Page 7 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

4. To reduce crime and fear of crime, officers and agencies need to communicate effectively with
the communities they serve and increase levels of trust between citizens and officers in these

areas.

5. By developing effective strategies, law enforcement can help communities project the idea that

crime will not be tolerated.

Criticisms:

Some people argue that policing should rightfully be restricted to reactive policing with a corollary

that proactive policing is improper, if not illegal. Such arguments posit that investigating a crime
before it happens is outside the purview of policing altogether and introduces the realms of

parenting, education, employment, social integration, social welfare and social capital, among
other concepts, none of which is within the purview of the police. In the context of Broken
Windows metaphor, is it the job of the police to repair every broken window in town? Is it the job

of police to erase all graffiti or improve street and park lighting?

Certainly not. Therefore, the Broken Windows metaphor shines a spotlight on just how

inappropriate it is to consider the police force a solution to preventing crime. To the police force,
every problem implies need for punishment or the threat of punishment to coerce compliance.
Thus, because the police do not repair broken windows, they issue a citation to the resident or

building owner, which becomes simultaneously a criminal violation and extortion of money.
Should that citation not be paid, the "crime" now escalates. Similarly, as was determined in

Ferguson, MO, the city uses traffic, building, noise and other minor violations to extort money from
residents with a threat of further criminal prosecution and jail should they fail to pay or show up to
court. In this context, proactive policing is arguably immoral in a free society. A great example of

proactive policing going horribly awry is the now well-known metaphor of the school to prison
pipeline.

Civil Liberties

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