Public-Police Relation: Performance

and Perceptions

(insert names)

Abstract- This qualitative study primarily explored the lived experiences of police officers
and community members in Palao, Iligan City. The primary purpose was to evaluate and
assess the role of police community relation program and visibility program in the effective
building of communication, understanding of cultures, and mutual trust between law
enforcement officers and communities. The research question focused on how police officers
and citizens perceive the impact of these police strategies in enhancing communication,
understanding cultures, and mutual trust. The data collected used a combination of
convenience and a purposive sample of eight police officers and ten residents/community
members who participated in a qualitative survey via online interviews. Data were
inductively coded and subjected to thematic analysis. Key findings revealed police officers
and community members believe that strategies have increased police visibility, improved the
level of engagement in a meaningful dialogue, and created awareness of cultures between
police and residents. In addition, it has improved community trust and public support with
crime, safety, transparency, and accountability. Also, findings revealed that participants
believe that this has achieved removing barriers to community collaboration with law
enforcement. Finally, the participants proposed developing a strategy or goal in this program
to focus on community representation. Meaning participants would like to see more
community members are getting represented, which they believe can increase the level of
trust between police officers and community members. The results of this study contribute to
a positive social change by offering practical strategies for stakeholders in community, to
foster collaborative relationships between police officers and community members.

Keywords: Public relation, Police, Performance, Perceptions, Enforcement

 CHAPTER 1

1.1 Introduction

Positive engagement between police officers and community members is a critical

issue. Recognizing this within the police practice is significant to improving the relationship
between the police and communities. Police officers must become more responsive to all
community members, which in turn, should make officers less likely to be abusive toward
marginalized groups (Schlosser, 2011). One of the most critical issues in police training is
preparing police officers to successfully work with diverse communities and creating a
positive relationship between police officers and the citizens they serve. For the most part,
police officers want this positive relationship. Most police officers strive for this support of
the public to be more effective social control agents. It seems more beneficial to create this
positive relationship so that officers become more responsive to all community members
(Schlosser, 2011, p. 3).

The importance of streamlining communication, understanding cultures, and trust

between police officers and community members is critical. For example, through two-way
training, police officers train on information about cultural groups residing in their cities and
teaching community members about police procedures and laws to improve community
members’ knowledge. It explored the experiences of police personnel and city residents
regarding the Police community relation program and on how it has influenced the
relationship (communication, understanding, and trust) between the parties.

This study examined if this program bridges the gap between law enforcement and
residents and improves the rapport in the communities. Interviews were conducted with
police officers and residents via online at their convenience and in purposive sampling. The
focus of these interviews was to understand and learn about their experiences and
expectations of one another. The data allowed identifying areas that work well and areas that
still need improvement in police and the community. In the end, it gave a chance to deliver
recommendations to both parties. This study provided an opportunity for law enforcement
and the community to build a stronger foundation on their relationships, which would create
an implication of this research for a positive social change.

1.2 Conceptual/ Theoretical Framework

Moore (1992) and Greene (2000) identified two predominant philosophical models, that
which valued fighting crime and that which preferred community policing. The success of the
crime fighting model was most often measured by arrest statistics, while the success of the
community policing model traditionally measured the community’s perception of safety in its
neighborhoods. This same research did not conclude they were mutually exclusive. In fact,
the vision statement for 21st century policing included traditional crime fighting law
enforcement techniques as well as “prevention, problem solving, community engagement and
partnerships.” However, one researcher in particular (Ponsaers, 2001) found that
organizational models within police organizations, such as the crime-fighting model, and
community policing model clearly reflected the values, norms and objectives of the
community in which they existed. His findings also suggested that the models could change
from one to another over time but often overlap, the differing elements of the models
resulting in conflicts between the two.

