Small-town, Professional, and Community-based Policing: Reformative and Strategic Rhetoric

Abstract

In this article, we explore the ideological construction of the concepts Small Town Policing, police Professionalism, and Community-based Policing (CBP). Professional policing responded to the major deficiencies of Small Town Policing while modestly effecting harmony and congruence with respect to the myths of community and demands for solidarity and privacy. Simultaneously, Professional policing created a major disjunction between ideal policing and many of the realities of non-urban policing. Although Community-based Policing may better fit small town practices and allow a more equitable inclusion of community segments, CBP ideology and rhetoric may be more a strategic myth than a practice.