Building trust in modern day policing: A neighbourhood community officer evaluation

Abstract

Over the past several years the Toronto Police Service has engaged in forming partnerships with communities that have been plagued with high crime rates and have traditionally not trusted the police through the implementation of The Neighbourhood Community Officer Program. The program places Neighbourhood Community Officers in the community for three to five years with a strict mandate to build trust through professionalism, cooperation, and partnerships with community members. Prior research on the program displayed that it was achieving most of its mandate. To determine whether it was still enjoying success, a thematic analysis was conducted on interviews with social agencies that worked with Neighbourhood Community Officers and social agencies that did not.