Perhaps the most cogent definition of "law enforcement" was contained in Sir Robert Peel's assessment of the role police play in society. In 1829, Peel penned nine main principles he believed applied to "modern" policing. His seventh principle states:
The police at all times should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police; the police are the only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of community of welfare (Worsnop, 1993, p. 107).
The law enforcement community is still very aware of its need to engage in public relations. However, in almost all agencies, the use of the phrase "public relations" is supplanted by the term "community relations." As it applies to law enforcement, community relations is thought of as the proactive (as opposed to reactive) involvement of the police department in the life of the community it serves. The goal of effective community relations programs is to bring the public to a better understanding of the problems both the police and the community face with regard to crime and public safety issues.
Current strategies in police-community relations have been shaped, in large part, by the breakdown of "professional policing" in the wake of incidents such as the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles in 1991, and the turbulent times of civil, social, and political unrest in the 1960s and 1970s. From the earliest days of the legendary "Peelers" in nineteenth-century London to the present, the police have often struggled with a complete understanding of their role in society.
Even in the 1990s, the public's image of policing is still being shaped by the entertainment industry. As Ronald Hampton, executive director of the National Black Police Association, has remarked, "Some recruits expect t...