Stacey’s and Griffin’s (2005) work entitled A Complexity Perspective on Researching

Organizations suggested that organizations could be processes of human relating, and that
everything organizational happened in these every day, consensual, yet ultimately conflicted
and competitive dealings. They further suggested that the everyday processes of
communication, relations of power and choices people made influenced their abilities to cope
with the uncertainty and complexity associated with organizational life. During this process,
future interactions were constructed—and in real time. This concept acted as the foundation
for this exploration of police leadership and community policing.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Three decades of research, from the 2000 through the 20’s, indicated the inadequacy of
crime fighting alone (Moore, 1992). Although a new community policing model was
introduced nationally to address this problem during the 19’s and 20’s. Community policing
research conducted since then has illustrated increasingly that, although researchers believe
that it represents a positive paradigm shift from crime fighting to problem solving (Seagrave,
1996), police leadership may lack the tools it needs to accomplish its new mission (Adams,
Rohe, & Arcury, 2002). Other researchers (Maguire & Katz, 2002) studied the apparent
conflict between community policing reforms and traditional policing and found that the
conflict threatened the internal power structure of police organizations.

One might conclude that, like many of society’s organizations, police and the
communities they serve are inextricably linked and interdependent (Stacey & Griffin, 2005).
This notion has been recognized as collaborative policing, or, as used in this study,
community policing (Moore, 1992; Skolnick & Bayley, 1988). One might hypothesize that
because of this interconnectedness, as implied by the application of complexity science
theory to the social sciences, a more collaborative police leadership style might result in
greater success. The rates at which crimes are prevented and solved, as well as the perception
about how safe a given neighborhood is by its residents, might all improve.

Of course, the nature of community policing requires collaboration. While it may

seem uncomplicated to the outside observer, achieving this connection requires great effort.
Many police chiefs, now longtime veterans, ascended the ranks of their respective
departments at a time where hierarchy and autocracy defined the field. It was a structure they
navigated with great dexterity and, at this point in their careers, has become embedded deeply
into their professional lives

Accordingly, while they may preach a more progressive, inclusive model of policing,
internally they may be practicing the antiquated, hierarchical yet entirely familiar form of
policing with which they are more comfortable. Police struggle to reconcile these
incongruities (Maguire & Katz, 2002). The phenomenon suggests a lack of internal and
external connectedness and presents significant challenges to their ability to achieve their
community policing goals. Crimes go unsolved, crime prevention efforts are stymied and,
most troublingly, the community feels disconnected from its officers. From there it is easy for
citizens to feel both less protected and valued.

1.4 Significance of the study

The purpose of this study was to explore urban police and community perceptions about
the relationship between leadership and community policing. It investigated also the extent to
which police implicitly understood their organizations as complex adaptive entities and
examined their understandings of the organizational characteristics of interdependence and
adaptation as they related to the societal environment and the police and community as one
entity. The exploration of the extent to which these police understood how collaborative
leadership related to the interdependent elements of community and policing was designed to
shed light on the problem of implementing community policing.
1.5 Scope and limitation of the study

This research was a qualitative study designed to explore the perceptions of police and
community regarding the relationship between leadership and community policing. The
participant sampled represented only five police officers and five community members.

Although the sample number of five was sufficient for this type of qualitative investigation,
the findings could not be applied across the larger populations of police and community as a
whole. Being able to generalize based on the information accumulated, however, was not the
goal of this qualitative inquiry.

1.6 Definition of terms

Police: either top administrator or members of the Philippine National Police assigned
in Palao Iligan city

Community: for the purpose of this study, it will refer to an interacting population of
various individuals in a common location (Webster, 1981).

Community Policing: the philosophy that imposed a new responsibility on police to

devise appropriate ways for engaging the public. This included active outreach, a
reallocation of officers from emergency response mode to proactive crime prevention
mode, notation of public feedback and collaborative work to solve other, perhaps less
apparent, problems plaguing the neighborhood. Lastly, it included a decentralization
of police command such that each area’s needs were met accordingly and in a timely
fashion. (Skolnick & Bayley, 1988).

