Page 5 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

Proactive Policing

Proactive policing is the practice of deterring criminal activity by showing police presence and
engaging the public to learn their concerns, thereby preventing crime from taking place in the first

place. In contrast, responding to a complaint after a crime has been committed is reactive
policing.

Proactive policing focuses on stopping crime before it happens, with the goal of reducing crime
and the fear of it, improving the lives of citizens in the community, and Improving the relationship

between the police department and the community it serves. To that end, police departments may
employ a variety of tactics. For example, law enforcement may increase foot patrols in a

community so that police officers readily and frequently interact with residents to form positive
relationships, building communication and trust. To reduce organized crime and drug dealing,
police officers may rely on informants, undercover investigations and secret surveillance. To steer

juveniles away from a life of crime, police departments may establish athletic leagues and work
with schools to combat truancy, drug crimes and other offenses common among youth.

Proactive policing can be contrasted with reactive police work, or police work in which police
officers are simply responding to citizens' calls for service. Police responses to 911 calls or calls
about loose animals in the neighborhood are a few examples of reactive police work. Simply put,

proactive policing is police action that occurs before a crime is committed; reactive policing is
activity that occurs after a crime has occurred.

Broken Windows: One of the Proactive Policing Strategies

The broken windows theory is a criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of
urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior. The theory states that

maintaining and monitoring urban environments to prevent small crimes such as vandalism, public
drinking, and toll-jumping helps to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness, thereby
preventing more serious crimes from happening.

The broken windows model of policing was first described in 1982 in a seminal article by Wilson
and Kelling. Briefly, the model focuses on the importance of disorder (e.g., broken windows) in

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