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Community Policing Areas and Map |
Community policing is an organizational-wide philosophy
and management approach that
promotes
community, government, and police
partnerships; proactive problem-solving; and community engagement to address the causes of crime, fear of
crime, and other community issues. The
Melbourne Police Department is committed to the
philosophy of community oriented policing and to improving the quality of life for
all citizens of the
City of Melbourne.
Community Policing is based on the following
three components:
Citizen
Partnership,
Problem
Solving, and
Quality
Leadership. |
Click to view a
map of
the 10 policing areas. |
The City
of Melbourne is divided into ten geographical areas and two
districts, north and south. This
system is designed to divide the workload
throughout the City as equally as possible. A map is
available detailing the boundaries of each area in their respective
district. Areas 1-5 are North District and areas 6-10 are South
District.
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Citizen
Partnership |
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Community
Oriented Policing emphasizes that police and citizens
working together, are co-producers of safety and
order, and
cooperatively
identify and resolve
community problems. Open citizen participation
allows us to clearly understand community concerns,
as well as to narrowly and specifically identify
not only those factors that contribute to crime,
but also those elements that detract from the
quality of life in the community. Through citizen involvement, you become
a stake-holder in your police department.
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Problem
Solving |
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Traditional law
enforcement is reactive. That is, officers respond to
calls for service that are either in
progress, or have already occurred. This traditional police response to crime is severely limited by the fact
it relies entirely upon the apprehension of offenders as a
means to reduce crime. Rather than solely reacting to calls for
service, the Melbourne Police Department takes a
proactive approach to eliminate problems
that cause crime or allow it to occur. Community-oriented
policing provides us with a means to combat the
conditions and elements that allow crime to occur. By
solving these underlying problems, opportunities for
crime to occur are removed. This approach often times results
in nontraditional police responses such as the installation
of lights to illuminate a dark area, seeking revocation of
alcohol licenses of repeat violators, or removing abandoned vehicles to help clean up a neighborhood.
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Quality
Leadership |
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Quality
leadership is essential to the success of community
policing and is an integral part of our management training program. The Melbourne
Police Department is committed to developing quality leaders at
every level and in all areas of our organization. Developing the
most creative solutions to solve problems
and reduce crime requires all officers to
be encouraged and empowered to make decisions
that will alleviate crime problems.
Whenever possible,
decisions are made by the officers on the street who are
dealing with the problem at hand. This affords officers
the opportunity to help shape the area they work
in. Officers are continually challenged and held
accountable for the results of the problem solving efforts they initiate.
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