Community policing stands at a critical crossroads, facing fundamental challenges that will determine whether it evolves into genuine collaborative problem-solving or remains trapped as political rhetoric. Based on current trends and structural realities, the future direction appears increasingly bifurcated between authentic implementation in some engaged, progressive communities and continued co-optation as a public relations tool in most others.

Nearly four decades after community policing’s formal emergence in the 1980s, reviews of community policing efficacy reveal a troubling pattern: Most departments have adopted the language without adopting the substance. I spent nearly 17 years with the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, most of which was overse

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