Community Policing has become a `buzz` word particularly with the law enforcement officials all over the world since the 1980s as an effective tool of prevention of crime, reducing the fear of crime, maintenance of peace & order in the community, identification of criminals and bringing them to justice as the conventional method of Policing has proved to be ineffective in dealing with crimes & criminalities in a fast changing socio-economic order. The crime scenes have undergone radical changes with the emergence of new types of crimes and sophistication in the modalities of criminals. There was, therefore, the growing realization that the community�s participation & partnership in combating the whole gamut of criminal administration & solving community problems was an imperative need. Community Policing started in some big and high crime-prone cities in the USA in mid-80s and their gradual success encouraged other developed and developing countries to follow their examples keeping in view their own culture, values, heritage and needs. But the oldest form of Community Policing is the `kobans` of Japan introduced as back as in 1874 with 35,000 kobans (similar to our police Boxes) spread all over the country. Its success is well known and many countries have adapted it `mutatis mutandis` suiting their special requirements. The concept of Community Policing needs a little elaboration for better understanding and implementation in our context. There are different dimensions of Community Policing and there are obviously many definitions of the concept but the most comprehensive definition seems to be given by Robert R. Friedman of Georgia University USA (1992) which is as follows: Community Policing is a policy and a strategy aimed at achieving more effective and efficient crime control, reduced fear of crime, improved quality of life, improved police services and police legitimacy, through a proactive reliance on community resources that seeks to change crime-causing conditions. It assumes a need for greater accountability of police, greater public share in decision making and greater concern for civil rights and liberties. Community Policing from the above definition implies that it is a policing strategy and philosophy based on the notion that community interaction and support can help control crime and reduce fear, with community members helping to identify and detain suspects and bring local problems to the attention of police.

Community Partnerships: Collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency and the individuals and organizations. Their services are essential to develop solution to problems and increase trust in police. These partnerships are forged in conjunction with other government agencies, community members and groups, human and social service providers, private businesses and the media. Organizational Transformation: Police departments engaged in effective community policing seek transform their organizational culture, leadership and management structure, strategic planning processes, how they evaluate performance, the transparency of their operations, the assignment of officers, mobilizing their financial resources, recruitment of suitable personnel and their training. The objective of these changes is to create own organizational infrastructure that can best support proactive operations intended to prevent crime. Traditional law enforcement practices are reactive while, Community policing encourages police to proactively solve community problems and address the factors that contribute to crime rather than how police respond to crime. Problem solving: Community policing requires police to become proficient in what is known as the SARA model of problem solving-Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment.

Ensuring institutional support for the sustainable ``grass-roots`` level implementation of Community Policing approach. Adoption of a transformational model for developing police response to meet community needs identified through consultation and partnership. Ensuring successful adoption of community policing philosophy through greater public involvement, change in working procedures, pro-active consultation and effective monitoring of implementation.

Ensuring institutional support for the sustainable ``grass-roots`` level implementation of Community Policing approach. Adoption of a transformational model for developing police response to meet community needs identified through consultation and partnership. Ensuring successful adoption of community policing philosophy through greater public involvement, change in working procedures, pro-active consultation and effective monitoring of implementation.