WASHINGTON, The Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has awarded $421,000 to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing (POP Center) in Madison, Wis. The funds are being awarded to support the POP Center’s operations and the development of additional resources for America’s law enforcement community, including problem-oriented guides for police, interactive web-based learning resources, and community policing curriculum for academic institutions and law enforcement training academies.
The POP Center was established in 2002 to develop resources that help law enforcement agencies effectively address specific crime and disorder problems in their communities. Problem-oriented policing is a method of analyzing and solving crime problems. It encourages police to carefully examine problems and engage other public agencies, the community and the private sector when their involvement has the potential for significantly contributing to the reduction of the problem.
Among the POP Center’s most well known resources are Problem-Oriented Guides for Police (POP Guides), which are produced with support from the COPS Office. To date, a total of 60 POP Guides that address various crime and disorder topics have been produced. The topics range from identity theft and crimes against tourists to gun violence and drug dealing in open air markets. To request free copies of POP Guides, contact COPS Response Center at (800) 421-6770.
In addition to supporting the POP Center and providing community policing technical assistance resources, the COPS Office has invested over $11.3 billion toward the advancement of community policing. The COPS Office has been the catalyst for many innovations in community policing that have resulted in the broad implementation of this effective law enforcement strategy. For additional information about COPS resources and programs, visit the COPS Web site at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=34.
