This book explains why participation processes have gained importance for the police and how they can be successfully designed. In the future, an integrated security structure will increasingly be required, in which stakeholder groups and affected citizens play an important role in police hazard and risk assessment, and thus in shaping their context-related sense of security. The book pursues a guiding and action-oriented approach on how practical participation processes for citizens can be integrated into the planning and projects of the police. Theoretical foundations and practical application fields for the implementation of participation processes are identified: involvement in cooperation discussions for discursive conflict resolution in advance of protest situations, opinion formation through information and discursive exchange of arguments within the framework of municipal security and prevention work, or issue-related "round tables" in the area of independent citizen and police commissioners.

In a time of great uncertainty due to social change and complexity, participation processes offer the opportunity to ease strained relationships between the police and civil society and to build a mutual trust relationship. Citizen participation cannot replace sovereign action but can enrich it with everyday and experiential knowledge. In these turbulent times, there is no better recipe for jointly shaping security and addressing problems.

The Content

• Practical assistance and better understanding of participation processes for police work
• Advantages of citizen participation at a glance

• Three practical application areas (cooperation discussions in protest situations, independent citizen and police commissioners, and municipal security and prevention work)

  Practical Solutions for Citizen Participation in Three Police Application Areas Understanding of Participatory Processes in Police Planning and Decision-Making Improved Information Gathering and Conflict Minimization in Police Protest Situations

  Autorentext

  Jan-Philipp Küppers (M. Sc.) studied Social Work/Social Education, Political Science/Sociology, and Planning/Participation. He is an external doctoral candidate at the University of Stuttgart focusing on organizational and management aspects in critical infrastructure. His research and areas of interest include organizational and participation research. Additionally, he is interested in systemic risks and transformation processes and their societal impacts, as well as related topics of public safety.

  Inhalt

Introduction: Dare for More Citizen Participation!.- Contested Future.- Participation a Panacea for Police Work?.- What is Citizen Participation?.- Current Developments: Citizen Forums, Online Surveys, Local and Neighborhood Security Walks, and Cooperative Security Partnerships.- Foundations for Participation Processes How Does the Police Achieve Them?.- Action Approaches for Police Participation Practice.- What Can Citizen Participation Contribute to Police Work?.- Outlook.