A central goal of the COPS Office is to help law enforcement agencies implement and enhance community policing. We have previously defined community policing as "a policing philosophy that promotes and supports organizational strategies to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime and social disorder through problem-solving tactics and police-community partnerships."

Community policing focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships.

- Excerpt from COPS

The term "community policing" is nebulous at best, and some will suggest there is no standard definition of community policing. Many have tried to define or describe it, and yet community policing remains a vague and intangible concept of a policing style that is utilized by communities across the world."

Here in Lakeland the term "community policing" generally refers to a comprehensive philosophy of policing that incorporates three distinct elements: traditional policing, collaborative partnerships and proactive problem solving.

Everything we do is designed to accomplish these three broad goals; respond to crime, emergencies and disorder; develop effective collaborative partnerships with stakeholders throughout the community to help control crime and disorder; and then utilize these partnerships to identify the root causes of crime and disorder and develop solutions so as to prevent problems from returning.

We view all three elements of community policing to be the essential services we deliver to the community.