Complex Adaptive Entities: from a biological sciences perspective, complex

adaptive entities were all living creatures, from single-celled animals to infinitely
complex humans. As applied to the social sciences, complex adaptive entities were
informal organizations (such as crowds) and formal organizations (such as
universities or police departments). Complex adaptive entities shared a set of
characteristics, whether they were being described as systems in physics, biology or
the social sciences. The twelve identified characteristics shared by complex adaptive
entities were: attractors that limit growth, strange attractors, autopoesis, dissipative
structures or open exchange, emergence, fitness peaks, fractals, networks, non-linear
dynamics, phase transitions, sensitive dependence, and spirituality (Bloch, 2005).
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The review of the literature was structured to provide the reader with a summary of
studies and research on community policing, leadership and complexity theory. The main
themes were addressed in the following order: (a) community policing; (b) public sector and
law enforcement leadership, both practice and theory; (c) organizational models and
community policing and (d) complexity theory and leadership. There was a wealth of
information available regarding this new concept of policing.

Community Policing Defined

This section identified research on the community policing phenomenon. Researchers

identified explored it and shed light on its core, purpose and efficacy. Community policing,
as originally represented during the 1970s, suggested a more generalized approach to
addressing social ailments rather than a specific program approach. Soon after the emergence
of the new community policing model, researchers attempted to reveal the most accurate
description of community policing as managerial and organizational as opposed to
programmatic.

The Implementation of Community Policing and Its Efficacy

Skogan (1994) explored whether citizens wanted closer contact with the police. He
reasoned that, although definitions of community policing included the principle of
collaborative problem solving, he was unsure how active citizens were in the problem solving
process or whether the community even wanted the closer contact with the police that this
required. Skogan used telephone survey interviews to conduct his research. The numbers
came from a combination of those listed in the directory and were randomly generated from
the areas in which the prototype community policing programs had been implemented.

Ninety citizen organizations were studied in the Chicago area, 58 in Rogers Park and
45 in Morgan Park. Notably, the surveys were conducted both before and after the program
was implemented. The purpose was to assess any change in how aware the citizenry was of
the program. Questions probed how much, if any, knowledge they had of the community
policing program, if they had attended any meetings pertaining to it, who, if anyone, took the
opportunity to participate and if anything had come of the meetings. Skogan found that the
public’s degree of awareness was not significantly higher in the prototype areas and revealed
why there was such an insignificant increase in citizen participation overall. It turned out the
meetings did not conform to community policing model at all. Officers sat in the back,
disengaged and participated only begrudgingly; there was a readily apparent distrust between
the police and citizen advisory committee. Lastly, both favored and were more familiar with
the traditional enforcement model.

In 1997, Kessler and Borella researched whether community policing worked and
how to evaluate its efficacy. They focused their study on its specific programs in
Birmingham, Alabama. These programs were composed of a number of activities such as
community and church meetings, during which they would discuss neighborhood problems,
road blocks, saturation policing, door to door contacts and neighborhood cleanups. They
measured the Birmingham Police Department’s calls for service data before and after
implementing the programs. They tested also the differences in odds that the calls would
report a violent act as a result of the four interventions.
 Jesilow’s, Meyer’s, Parsons’, and Tegeler’s 1998 study asked whether crime statistics,
which were the traditional way of measuring police success, could effectively reflect
community policing efficacy. The purpose was to measure success using another barometer
besides crime statistics. They posited that successful community policing programs decreased
the public’s complaints about crime. They used this theory as a framework to conduct a three
year quantitative study of a newly formed community policing district in Santa Ana,
California. In 1990 and 1992, using phone and face to face interviews with the neighborhood
participants to measure the success of the community policing program, they created a
variable that consisted of the total number of complaints listed after a participant was asked
about what they liked least about where they lived. They then used the complaints as a
predictor of negative attitudes toward police and applied this variable to each of the six police
districts before and after the introduction of the community-policing program.

