t social control within neighborhoods does indeed influence rates of violent crime. The degree to which residents could rely on neighbors was a key factor in maintaining social control (Bower 101).
One way of enhancing the effectiveness of the community is through community policing, which is intended to extend the reach of the police department into the community by creating a stronger connection between the police and the community:
Community policing calls for a partnership of the police and local residents, and expands the focus of the police from arrests to intervention and preventive "problem solving." In its most reductive form, this approach is viewed as a shift from deploying police officers in patrol cars that randomly cruise the streets and answer calls for assistance to deploying them on the street and encouraging them to establish ongoing relationships with residents. Community policing is often described simplistically as a return to cops on the beat who are integral parts of the neighborhood (Kaminer 112).
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