings, houses and apartments may not necessarily provide opportunities to develop an effective beat policing strategy; residents may ‘supplemented police with the doorman’[29] and ‘protect themselves as individuals and not as a community’,[30] making ‘the battle against crime effectively lost’.[31] Hence, making police presence almost permanent in a local area, through beat policing, may reduce fear. What is uncertain is whether necessarily increases safety in the house where domestic violence,[32] may occur.

Community policing: strategic partnership and empowerment

The inability of the Police Force to impose sufficient restraints against misconducts[33] and crime led to the decision to bring members of the community to bear some degree of responsibility to overcome factors affecting fear, including unexpected acts of misconducts. Alcoholism, high-activity drugs areas or hot spots,[34] youth drug addiction,[35] theft, gangs ‘regular rendezvous’[36] and short run hedonism[37] and gangs’ graffiti,[38] are part of the factors inflicting fear in the community, namely because ‘predictions of intent and character’[39] can be totally unreliable. Individuals and families need an environment free from fear in order to focus on their development; children need not fear their own surrounding so they can focus on learning and growing with faith in making the most of what society has to offer. Hence, the local communities, including the children and youth in general are the most interested parties because solving the problems that impede them to live with peace of mind becomes a step of paramount importance. Strategic community policing is, therefore, also a community empowerment scheme. For this empowerment to be effective, however, local Police Force needs to adequate its own structure and resources to fulfill, both, the expectations of the community as well as those of the Police Force. Hence, the positive move to employ police aids to enhance effective communication between the Police and the members of a local community. Effective proficiency in the foreign but simultaneously local languages is one way to enhance communication between the interested parties – the Police and the members of local communities. In addition, effective Police intelligence gathering also helps to make the right decisions, as opposed to adopting approaches which are based on hear-say, thus hindering success. Above all, it is important to conceive of empowerment of local communities as not only meaning the need to genuinely listening to their concerns but also “making community members active participants in the process of problem solving’,[40] ‘creating a constructive partnership’[41] and ‘reinvigorating communities’.[42] The Police Force ought to be moved by these key factors when decision is made to move closer to local communities. To ensure success in crime reduction, police officers engaged in beat policing, for instance, as a form of community based policing, will need to be adequately trained in community relations and the challenges of youth in underprivileged areas of society.    

Critics of beat policing argue that a dilemma in crime reduction is that successful beat policing in reducing crime may cause ‘crime displacement’.[43] This can be true but not impossible to overcome because ‘crime is opportunistic’[44] and ‘protection is only as good as its coverage’.[45] Therefore, community policing can make a real difference to local communities in reducing fear because effective community based policing means policing is more integrated with the security problems and needs of local communities. The strategic importance and value-added effect of community policing are that beat patrol provides for a permanent visibility of police force, not only in residential areas but also where local communities and vulnerable groups perform educational and leisure activities. Such visibility is even more important in areas where the phenomenon of ‘broken windows’,[46] the downgrading of social order occurs. Effective Police-Community partnership can enhance the capacity to manage law and order by ‘impeding “small” (offences) slide by’,[47] thus nurturing the trust of the citizens on their Police Force.  If community policing does little to crime deterrence but instead it correlates with crime displacement,[48] one  value-added is that the Police Force can understand better some motives of crimes committed within a particular geographical area. Kelling and Coles rightly posit that, in small and homogenous neighborhoods and communities, ‘even the most seriously deranged individuals are known personally to those in the community: everyone knows how far they will go, so their behavior is predictable, even if defiant.’[49] Thus, listening to the community members’ own understanding of the magnitude, frequency and motives of these crimes enhances such understanding. Although crime displacement is a complex phenomenon to prove,[50] relieving community’s stress and not letting the community feel alone in coping with the effects of crime and misconducts, can enhance certainty and minimize ‘social disorganization’;[51] and the ‘inability of local communities to realize their common values or solving commonly experienced serious problems’ can also be overcome.[52] In return, the Police Force gains enhanced legitimacy and respect from their own community – the Police reason d’être. As the Police become more engaged with the local community, familiarity with community concerns about safety is developed, which brings about the responsibility to manage community expectations successfully. This means adopting a two-track approach; giving ‘priority to problems of more current and intense concern’ and balance this by addressing ‘less visible problems of equal magnitude and seriousness, lest the process deteriorate so that the police once again assuming a reactive stance.’[53]           