Jesilow, Meyer, Parsons, and Tegeler found that community-policing programs

decreased citizen complaints. The researchers acknowledged, however, that local economic
conditions could not be discounted as having significant influence on the results. Moreover,
complaints dropped dramatically in some categories, such as vehicle speeding and traffic
violations. Interestingly, they did identify difficulties with the community policing model.
They found that the rights of some could be trampled because local standards for law
enforcement could result in unequal enforcement citywide. Also, regular beats and more
autonomy could result in more corruption.

Public Sector Leadership

Van Wart (2003) explored public sector leadership theory and pondered how the
mission, organizational culture, structure and types of problems all complicated studying
contextual leadership. He reviewed approximately 123 sources of literature on general and
public sector leadership. Thereafter, he compared them to literature he studied about the
private sector. Van Wart found that external constituencies and the common good were the
fundamental foci of public sector administrators. He noted also that it employed less
sophisticated technology.

Moreover, studies in leadership ethics provided little more than admonitions about
being honest, responsive, courageous and prudent. Lastly, it tended to be more humanistic in
orientation and less reliant on directive styles. Van Wart found that mainstream literature on
the subject was multidisciplinary and dominated by business administration models and
psychology, while detailed dynamics of public sector leadership were largely lacking. Lastly,
he concluded that there was little to no research examining public sector leadership models
that defined relationship competencies in different environmental contexts.

Law Enforcement Leadership Practice and Theory

Witte, Travis, and Langworthy (1990) wanted to find out whether police employees
accepted the concept of participatory leadership. To answer this question, they distributed
surveys to 14 very small, small and medium-sized police agencies in southwestern Ohio. For
the study, a very small department was comprised 4 to 15 officers, a small department was
comprised 16 to 45 officers and a medium department was comprised 80 to 120 officers.
Researchers received 153 questionnaires. The low (54%) response rate as well as the lack of
sex and ethnic diversity was cause for some concern regarding the ability to generalize
results.

More specifically, the researchers wanted to know if police personnel saw value in
participatory leadership, to what degree police leaders used participatory management and if
leaders and line officers shared perceptions regarding participatory management. Witte,
Travis, and Langworthy found that all survey respondents found value in participatory
management. However, few believed their departments were adequately participative and
cohesive. Only those in leadership from small departments were satisfied with their current
levels of participatory leadership. They found also that, although high level police leaders
believed they were using participatory management, line officers believed the opposite and,
because police leaders were generally drawn from the ranks of police officers within the same
agency, there was very little opportunity to develop new and innovative leadership styles.
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

This is a qualitative research design to explore this study’s research questions. The
information-rich interviews conducted provided an opportunity for significant learning about
a phenomenon and opened up new territory for further research (Patton, 2002). Data sources
for this study included semi-structured interviews, copies of documents from their
departments that they used and believed were relevant to community policing and completed
participant background questions.

Using qualitative methods in researching organizations was a credible technique;

specifically, the benefits of the complex responsive process abounded (Stacey & Griffin,
2005). This process involved the researcher’s narration of ongoing experiences combined
with contemplations on significant themes “emerging in stories of their own experience of
participating with others to create the patterns of interaction that are organizations” (Stacey &
Griffin, 2005, p. 2).

3.2 Locale and Sample of the study

This is a qualitative study through key informant interviewing via online platform
interviews involving 5 police officers and 5 community residents. Study participant’s ages
ranged from 35 years of age and older. The interview guide was the primary instrument for
data collection. The questions were open-ended, and shared answers were recorded. The data
collected were transcribed manually. The focus was on the objectivity of the study setting
aside biases and allowing newness of the experience. The process included an interpretive
style of interviewing with open-ended questioning to obtain the study participants'
perceptions.

