Community Policing

Community policing, as the name suggests, is deeply rooted in the belief that crime and public safety issues are a shared responsibility between police and the community. As such, communities play an integral role in any policing strategy and should be engaged as active partners in the delivery of police programs and services operating within the traditional policing model structure (e.g., from crime prevention and education to intelligence, investigation, enforcement and victim support).

Policing in partnership with the community calls for broad community involvement in the identification of community problems and policing needs, as well as in the design and implementation of solutions. In a community policing capacity, the police strive to be more than mere ‘reactive’ agents of law enforcement. Rather, emphasis is placed on positive police-community interaction to foster dialogue, build relationships and ultimately mobilize partnerships within the community that will result in a more collective and proactive response to local crime and safety issues.

At the heart of the community policing philosophy is consultation between the RCMP and community stakeholders – local residents and business owners, community non-profit organizations, City Council and other public sector agencies at all levels of government. In Surrey, this is achieved through a variety of mechanisms, including regular RCMP community consultative group meetings at the District level and Detachment participation on Integrated Service Teams and other community-based task forces or working group committees.