Conclusion

Community based policing is part of the strategy of making the Police Forces more pro-active in response to disturbances and crime within local communities, leading to a Police Force with enhanced legitimacy and a community empowered with problem-solving capacity. There are a number of factors which rightly influence the Police Force to work towards stronger and more strategic engagement with local communities. First, crime cannot be eradicated by the Police Force because the institution is not devised to be crime exterminator. Nevertheless, this is precisely the expectation of the community; that the Police keep the communities safe from crime. Secondly, the Police Force has the responsibility to protect the citizens and the community in general. Therefore, nurturing trust between the Police and the community it exists to serve and to belong is sacrosanct. Third, the Police Force may not be prepared to be crime exterminator but dealing with crimes in ways that makes the community feel safer is a responsibility the Police cannot escape from. Therefore, find the best possible ways is a must. The best ways must include key policing strategies. First, promoting active Police-community interaction to increase the costs of crime; in a gain-pain scenario, the perpetrators rationally make decisions bearing in mind the cost of crime and if the cost unacceptably higher, crime be reduced. Secondly, there is the need to listen and to reinvigorate the community. The fighting spirit, not the surrendering spirit, needs to be upheld within the community so the potential perpetrators do not feel like fish in the ocean but simply fish in a tiny lake, which also requires nurturing an ongoing constructive police-community partnership. The expected outcome, after all, is to create an environment where local communities can be free from fear. As Miller contends, ‘it matters little how economically sound, aesthetically appealing, administratively efficient, or environmentally unobtrusive an area is if the people who live there live in fear. Under such conditions the area will decline.’[54] To stop local communities decline into a disturbance–ridden environment is a noble Police goal, but achieving such a goal requires effective partnership between local communities and their Police Forces. Hence, community based policing!

Reference

Barnes, G, ‘Defining and Optimizing Displacement’, in Crime and Place, J Eck & D Weisbury (eds.), Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 4, pp.95 – 113, Criminal Justice Press, Willow Tree Press, 1995, p.104

Beccaria, C, ‘On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings’, R Bellamy (ed.) & R Davies (trans.), Cambridge university Press, 2003

Bureau of Justice Assistance, ‘Understanding Community Policing – A Framework for Action’, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance Response Center, Washington DC, August 1994

Bursik, R, ‘Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency’, Criminology, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp.519-551

Cohen, A, Delinquent Boys – The Culture of the Gang’, Free Press, Illinois, USA, 1955

Colquhoun, P, ‘A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis – Containing a detail of the various crimes and misdemeanors by which public and Private Property and Security are, at prefent (sic), injured and endangered and suggesting remedies for their prevention’, H. Fry, Finsbury – Place, London, UK, 1797

De Becker, The Gift of Fear- and other survival signals that protect us from violence’, Dell Publishing, New York, USA, 1997

Durkheim, E, ‘The Division of Labor’, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, USA, 1947

Eck, J, & Weisburd, D, Crime and Place, Criminal Justice Press, New York, USA, 1995

Edgar, D, Earle, L, & Fopp, R, ‘What is Australian Society?’, Introduction to Australian Society, 2^nd Ed., Prentice Hall, Melbourne, pp.1-15,1993

Goldstein, H, Problem-Oriented Policing, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, USA, 1990

Hillery, G, ‘Definitions of Community: Areas of Agreement”, Rural Sociology, 20, 2:111-123, 1995, p.118

Hobbs, T, Man and Citizen, Gert, B (ed.), Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, USA, 1991

Hobbs, T, ‘On the citizen’, R Tuck & M Silverthorne (eds.), Cambridge University Press, UK, 2005

Jeffery, C, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, SAGE Publications, Inc., California, USA

Kelling, G, & Coles, C, Fixing Broken Windows- Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities’, Touchstone, New York, NY, USA,1996

Levine, M, Broken Windows, Broken Business- How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards’, Warner Business Books, New York, NY, USA, 2005

Marvel, T & Moody, C, ‘Specification Problems, Police Levels and Crime Rates’, Criminology, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp.609 – 646

Mazerolle, P, Adams, K, Budz, D, Cockerill, C, & Vance, M, On the Beat – An Evaluation of beat policing in Queensland’, Crime and Misconduct Commission Research Report, Brisbane, Australia, 2003

Miller, E, ‘Crime’s Threat to Land Value and Neighborhood Vitality, in P Brantingham & P Brantingham (eds.), Environmental Criminology, Waveland Press, Inc., Illinois, USA, 1981

Moore, J, Homeboys – Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, USA, 1978

Newman, O, Defensible Space – Crime Prevention Through Urban Design, The Macmillan Company, New York, NY, USA, 1972

Newsquest Media Group, ‘Police take waiting duties at elderly dinner in Welwyn Garden City’, St Albans Review St. Albans, SO January 2011, accessed 21 January 2011, www.stalbansreview.co.uk 

Padgett, T, ‘Peace Through Security – Central America’s crime crisis calls for better policing, not more military’, Time, October 2011

Smith, A, ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Bantam Classic, New York, USA, 2003

The Administrator, ‘Launch of Gang Resistance Education Training (GREAT) Program, Belize’ 20 January, 2011, accessed 21 January 2011, www.guaridan.bz/all-news/59-other-news/2757-launch-of-gangs-resistance-education...

Weisburd, D, & Green, L, ‘Policing Drug Hot spots: The Jersey City Drug Market Analysis Experiment’, Justice Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.711 – 735

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[1] T Padgett, ‘Peace Through Security – Central America’s crime crisis calls for better policing, not more military’, Time, October 2011, p.54.