3.3 Data Gathering Instrument and Procedure

Study participants could reflect and speak freely about their experiences in a relaxed
atmosphere (Square-Smith, 2017, p. 70). Detailed notes from each interview for further
analysis of major themes were taken and transcribed to keep discussions on track and provide
consistency to ensure the influence of any biases kept at a minimum; the open-ended
questions were well worded and sequenced (Square-Smith, 2017, p. 71). This form of the
interview process was suitable for the case study as it created an environment to understand
participants’ experiences and behaviors better. Also, it encouraged participants to provide
helpful information for the research and ensure flexibility with the question order and
clarification if needed.
 CHAPTER 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

OF FINDINGS

4.1 Presentation and Analysis of Findings

Based on the interviews, the majority of the key informants believed there is
average/fair trust between police officers and community members in Palao Iligan City.
Seven themes emerged regarding how they perceive the police community relation program
and how it has enhanced communication.

Theme 1: Interaction with community members

Participants were asked to share their experiences interacting with their

neighborhoods. All participants expressed a positive experience. In addition, many
participants indicated that they feel welcomed in the community, and most community
members are willing to help if there is a need.

Ks-2, a palao resident, mentioned, “I would say my experience has been good interacting
with my cultural group. However, for the other cultural group apart from my own, I found
that because of different culture, both myself and the person I’m communicating with some
time we have to change the style of communication because we do not understand each
other”.

Kp-1, who was a police officer, also asserted the following: “part of what drew me to this
area was having grown up here and knowing that it was a pretty close-knit community, it is
not a big city. I find myself living here because the people who live, work, and visit here seem
to be just good; you know they are just good people at heart. It is a good community with
open-minded people who you would like to be around, and they do value each other”.

Ks-2, who was a resident in Palao, also mentioned, “ my experience varies, just like everyone,
people are different, but overall I would say the interaction has been okay, but I don’t get
involved with things unless people are crappy about something, but again generally in every
cultural group I have interacted people are somewhat okay.”

Theme 2: Interaction with police officers

Participants shared the experiences they have in interaction with police officers in the
city. Several participants indicated having a good interaction with law enforcement with no
fear. The following descriptions depict how each participant dealt with the theme while
living, work or worship in Palao as part of their lived experiences.

Ks-4, a resident, So far, I am enjoying the work with Police Department is doing, specifically
trying to connect with community members. I like the police chief.

Kp-5 was a police officer; he asserted the following about the interaction he is having with
his fellow law enforcement officers; “the interaction is okay, but it has been a little tougher
sometimes during this pandemic. People have a lot of anger against us right now; they
distrust us and the service that we provide. It is an obligation to us to build that trust back,
but at the same time, I believe it is a little bit of the obligation of the community to understand
that all police officers are different as human despite having the guiding principles to their
job.
Ks-3 was a resident, the participant expresses the following sentiments when asked about the
experience he had interacting with police officers; “my experiences have been good, despite
my first encounter was a traffic stop where the police officer gave me a warning due to my
speed but other than that, I would say police officers are very friendly, and they are trying to
serve the community with high integrity and build that trust with the community members.”

Ks-4 was a Crystal resident, when asked, she mentioned the following; “I had a chance to
work with police officers in the same building, I would say, they have all been super
professional and explains things to me when I have questions, they are awesome, and I have
a positive professional relationship with police officers, I wish other community members to
see that side of police instead of just following on what is shown in the news or displayed in
social media.”

Theme 3: Communication between police officers and community members

Participants were asked to share their perspectives or opinions about effective

communication between police officers and community members. Each participant was asked
to define effective communication between police officers and community members and
share his/her insight on how the strategies have enhanced the communication between police
officers and community members in Palao, Iligan City. This is what most of the participants
mentioned about this theme.

Kp-4 was a police officer, he provided an interesting view in responding to this theme in the
following way; “this is a tough topic, and I will answer it from my definition or my
perception, but the reason that it is a difficult topic, I think communication is viewed or
muddied by social media and false stories that don’t contain 100% truth. And maybe are for
personal agenda which instead of relaying factual, so it is a difficult subject. But I define
effective communication as transparency between police officers and the community instead
of hiding something.

