Working through networks: the challenge of partnership policing

The language of partnerships pervades present-day conceptions of crime prevention, community and policing. In contrast to a reliance on rigid, hierarchical bureaucracies, ‘networks of diverse group interests have become the dominant ethic’ (Crawford 1997: 25). The emphasis on community policing has placed obligations on police agencies to focus on crime prevention and working with the community. As a result, police are expected to work through networks and to develop common approaches to such objectives with other agencies as well as with the local community.