[2] D Edgar, L Earle & R Fopp, ‘What is Australian Society?’, Introduction to Australian Society, 2^nd Ed., Prentice Hall, Melbourne, pp.1-15,1993

[3] E Durkheim, ‘The Division of Labor’, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, USA, 1947

[4] A Smith, ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Bantam Classic, New York, USA, 2003

[5] C Beccaria, ‘On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings’, R Bellamy (ed.) & R Davies (trans.), Cambridge university Press, 2003

[6] T Hobbs, ‘Man and Citizen’, B Gert (ed.), Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, USA, 1991, p.35

[7] T Hobbs, ‘On the citizen’, R Tuck & M Silverthorne (eds.), Cambridge university Press, UK, 2005, p.25

[8] P Colquhoun, ‘A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis – Containing a detail of the various crimes and misdemeanors by which public and Private Property and Security are, at prefent (sic), injured and endangered and suggesting remedies for their prevention’, H. Fry, Finsbury – Place, London, UK, 1797, pp. xii-xiv

[9] Detailed reference is provided as much as possible in view that those who access this short essay may wish to pursue more in-depth research on the same topic

[10] P Mazerolle, K Adams, D Budz, C Cockerill & M Vance, On the Beat – An Evaluation of beat policing in Queensland’, Crime and Misconduct Commission Research Report, Brisbane, Australia, 2003, p.23

[11] P Mazerolle et. al, p.38

[12] Ibid

[13] Ibid, p.39

[14] Ibid, p.88

[15] Ibid

[16] Ibid, p.45

[17] Ibid

[18] Herman Goldstein, Problem-Oriented Policing, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, USA,1990, p.36

[19] Ibid

[20] Thomas Marvel & Carlisle Moody, ‘Specification Problems, Police Levels and Crime Rates’, Criminology, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp.609 – 646, p.609

[21] Ibid

[22] Ibid

[23] Newsquest Media Group, ‘Police take waiting duties at elderly dinner in Welwyn Garden City’, St Albans Review St. Albans, SO January 2011, accessed 21 January 2011, www.stalbansreview.co.uk 

[24] The Administrator, ‘Launch of Gang Resistance Education Training (GREAT) Program, Belize’ 20 January, 2011, accessed 21 January 2011, www.guaridan.bz/all-news/59-other-news/2757-launch-of-gangs-resistance-education...

[25] P Mazerolle et. al, op.cit.

[26] George Hillery, ‘Definitions of Community: Areas of Agreement”, Rural Sociology, 20, 2:111-123, 1995, p.118

[27] Emphasis in the original

[28] Ibid, p.117

[29] Oscar Newman, Defensible Space – Crime Prevention Through Urban Design, The Macmillan Company, New York, NY, USA, 1972,  p.3

[30] Ibid

[31] Ibid

[32] H Goldstein, Problem-Oriented Policing,1990, p.91

[33] P Colquhoun, 1797, op.cit, p.xii

[34] David Weisburd & Lorraine Green, ‘Policing Drug Hot spots: The Jersey City Drug Market Analysis Experiment’, Justice Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.711 – 735, pp. 713-4

[35]Joan Moore, Homeboys – Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, USA, 1978

[36] A Cohen, Delinquent Boys – The Culture of the Gang’, Free Press, Illinois, USA, 1955, p.30

[37] Ibid

[38]J Moore, 1978, p.37

[39] G de Becker, The Gift of Fear- and other survival signals that protect us from violence’, Dell Publishing, New York, USA,1997, p.89

[40] Bureau of Justice Assistance, ‘Understanding Community Policing – A Framework for Action’, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance Response Center, Washington DC, August 1994, p.vii

[41] Ibid

[42] Ibid

[43] Geoffrey Barnes, ‘Defining and Optimizing Displacement’, in Crime and Place, J Eck & D Weisbury (eds.), Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 4, pp.95 – 113, Criminal Justice Press, Willow Tree Press, 1995, p.104

[44] C. Ray Jeffery, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, SAGE Publications, Inc., California, USA, p.229

[45] Ibid, p.228

[46] Michael Levine, Broken Windows, Broken Business- How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards’, Warner Business Books, New York, NY, USA, 2005, p.1

[47] Ibid

[48] John Eck & David Weisburd, Crime and Place, Criminal Justice Press, New York, USA, 1995, pp.102-3

[49] George Kelling & Catherine Coles, Fixing Broken Windows- Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities’, Touchstone, New York, NY, USA,1996, p.15

[50] Ibid

[51] Robert Bursik, ‘Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency’, Criminology, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp.519-551

[52] Ibid, p.521

[53] H Goldstein, ‘Problem-Oriented Policing’,  p.79

[54] Eldon Miller, ‘Crime’s Threat to Land Value and Neighborhood Vitality, in P Brantingham & P Brantingham (eds.), Environmental Criminology, Waveland Press, Inc., Illinois, USA, 1981, p.117