Ks-3 was a resident. He expressed the following sentiments when asked about effective
communication between police officers and citizens and how he sees the strategies of police
community relation program in enhancing effective communication: “well the effective
communication has to go both ways so. And that is the purpose of this to create a forum for
communication. Effective communication comes from having the avenues in which to
communicate and the environment in which to communicate. Under the tension of a police
situation, that is not going to be a great time to be doing, but in the forums that we have in
with and some of the other police events that are a great place, so I guess for effective
communication to happen there has to be a supportive environment. These have created that
forum or environment, but the group has to be much diversified and have a representative
from every community around the city”.

Ks-2 was a resident; the participant expressed the following sentiments when asked about
effective communication between police officers and community members: “people have
different backgrounds and come from different places with different cultures, so for effective
communication to happen, there has to be an engagement for both parties. Engagement
should be the key for effective communication, meaning people should be outreaching to
different groups of people, and religions all the time to have a sense of where these people
are coming from and how to talk to them and appreciate their background. So, the key to
effective communication is engagement and being open-minded to hear and learn about
people’s cultures.
 Theme 4: Mutual trust between police officers and community members

This theme was repeated several times during the interview process by the majority of the
participants. Trust has been shown as a significant concern between police officers and
community members. During data collection, this subject was brought up as asked to the
participant to define mutual trust between police and community and how police strategies
help enhance mutual trust for both parties, which is what participants mentioned.

Kp-4 was a police officer. He asserted an interesting view in responding to the theme of
mutual trust between police officers and community members. This is what he mentioned: “I
think that mutual trust comes means respect and understanding of one another. Police
officers have a very powerful position because we can take people’s rights away when we
arrest them and take their freedom away. That is not something we take for granted, we know
that is a very powerful thing, and it is a very helpless feeling for the people that have been
arrested. If we have all this power in this position and are being respectful of that power and
other people’s rights and how they feel, trust can happen, so it is coming down to respect and
communication. I think community relation strategies have helped to facilitate the trust
between police officers and community members; I think the strategies and conversations
have benefited both sides”.

Ks-3 was a resident, the participant expressed a key and central point that other participants
interviewed also articulated: “Trust takes time, and it has to be earned and not forced, there
has to be a clear understanding of what both sides are coming from which can help to build
trust. The presence of police in the community is a good step towards building that trust
because it creates a platform where both community members and police officers can share
information and help each other to understand what is going on around the city, I believe in
police visibility to take us in a right direction of creating a mutual trust between law
enforcement and community members”.

Kp-5 was a police officer. This participant described the theme of trust in the following way:
“Trust is making sure the citizen feels comfortable enough to call me or someone from my
team to be able to talk about a bad experience or a good experience they have had, and the
same applies to me. For example, if something happened between one of my officers and a
citizen, and I am getting one side of the story, but yet we watched body camera video, and it
is a completely different side of the story, I would think that we would be able to trust one
another, bring that person in so that we can show them the video, so we are all on the same
page, that is what I call to trust, and I believe strategies have enhanced the mutual trust
between community members and us”.

Theme 5: police visibility impact on daily living, working, or studying

The participants shared how police presence and community relation program has helped
them in their daily living or working experience in the city. This was brought up by many
participants when I asked them to share the living experience in the city. It can be noted the
different experiences which were shared and how this has impacted them personally. Here are
the experiences which the participants shared.

Ks was a resident. Responding to the theme, the participant mentioned: “Their presence led
me to have a great appreciation for the work police officers are doing. I can only imagine
how difficult their work is, how stressful it is, and the fact that they put their lives out there on
the line. I got a chance through this program to do a ride-along with a police officer, which
opened my eye to how the police officer handles different issues on the road. On the other
hand, this showed me how much work still needs to be done to understand, so I would say it
has opened my eye and changed my perspective on how to engage myself with police officers
the community members”.

