Civil Virtues, Social Capital, and Positive Community

Reviews the book, Citizens, Cops, and Power: Recognizing the Limits of Community by Steve Herbert (see record 2006-03618-000). In this book, Herbert makes it clear that the objective of the research is not to assess the efficacy of community policing. He is more interested in social political theories. More specifically, he attempts to answer two normative questions regarding community policing: First, can and should “community” be treated as a legitimate and effective political agent to address local problems such as crime? Second, if it can, how can and should “community” interact with police as an agent of the state? Therefore, the research question is narrowly framed and designed to test social theories of community with respect to community policing. Given this sharp focus, Herbert is able to tackle the subject in a systematic and thorough manner. The main conclusion of the book is that community policing seldom works. This is based on the ethnographic data he collects from three different Seattle neighborhoods. He interviews residents, observes police officers in action, and attends community-police meetings. Herbert also examines and then rejects two thick versions of community. The first thick version of community as recovered is based on a nostalgic yearning to restore the communal bonds and shared values that once existed in rural communities. The second thick version is community as discovered. This represents a politically oriented vision that advocates small-scaled democracy based on the self-determination by citizens to solve collective problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)