The Need for Relationship-Based Policing

By Megan Webster | June 10, 2026 |
Community policing - an Hispanic police officer conversing with two adolescents. The African-American boy is a 14 year old teenager. His friend is 12 years old. They are sitting side by side on steps outside a building.

In recent years, law enforcement agencies across the United States have increasingly recognized the importance of strengthening community trust, improving community relations, and building sustainable partnerships with the community members they serve. Traditional community policing and community-oriented policing services (COP) have long been the primary frameworks for these efforts, and research has shown that COP…

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