Community policing and socialcapital

This paper argues for the utilization of the social capital concept in studying, evaluating, or implementing community oriented policing (COP) strategies. Social capital is helpful in measuring COP implementation effectiveness because it is central to COP issues such as trust and genuine dialogue between different groups, the ability to collectively tap into various resources, and the ability of individuals to work together to solve various problems. Findings from a study conducted in Iowa utilizing focus group and interview methodology demonstrate that COP cannot be successful without the existence of social capital building among and between the citizenry, the police, and other public and private organizations.