The relationship between the police and the communities they serve has not always been the most productive. Against the backdrop of the tumultuous 1960s era, when the nation's collective unrest over various then-current events, ranging from the social upheaval of the civil rights movement to the widely unpopular and escalating conflict in Vietnam, spilled over into On the streets of American cities seemingly everywhere, police forces, lacking experience in crowd control, often found themselves encountering violent clashes with these different groups, earning them a reputation as oppressive organizations ( Schmalleger, 2014, p. This reputation still works against the police today by causing deep distrust of law enforcement in various communities. In response, police departments have abandoned the old-fashioned legalistic style of policing, marked by strict adherence and enforcement to the letter. of the law, to what we now call community policing. The United States Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) formally defines community policing as "a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively respond to immediate conditions that give rise to public safety concerns such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime” (nd, p. 3). In other words, police departments attempt to partner not only with citizens in the communities they serve, but also with members of private and public organizations to hear their concerns directly and then include them in the resolution of these problems in various ways. According to Schmalleger, some examples of this strategy in w...... middle of article ......n (10th ed.). Pembroke, NC: Pearson. Wang, W. and Lumb R. (2012). Integrating Eastern Curriculum Features into Western Community Policing: Balancing Individual Liberty and Collective Well-Being. Lowe, T. and Innes, M. (2012). Can we speak with confidence? Community intelligence and neighborhood policing v2.0 Policing & Society, 22, 295-316. Terpstra, J., (2011). Governance and accountability in community policing. Social Change in Crime Law, 55, 87-104. doi:10.1007/s10611-011-9272-yKlinenberg, E. (2001). Bowling alone, police together. Social Justice, 28(3), 75-80. Community Policing Definition - COPS (nd) The Public Strategies Group. (nd). Joseph Brann | Public Strategy Group, retrieved from http://psg.us/team/joseph-brann/Miami-Dade County. (2014). Community Information and Outreach - 3-1-1 Response Center, retrieved from http://www.miamidade.gov/information/311.asp