Theme 7: Police and Community relationship

The participants emphasized this theme. Each participant's primary concern was about having
a good relationship between police officers and community members. There were different
perspectives about the initiatives either police department or community members have taken
or should take to strengthen their relationship. This is how participants shared their insights
on this theme.

Ks-1 was a resident. She asserted this theme in the following way: “One of the things the
police department has done, that I thought was very beneficial to community members was
during citizens academy classes. Those classes were very well done and informative. It was a
long class that lasted for a week. I was surprised that many community members attended,
and police officers got a chance to share what they do in different situations and what is
expected from the citizens. I learned a lot from those classes, but I think there is still a need
to do more outreach in the community. Police officers and community members must
frequently engage in just a casual environment instead of waiting for an incident to happen,
and then people gather around with anger. I think the best way to build a relationship is to
have transparency on both sides”.

Ks-2 was a resident. This participant has been volunteering in community events, and he is
working so hard to bring cultural awareness to the city. On this theme of the relationship
between police officers and community members, the participant noted the following: “I
think the police department has many programs which have partnered with the community to
create a learning place for community members to engage and learn about the law
enforcement work. Through these programs like juvenile lectures can create an environment
for conversation to happen. A mutual understanding and trust can be formed through it,
resulting in a positive relationship between police officers and community members. I always
encourage community members to volunteer and engage themselves in the city to get a
chance to meet police officers, and I think that is the way to build strong relationships”.

4.2 Interpretation of Findings

This study believes that there a two-way symmetric communication between police
departments and the community where there is mutual understanding between an
organization and its environment. This is very consistent with the previous studies. Two-way
symmetric communication is often prescribed as the most effective model of external
communication because both organizations and their public benefit. The purpose of this
model is to establish mutual understandings between an organization and its environment.
Communication takes the form of a dialogue with the possibility that both the organization
and its publics will change. Successful communication in this model does not necessarily
require mutual change because the communication process constitutes an end in itself (Kent
& Taylor, 1998). Using dialogue, the organization can enhance its legitimacy and autonomy
through interactions with its publics, including those that pose both threats and opportunities
to the organization (Sutcliffe, 2001). There must be a mutual understanding between both
parties. The police department (as an organization) should be fully knowledgeable of the
community in which it serves. Both police officers and community members should engage
in meaningful dialogue and understand where everyone is coming from.
 Researchers opine that the more citizens are willing to share with law enforcement,
the safer the community will become (Wells, Schafer, & Varano, 2006). The research shows
that agencies that invest time in diversity education and that become familiar with cultural
differences are more apt to resolve conflicts and prevent crime (Massinger & Wood, 2016, p.
259). The educational community can provide training opportunities in critical thinking and
interpersonal communication skills for officers to have the needed decision-making skill set
and de-escalation techniques (Safi & Burrell, 2007). Community trust is an established and
highly honored relationship between an agency and the citizens it has been entrusted to serve.
It is the key to effective policing, and law enforcement executives bear the primary
responsibility for their departments’ honesty, integrity, legitimacy, and competence (Police
Integrity, 1997). To build community trust, it is incumbent on the chief of police and
managing supervisors to foster an environment within their departments in which ethical
behavior is expected, and everyone is responsible for meeting those expectations
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary

This qualitative research study represents an investigation of the research question:

How has the police community relation strategies enhanced communication, understanding of
cultures, and mutual trust between police officers and community members in Palao, Iligan
City. The study focused on gaining a better understanding of law enforcement officers' and
multicultural residents’ insights and how it enhances the relationship among police and
community members, which can ultimately improve the safety and livability of the city. Due
to the nature of the research question, a case study approach was considered and utilized by
the researcher.

After completing this qualitative research study, it found that safety and livability are
the primary concerns of many residents. Therefore, it is pivotal for law enforcement agencies
and communities to work together in building safer communities. This can be attained
through a strong partnership between two parties, and this is what the police relation
mechanism comes in.

