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Community Policing

Community Policing in Lisbon – Safer Communities

The Community Policing in Lisbon – Safer communities tool aims to change the mindset of senior officers and decision-makers towards community policing and motivate them to support and engage with the programme over the long term.

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The Problem

Community Policing in Lisbon is a preventive and participative policing approach. It differs from traditional models of policing by being jointly planned and operated by a partnership established between the Lisbon Municipal Police, local partners and residents.

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Community Policing in Lisbon is a preventive and participative policing approach. It differs from traditional models of policing by being jointly planned and operated by a partnership established between the Lisbon Municipal Police, local partners and residents.

This policing approach requires close cooperation between the police, partners and residents, through regular partnership meetings and daily patrolling on foot by dedicated police teams assigned to specific neighbourhoods. This enables Community Policing teams to gain recognition and acceptance by the population, facilitating a trusting relationship between police and citizens.

The Tool addresses the problem of Community Police teams being frequently redeployed from their assigned neighbourhoods to other policing tasks. This leaves officers unable to carry out the activities expected of them by partners and residents in their assigned neighbourhood, and so negatively impacts police-community relationships and citizens' trust in policing.
The Tool helps decision-makers and senior police officers in managerial positions better understand and recognise the value of Community Policing, so they support Community Policing teams remaining dedicated to their role in their designated neighbourhoods.

The Tool

The Tool “Community Policing in Lisbon – Safer Communities” is designed to
more effectively engage key decision-makers in the delivery of Community
Policing — in particular, senior police officers.

The Tool includes materials designed to support collaborative Planning Sessions that engage key Community Policing stakeholders

Held quarterly, these meetings engage senior police officers, key decision-makers and stakeholders in the strategic planning and delivery of Community Policing. Sessions support the generation of ideas and development of short and long-term proposals to improve Community Policing in Lisbon.

The Tool provides high-quality communication materials

designed to promote a clear understanding of the Lisbon Community Policing strategy — and which also support its presentation to senior police officers and decision-makers.

Tool Components

01

Targeted communication materials

  • A brochure explaining the concept of Community Policing and providing information on the objectives, planning and delivery process in Lisbon.
  • A short video introducing the Lisbon Community Policing model, explaining how it is delivered. A longer version of the video providing interview testimonials from both community partners and senior police officers is also available.
02

Materials to support Community Policing Strategic Planning Sessions

  • A briefing on how to hold Strategic Planning Sessions to improve Community Policing, with details of objectives, working methodology, and schedule of future sessions
  • PowerPoint presentations
  • A planning meeting agenda pro forma.
03

Digital versions of all the Tool components are available on a USB pen drive as well as online

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End-users

The end-users of this Tool are:

Senior-level police officers

Key decision-makers: national and local government; National and Municipal Police

Other key stakeholders: Community Policing teams; Prevention Team; local partners; citizens in Community Policing neighbourhoods

Timeline

March 2019 – September 2019

Requirements capture

25 September 2019

CCI DesignLab

October 2019

Tool Direction identified

October 2019 – September 2020

Tool development & prototyping

14 and 16 December 2020

Tool demonstration

Ongoing

Implementation

17 November 2021

Local implementation workshop

13 December 2021

National implementation workshop

Ongoing

Strategic Planning Sessions

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Research undertaken

Using design research methods and tools developed by the CCI project, CML undertook a structured process of requirements capture research involving:

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01

Interviews with six police officers (decision-makers and Community Policing officers), one Community Policing partner and one senior-level police officer

02

Observational research with four Community Policing officers

03

Three focus groups with 40 participants (25 police officers; 15 partners).

Research findings were analysed to identify themes and develop insight. This enabled the generation of multiple 'problem statements' to be explored in a DesignLab. Through an abstraction laddering exercise, the problem statements were reframed, enabling exploration of underlying issues of Community Policing in Lisbon from different perspectives. In addition, a process map of police community engagement was developed. A Tool specification was written, outlining the requirements and objectives the Tool should meet, and the Tool designed to fulfil this specification.

Tool demonstration

The tool launch event on 14 December 2020 was both face-to-face at the Lisbon Municipal Police (LMP) offices and online. The Lisbon Community Policing – Safer communities Tool was presented to key decision-makers and senior police officers.

Demonstration continued on 16 December 2020, as a Strategic Planning Session held in LMP facilities. This session targeted senior police officers and heads of services, it demonstrated the Strategic Planning Session component of the Tool, which is designed to foster engagement in the planning of Community Policing.

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Implementation

Has already taken / will take place, during the CCI project

  • During the CCI project, the Community Policing in Lisbon – Safer Communities Tool has been distributed to 18 key decision-makers from national government, the National Police and Local government. The Tool was also distributed to 10 Presidents of Local Councils that work with Community Policing Teams.
  • A national workshop to encourage wider implementation of the Tool was held on 13 December 2021 at the Lisbon Municipal Police. This event involved representatives from the Portuguese National Police and Municipal Police.

Is planned for the future, after the CCI project has ended

  • Future Tool implementation actions, after the CCI project has ended, are still to be determined, due to restrictions relating to the Covid pandemic.

Sources

01

Diniz, M. and Tulumello, S. (2021) "Making the Case for a Community Policing Approach: Lessons from Lisbon Model", CCI Webinar No.3, 18 May 2021, DPT: Hannover. Available to view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sbfK_aLtgk

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Policy Implications

The Tool Community Policing in Lisbon – Safer Communities is recognised inside the police organisation as an important and very effective means of communicating the Lisbon Community Policing model to strategic decision-makers, and directly influencing urban security policies.

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The planning instruments within the Tool facilitate the active participation of senior police officers and decision-makers in the strategic planning and delivery of Community Policing, fostering their support for this innovative policing model and their longer-term engagement.

The CCI Policy Briefing, "Maintaining senior-level police support is key to the sustainable delivery of Community Policing", can be downloaded in the downloads page.

 

 

Acknowledgements

LEA research team engaged in researching, designing and demonstrating the tool

Carlos Catana

Cláudia Andrade

Cláudia Santa Cruz

Community Policing Brigade

Filomena Ferreira

Elsa Calado

Francisco Fernandes

Isabel Simões

Joaquim Gordicho

José Antunes Fernandes

José Gil

Mónica Diniz

Paulo Brissos

Paulo Caldas

Rosário Coelho

Rui Abrantes

Teresa Ramalho

Verónica Neves

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