COMMUNITY

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITY

A New Security Culture

Consultative Council for the Formation of the Security Services and Forces

PORTUGAL

10 th IPES Meeting - Bahrain, 11 – 15 October 2003

POLICINGPOLICING

Consultative Council for the Formation of the Security Services and Forces - PORTUGAL

Community Policing – A New Security Culture

System of Security Forces of Portugal

Evolution of the Portuguese Society

Community Policing

Implementation strategy

Training

Special programmes

Operational model

Conclusions



SECURITY FORCES SYSTEMSECURITY FORCES SYSTEM

Dual system: Dual system: Two Security Forces with generic competenceTwo Security Forces with generic competence

GENERIC MISSION:

To guarantee public order and tranquillity, assuring the

free exercise of citizen rights, freedoms and warrants

To assure the security of citizens and their property

To prevent all acts against the Law



SECURITY FORCES SYSTEMSECURITY FORCES SYSTEM

Dual system: Dual system: Two Security Forces with generic competenceTwo Security Forces with generic competence

Republican National Guard (GNR)

• Military nature

• 26 000 agents

• Territory out of major urban centres

• Generic legal competence in the whole territory

• 60 % of the population

• 90 % of the territory

• 600 police stations

Public Security Police (PSP)

• Civilian nature

• 22 000 agents

• Major urban centres

• Generic legal competence in the whole territory

• 40 % of the population

• 10 % of the territory

• 200 police stations



EVOLUTION OF THE PORTUGUESE SOCIETY: Relevant EVOLUTION OF THE PORTUGUESE SOCIETY: Relevant MarksMarks1926 – 1974:1926 – 1974:

Authoritarian regime

Preponderance of the role of the State

Subordination of individuals / reduced individual rights

Lack of civic participation / weak feeling of citizenship

Discricionarity in the Security Forces action, centred on the respect of the Law, and on the defence of the authority of the State

After the 25After the 25thth of April of 1974: of April of 1974:

Democratic regime

Recognition and promotion of individual rights (Portuguese Constitution)

Stronger feeling of citizenship

Promotion of civic participation

Actuation of the Security Forces within the strict bounds of the Law



BACKGROUND OF COMMUNITY POLICING IN PORTUGAL

Social changes

Changes in the relationship between citizens and the

authorities

New bounds of insecurity problems

Larger interest of citizens in security subjects

Limitations of the Security Forces in solving problems

using conventional working models

Selective and targeted police work

Direct or represented participation of citizens in the local security problems

New philosophy:



COMMUNITY POLICING

• Proximity policing

• Creation of mutual trust and knowledge between police and citizens

• Shared by everyone, without subverting the responsibility of each social partner

• Core principles:

Situational and social PREVENTION

Creation of PARTNERSHIP NETWORKS

New culture of security:



COMMNUNITY POLICING – Implementation strategy:

Taking into consideration the diversity and specificity

of the social backgrounds, which justify differenced

strategies

Elaboration of the conceptual frame and definition of

the goals by the government

Security Forces had the freedom to define the

strategies to achieve the goals, considering specific

situations



COMMUNITY POLICING – Goals:

To improve the quality of life of citizens

To proceed with territorial crime prevention

To improve the integration in the community and promote

the communication between all social players

To strengthen, in the Security Forces, the idea of public

service, based on the quality of the service and the

satisfaction of citizens

To change the reactive police and make it a proactive

police, which anticipates and prevents the problems

To improve the quality of police action



COMMUNITY POLICING – Implementation strategy:

COMMUNITY POLICING INTEGRATED PROGRAMME

TRAININGCLOSE

RELATIONSHIPS WITH CITIZENS

SPECIAL PROGRAMME

S

MUNICIPAL POLICE

Goals: - to give a new image and visibility to the Security Forces

- to create a new capacity of insertion and integration of the polices in community life



COMMUNITY POLICING INTEGRATED PROGRAMME

TRAINING

CLOSE RELATIONSHIP

S WITH CITIZENS

SPECIAL PROGRAMME

S

MUNICIPAL POLICE

COMMUNITY POLICING – Implementation strategy:


Community Policing– A New Security Culture

TRAINING

Continuous Training Programme

Goal:

• To prepare the security professionals with knowledge, skills

and techniques which allow them to fulfil with efficiency

and efficacy the tasks required by this type of policing

Conditionings:

• Great geographic dispersion of the police effectives

• Lack of availability of the police agents, due to operational activity

• Need to reach, at the same time, all the professionals

of the Security Forces



TRAINING

Distance Learning Programme

Targets:

• About 48.000 agents of the two Security Forces

All the of the four modules of the Thematic Unit PROXIMITY POLICING were included in the curricular structure of the initial courses of the Security Forces, in order to prepare all new agents to this type of police action

Structure:

• First and last session are presencial and presented by a tutor

• Modular – Thematic Unit composed of four modules

• Pedagogic support: Videotape + Support Text (for each module)



TRAINING

Distance Learning Programme - “PROXIMITY POLICING” Unit

1st Module: PRESENTATION Social changes

Impact of the social changes in the security matters

2nd Module: APPROXIMIMATION TECHNIQUES Criminal prevention – methods e techniques

Modernization and qualification of the police services process

3rd Module: COMMUNICATION Importance of communication in its psycho-social side

Communication techniques – verbal and non-verbal

4th Module: PARTNERSHIP AND MEDIATING Partnership and multidimensional responses to prevent

delinquency

Mediating techniques



SPECIAL PROGRAMMES

Directed to social groups that are vulnerable or in a risk situation

Prevention of small and medium criminality

Feeling of insecurity

SAFE SCHOOL Programme

AID 65 – SAFETY FOR SENIOR CITIZENS Programme

SAFE COMMERCE Programme

CRIME VICTIMS SUPPORT Programme




Programme launched in 1996

Targeted to the whole school community

• Vigilance of schools and areas around them

• Policing of the usual routes leading to the school

• Actions of sensitization to security issues, for the students

• To ensure safety conditions of the scholastic population

• To promote security conducts

Goals

Through




• Teams of two agents, in exclusivity, with specific preparation

and training

• Vehicles exclusively attached to this task, with specific

identification

• Reinforced vigilance, in times and places defined according to

the specific needs of schools

• Actions of personal contact with students, promoting security

conducts

How it works

About 1.000 police agents involved, daily

450 vehicles

Teams equipped with a mobile phone and a first aid

kit

About 6.000 schools included



AID 65 – Safety for Senior Citizens

• Reinforcement of policing in places more frequented by senior citizens Network of direct and immediate contacts between senior citizens and the Security Forces

• Installation of telephones in the home of needed and isolated senior citizens

• Partnerships with social institutions which develop senior citizens support programmes

• Teams of police agents prepared and trained to give support and

useful advise on security issues, and others

• To ensure safety conditions and tranquillity of senior citizens

• To promote the knowledge of the police work

• To help to prevent risk situations

Goals

Through



SAFE COMMERCE Programme

• Direct system of communication between shop owners and the

Security Forces

• Evaluation and advisement on shop security conditions

• Promotion of sensitization actions

• Promotion of security conducts by shop owners

• To ensure the safety of shop owners

• To ensure immediate action of the police in all risk situations

Goals

Through



CRIME VICTIM SUPPORT Programme

• Creation of special rooms for the reception of crime victims, in

the police stations

• Special training to Security Forces agents

• Partnerships with other entities developing its activities in

this area

• To guarantee specialised reception, attendance and guiding to

crime victims

Goal

Through



COMMUNITY POLICING OPERATIONAL MODEL

2 dimensions

PREVENTION

TOTAL QUALLITY SERVICE



PREVENTION

3 dimensions VIGILANCE

INFORMATION

VISIBILITY




PREVENTION

VIGILANCE Observation of behaviours which indicate illegalities or potential problems

Directed to problems locally identified potential sources of insecurity

Involvement of informal institutions of social control




PREVENTION

INFORMATION

Exchange of information about security and prevention behaviours

Fluent and shared mechanisms of direct contact with the population

Information strategies directed to:

o specific sectors of the society

o risk groups

o minority groups

o specific problems (domestic violence, delinquency)




PREVENTION

VISIBILITY Foot patrolling

Directed patrols

Goal patrolling

Participation in local initiatives aiming the discussion and analysis of security issues

Participation in local partnerships, institutional or informal




TOTAL QUALLITY SERVICE

Use of social diagnostics

Strong investment in reception, attendance and guidance

Change of the circuits of communication to the public, assuring faster and more qualified response

Personalized contact – direct mail, door to door actions, leaflets

Participated management model




CONCLUSIONS

TRAINING

The effort made by the government, concerning training

issues, did not get the desirable support

The Security Forces did not reinforce, in their initial training programmes, new knowledge and techniques, new practices and behaviours

ORGANIZATION

Organizational culture and understanding of the police

function did not develop as desirable

Security Forces did not adapt its organizational model

There has not been enough decentralization of the police strategies



CONCLUSIONS

MAKING THE NEW MODEL KNOWN TO THE POPULATION

The responsibility of making the new police actuation

philosophy known to the public was assigned to district and

local authorities, which aren’t still ready to deal with security

co-production issues

Difficulties in the constitution and functioning of partnerships

PROGRAMME’S IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Generalized application of the model – without pilot-experiences

Difficulty in detecting strongnesses and weaknesses, and in making the necessary corrections

Difficulty in evaluating the social impact of the changes



Thank you for your attention!

Thank you for your attention!

COMMUNITY

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