5.2 Conclusion

The problem was the extent to which police leadership understood and utilized the
community policing model in light of the prominence of the historical hierarchical model of
police leadership. The demands of community policing suggested a need for leadership that
enabled collaboration and connection between the community and police in order to solve
successfully various problems. Because most chiefs of police ascended through the ranks of a
system that valued hierarchy and autocracy, they struggled.

5.3 Recommendation

It suggested that the traditional police model, where the number of arrests was an
indicator for success, did not seem to work at crime solving. Further research into how
narrative, conversation, and relationships influence the organizational design of police
departments is also highly recommended. Results from such research may identify methods
by which to address incongruities between current police organizational structure and the
future vision of the community-policing model. Findings from this study identified also the
need to research police department policy, vision and mission documents in order to better
understand whether these documents reflected accurately the department’s purported
commitment to community policing.

This study has helped bring to light other phenomena that need further study. It
remains unclear of the willingness and commitment the community and other civic agencies
have in better understanding community policing and their roles in working collaboratively
with the police department to achieve crime prevention efficacy. It is recommended that
further study be conducted to better understand how the community and other civic agencies
see their role in community policing. The results of these studies would inform officers and
community leaders of what methods they needed to develop to provide the community with
the greatest degree of protection and engagement possible.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Akwasi, A., & Attah, Y. (2016). Constructivism Philosophical Paradigm: Implication

for Research, Teaching, and Learning. Global Journal of Arts Humanities and Social
Sciences(Vol 4, No.10), 9. Retrieved from
www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/Constructivism-Philosophical-Paradigm-
Implication-for-Research-Teaching-and-Learning.pdf

2. Ben-Porat, G. (2008). Policing multicultural states: Lessons from the Canadian model.
Policing and Society. Policing and Society Vol. 18, No. 4, 411-425.

3. Bertero, C. (2015). Developing qualitative methods – or “same old wine in a new

bottle.”. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-being, 1-10.

4. Bureau of Justice, A. (1994). Understanding Community Policing. Washington: U.S.

Department of Justice.

5. Catanzariti, D. (2018). Police Officer Perspectives on Public Views of Police, Current

Events Involving Police, and the Impact on Police-Community Relationships. Seton
Hall University Dissertations and Theses.

6. Chappell, A. T. (2008). The Philosophical Versus Actual Adoption of Community

Policing: A Case Study. Criminal Justice Review.

7. Connell, N. M., Miggans, K., & McGloin, J. M. (2008). Can a Community Policing
Initiative Reduce Serious Crime?: A Local Evaluation. Police Quarterly.

8. Cordner, G. W., & Scarborough, K. E. (2010). Police Administration. New

Providence: Mattew Bender & Company Inc.

9. Cossyleon, J. E. (2019, May 15). Community Policing. Research Gate, pp. 1-5.

10. Creswell, W. J. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design (2nd ed.). Thousands
of Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

11. Diamond, D., & Weiss, D. M. (2004). Advancing Community Policing Through
Community Governance: A Framework Document. Washington: Community
Oriented Policing Services.

12. Duffee, D. E., Renauer, B. C., Scott, J. D., Chermak, S., & McGarrell, E. F. (2006).
Community Building Measures: How Police and Neighborhood groups can measure
their collaboration. Washington: U.S. Department of Justice.

13. Headley, A. M. (2018). Understanding the organizational factors that impact police-
community relations. Florida: Dissertations & Theses Global. (2193409694).
 APPENDIX A

INTERVIEW GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. How are your experiences interacting with police officers in the community?
2. How were your experiences in interaction with police officers in the city?
3. What is your perspective or opinion about effective communication between police
officers and community members?
4. What is the level of your trust towards the police officers?
5. What can you say about the importance of police presence and community relation
program and how it helped in your daily living or working experience in the city?
6. How significant to have a good relationship between police officers and community
members?