The Effect of Community Police on Community Development in Addis Ababa City Administration

A community is any collection of individuals, regardless of their age, economic status, sex, education level, religion, or ethnicity, who are bound together by common life experiences, values, and customs. Effective member engagement is essential for sustainable community growth when resources become scarce (Boateng 2021). In order to improve people’s quality of life and well-being, community development is frequently linked to rural sociology, education, and rural development. Community development strategies entail the mobilization of local citizens, businesses, government agencies, and other stakeholders. The quality of life can also be improved by actively engaging in community development initiatives (Bond, 2004).

The six essential components of community growth are diversity, commitment, reciprocal influence, language, symbols, values, norms, and emotional ties. The two ideas that comprise this method are facilitating community, which is society coming together to enhance quality and well-being with technical support and direction from change agents, and directing community, which is government agencies directing a holistic community. The goals of both strategies are to promote a feeling of community and shared ideals (Moura, J. B., et.al,. 2022).

Community development approach: Community development involves various approaches such as technical assistance, self-help, and partnership. Implementation depends on resources, development objectives, community involvement, and power-sharing between stakeholders. The success depends on these factors.

Technical assistance approach: This is a community development approach that focuses on directing communities to improve their living conditions. It is sponsored by government agencies or local authorities and focuses on activities that do not involve communities themselves. Development agents play a crucial role in developing communities based on their needs and goals. The approach has the potential to assist communities in basic development, produce optimal outputs, organize communities according to needs and goals, identify related problems for corrective action, and ensure that development plans align with community requirements. However, it has weaknesses, such as limited community participation, low determining power, and limited opportunities for self-confidence development (Morabito, 2010).

The self-help approach, also known as facilitating community, aims to prepare communities for development and to promote local change. This involves discussing, deciding, and implementing development matters within the community. The strength of this approach lies in the community’s knowledge of problems and needs, ability to determine their lives, power of determination, and opportunity for community participation (Bond, 2004).

Nevertheless, there are drawbacks to this strategy, including high failure rates in the event that the community is not cohesive and the difficulty in identifying change agents’ influence. In general, there are advantages and disadvantages to self-help and self-help methods (Zanker, 2017). The partnership approach in community development involves alliance partners and joint ventures between parties such as the government, developers, and the community. Development agencies act as mediators and facilitators, ensuring smooth implementation and benefits for both parties. The ideal partner in this approach is based on mutual need, support, collaboration, and cost-effectiveness. This approach offers advantages such as optimal resource use, integration of internal information with external expertise, and accommodation of the absence of a party. However, it also has disadvantages such as subjective views and trust issues, which can lead to disintegration and ultimately hinder development goal.

Community policing aims to establish cooperation between the police and communities to create group problem-solving opportunities, address crime perceptions, establish a structured partnership, and promote co-ownership rights. Community development encompasses various aspects of quality of life, including social, economic, political, educational, safety, and security. The ultimate goal is to bring harmony to human beings, with peace of individuals, families, communities, and government being the main agenda for political stability.

From the central level, under the chairmanship of the commissioner or the deputy commissioner of disaster prevention, the city’s independent advisory group and the city’s independent advisory group are chaired by the heads or directors of the 10 police departments, international police and operations. It is reviewed once a month in the presence of the director.

One way to conceptualize community development is as a process or objective that aims to reduce and prevent crime. Improving society’s culture, mindset, attitudes, awareness, knowledge, and commitment to community is crucial for successful community policing (Morabito, 2010, Boateng, K., & Bawole, J. N. 2021). In order to ensure public order and safety, it is crucial that police and the community have an engaged and dynamic relationship. This will foster a sense of cooperation among all parties involved.

Habermas’ theory of communicative action suggests that community participation in democratic activities often leads to active participation in state care. This occurs when public opinion and criticism are taken seriously, identifying problems and attempting solutions to policy change. The communicative action formed is shaped at the seam of the system and the "life-world," where speakers and hearers meet and can criticize and agree on solutions. This theory is practical and effective in driving community expectations, helping communities combine technical, corporate, local, and practical knowledge to develop new emancipatory knowledge. In the context of community policing, this theory is guided by the intersection of technical and corporate knowledge with local and practical knowledge, leading to new ideas and actions (Stevens, 2001). Although there is a plan to reduce crime every year, the data shows that the crime rate is increasing by 15 percent. Crimes of theft; Crime can take many forms, including but not limited to homicide, car theft, robbery, attempted murder, domestic burglary and theft, pickpocketing, and organized crime, human and sex trafficking, sex crimes, and terrorism. Different regions of the Ethiopian regions are subject to different types of crime. Ethiopia at this time had the highest crime rate in Africa. The city administration received an index score of 15.5. The crime index is measured based on survey responses on issues related to crime, safety levels, specific crimes, property and violent crimes (Beams, 2023) (D’Silva, 2011).

