101 things to do: Unravelling and interpreting community policing

Abstract

There is a lively and long-running debate in the literature about what community policing is and how it works in everyday practice. We contribute to this expanding body of knowledge by minutely sifting and classifying the things neighbourhood coordinators (a kind of community officers) do in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our endeavours have resulted in a list of 101 tasks they perform. A ranking of tasks was printed on small plasticized cards, enabling neighbourhood coordinators and their managers to identify core and peripheral tasks. Core tasks include keeping contact with citizens, local safety issues (supervising the neighbourhood, signalling small problems, handling accidents and incidents, and conflict mediation), administrative duties and providing the police team with information. Peripheral tasks mostly take the shape of supportive (managerial) work. In addition, we interviewed neighbourhood coordinators and police ward managers to gain their views on community policing.