THE INFLUENCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN STRENGTHENING THE CITIZENS’ TRUST THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY POLICING
THE INFLUENCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN STRENGTHENING THE CITIZENS’ TRUST THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY POLICING

Summary/Abstract: The main feature of the democratic police work is the idea that police activities are carried out in cooperation and with the consent of citizens. Therefore within the key principles of democratic police work, despite three basic tasks in order to maintain the security of citizens (maintenance of public peace, law and order, protection and respect of fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and prevent and combat crime) the police has the additional task that directly relates to providing assistance and services to citizens. The last task, the police carries out under the concept of community policing which basically represents a collaboration between the police and the community in identifying and solving community problems. Community policing is a democracy in action. It requires active participation of local government, civil and business leaders, civic organizations, schools, other public institutions and citizens. Based on this concept, the police is not any more the only guardian of order and peace, but all members of the community become active allies in efforts to provide security in their neighborhood. This paper examines the impact of the communication skills of police officers in the process of gaining the citizens’ trust. It should be emphasized that trust is the key aspect that enables successful implementation of the concept of policing in the community. The authors of the paper will define the necessary communication skills in the field of verbal, nonverbal and paraverbal communication that the police officer should possess and practice in daily contact with citizens.

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