Perspectives on Policing in Orange, New Jersey: Views from Community Residents, Law Enforcement Officials, and Police Chaplains

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that understanding neighborhood culture, context, and perceptions towards policing and community policing initiatives is needed in order to understand how to make policing initiatives more effective and successful within a community. This paper seeks to understand how community views and perceptions about policing in Orange, New Jersey vary across social groups. The social groups targeted in this paper are community residents, law enforcement officials, and police chaplains. I investigate how understanding each group’s perspectives can influence and shape our way of understanding community needs and what is needed to combat specific community problems within the realm of policing. Participants thoughts were grouped into themes: reflections on the community, social problems within Orange, origins and consequences of crime, perceptions of the police, community policing in relation to the future of policing within Orange, race, and media. The findings revealed key areas of concern and needed improvement within the community that should be used when addressing next steps in policing efforts. This paper extends upon the current sociological understanding of neighborhood context in relation to overall attitudes on policing perceptions and community policing initiatives.