Serious crime registered by crime prevention from 2018 to 2022, In Addis Ababa city administration police commission crime data increase from time to time in 15% each e year according to the data report.

This study’s exploratory character dictates that the methods used to gather data involved searching the body of current literature as well as a variety of documents that are accessible in their natural environments. In an honest and objective account of diverse encounters in the natural environments, this would aid in the discovery of information. RESULTS

The study reveals that crime prevention in Addis Ababa city administration is a priority, as per the Police Act 2007. This can be achieved through reactive or proactive actions. The city’s growth and human civilization have led to an increase in crime cases, with a rise from 21,176 in 2018 to 98,622 in 2022. Factors contributing to crime include environmental factors, population growth, education polarity, ICT advancements, innovation, and globalization. Despite the police force’s efforts, challenges include a shortage of personnel in the field. DISCUSSION

The Ethiopian Police Force has adopted a community policing approach to combat crime and address community concerns. The Five-Year Strategic Plan, developed in 2007, focuses on addressing crime and addressing community concerns. Community policing involves police and the community working together to identify effective actions and address social issues. This holistic approach involves local authorities, government agencies, NGOs, media, politicians, and the private sector. During the five-year period (2018-2022), the police have conducted various activities, including discussions, patrols, neighborhood surveys, awareness campaigns, road shows, classes, workshops, and social media postings, all of which highlight the good ties that exist between the police and the community (Raderstrong, 2016). Following five years of community policing implementation by the Addis Ababa municipal government, the majority of communities have come around to the idea that excellent police cooperation and community involvement may reduce crime. Evidence from communities that have benefited from community policing initiatives, like Selangor, has demonstrated that these programs have a positive impact on lowering the crime rate and raising citizens’ awareness of crime prevention initiatives, as well as their willingness to report crimes and protect property before they happen. In addition, it improved the rapport between the police and the community, which helped to speed up the development process through a number of conversations, complaints, and community-building events.

The rise in crimes and crime-related reports since 2022 has caused society and social institutions to lose faith in the police force’s legitimacy in the Addis Ababa municipal administration. The public no longer feels comfortable enough to engage in outdoor activities or sightseeing because of this, together with the unsteady political environment. Their worries about protecting their belongings and personal safety from thieves have increased by 15%. This problem has indirectly impacted the landscape quality of life and resulted to poor levels of human well-being. In order to secure the smooth operation of this nation, the Addis Ababa city administration government has thus worked extremely hard to identify the core cause of the issue, devise, and implement measures through its relevant agencies, NGOs, and stakeholders in crime and security issues.

One of these efforts is the police’s wise decision to include community involvement in cooperative problem-solving efforts with public safety. The community is now actively involved in helping to lower crime in their neighborhood as a result of the introduction of community policing. The police and the citizens’ committee arranged a number of community activities to impart knowledge, comprehension, and skills connected to handling case-related offenses. The effectiveness of community policing has improved communities’ capacity to deter crime, boost their sense of self-worth, and improve society at large.

This study gave in-depth understandings of how the structure of community policing in maintaining community safety and security in Addis Ababa city administration. Due to its security sensitivity in the context of country instability, the study does not attempt to generalize its conclusions. In other organizations with a similar mandate, this may limit the application and extent of the research’s conclusions. Therefore, future study should concentrate on broadening its focus to include the impact of government the structure of community policing and its link among various political issue with comparable missions.Acknowledgements

Derese Simegnew Alehegn (PhD.Scholar) ID No: PhDCoDeR/0006/14 would like to express my sincere appreciation my supervisors Dr.R.Karunakaran(Asso. Prof), and Dr.Bantyergu Engida (Asst. Prof), also the cooperative department, NORAD project at Hawassa University and other my friends responsible only for their invaluable follow-up support, which made this research endeavor possible. Their funding assistance has been instrumental in carrying out the study on the Instructor and Friends, Addis Ababa police commission; from sub city up to family police members they are profoundly grateful for their recognition of the research’s significance and their unwavering commitment to fostering educational excellence. Their support has not only enriched my academic journey but has also contributed to the broader field of education, making a positive impact on the lives of friends and the all community.