Activating Communities for Urban Security: Communitarianism and Community Policing

Communitarian thought which was emerged at the beginning of the eighties in Northern America has advocated to protect and improve communities in societies by objecting liberal individualism. In this manner, it is emphasized that individuals have to act in accordance with the common good understanding of their communities in order to live more suitable and peaceful. Communitarianism generated deep effects in philosophical studies within the short time as well as in political and governmental areas. Thusly, it is asserted that community policing which was formed in USA and UK has communitarian marks as well. It is seen that the police institutions have tried to carry out these fulfillments not only using their forces but also including relevant stakeholders in service process in the last 30 years. It can be said that community policing is the new policing system that is improved in most countries all over the world. Communitarianism is based on the values that individuals have to feel responsible present and future positions of the people whom they live together. Community Policing expects that communities in cities would become a part of security services. In this way security in cities occurs easily and expectations of society will be happened from policing services. When community policing services through this purpose it also embraces essential principles of communitarian thought in philosophically. It is understood that interaction between communitarian thought and community policing have to be intense in case of analyzing them comparatively from this perspective. It is studied effects of communitarian notions and critics on community policing. It is mentioned how community policing has nourished philosophical approach of communitarianism as well as how it has embraced communitarian critics of liberal security understandin