problem solving and community policing

• Technical Support
• Find My Rep

You are here

Encyclopedia of Community Policing and Problem Solving

• Kenneth J. Peak - University of Nevada, Reno, USA
• Description
• A collection of 150 to 175 entries are organized in A-to-Z fashion in one volume available in both electronic and print formats.
• Signed entries, authored by significant figures in the field, each conclude with Cross-References and Suggestions for Further Readings to guide students to in-depth resources.
• Brief "What Works" case studies within appropriate entries profile community policing programs and strategies as tried in various cities and communities.
• Although organized in A-to-Z fashion, a thematic "Reader's Guide" in the front matter groups related entries by broad topic areas (e.g., Foundations; Methods & Practices; Legislation & National Organizations; Changing Agency Culture; Planning & Implementation; Training & Curriculum; Assessment & Evaluation; etc.).
• Also included in the front matter, a Chronology provides students with historical perspective of the development of community policing.
• The entire work concludes with a Resources appendix listing classic books, journals, and associations, followed by a comprehensive Index.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

For assistance with your order: Please email us at [email protected] or connect with your SAGE representative.

SAGE 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 www.sagepub.com

"From defining the topic to offering strategies for the problems communities face, this book delivers practical, informative advice....Edited by Peak, This concise, readable volume lays the groundwork for understanding numerous aspects of community policing and problem solving. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers."

Select a Purchasing Option

This title is also available on SAGE Knowledge , the ultimate social sciences online library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial .

• Utility Menu

Mark H. Moore

Professor of strategic management, search by title, keyword, year, topic, co-author, or type:, problem solving and community policing, publication status, type of document.

South Africa’s electricity crisis: what political parties say in their election manifestos about solving it

Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg

Disclosure statement

Hartmut Winkler receives funding from the South African National Research Foundation (NRF).

University of Johannesburg provides support as an endorsing partner of The Conversation AFRICA.

View all partners

South Africa is in the middle of a deep electricity crisis. In 2023 the public, many of whom are voters, experienced the worst loadshedding to date , losing power for an average of five hours a day.

The power shortages were largely due to excessive breakdowns in the country’s coal power plant fleet, which generates over 80% of South Africa’s electricity, combined with delays in developing new generation capacity.

The power crisis is a key election topic with national elections scheduled for 29 May. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is tipped to lose its absolute majority in parliament. One reason for the ANC’s drop in support is that it did not act on early warnings that electricity supply would drop to critical levels. In recent times, the ANC led government tried to fix this by removing constraints to private electricity generation and appointing a dedicated electricity minister. But the situation had deteriorated beyond the point where these steps could fix the problem.

As a physicist who has written widely on loadshedding and renewable energy, I predict that – given the ANC government’s failure to end the energy crisis – opposition parties’ fortunes will be boosted on election day if they offer credible and effective alternatives to loadshedding. However, despite confident sounding sales pitches, there are neither quick nor cheap solutions, which are what the public is looking for.

Do the political parties prioritise electricity?

In the last general elections in 2019, the three parties that received the highest number of votes devoted an average of just 2% (measured in pages) of their election manifestos to electricity. These were the ANC , Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) . In the current election campaign, the major parties have devoted up to 10% of their manifesto to this topic. They have covered the topics of electricity and incentive mechanisms, potential business or job generation spin-offs, and possible devolution and private investment options.

However, none have put time frames to their electricity proposals. What is also largely missing from the manifestos is an evaluation of the costs of rolling out new forms of energy, which could lead to budget cuts in other areas like health and policing. There is also little indication that parties favour certain types of energy based on their cost and affordability.

Privatisation vs nationalisation

This is a key theme of the manifestos. The DA and other parties that present themselves as “pro-business”, such as Action South Africa and Build One South Africa , believe that large scale privatisation of electricity will automatically lead to the end of power cuts. Their argument amounts to an ideological view that free market systems are more effective than state monopolies.

The EFF is a firm advocate of nationalisation and wants to terminate existing contracts with private power producers. It proposes repairing coal-fired power plants and keeping them going for longer. But fixing some plants might be prohibitively expensive.

Read more: South Africa's new plan to end power cuts is seriously flawed. Here's why

Many parties favour unbundling the monopoly enjoyed by the national electricity utility, Eskom, and devolving the electricity sector into smaller entities. This has already been initiated with the recent passing of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill , though some parties would like to stimulate competitiveness further.

This includes allowing municipalities more room to drive their own electricity generation. In its manifesto, the DA is canvassing on the basis of projects already initiated in municipalities that they govern – for example, Cape Town, where in line with international trends energy is fed into the grid by privately owned solar systems.

Renew(able) or not?

The country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and some advisory bodies have been quite enthusiastic about a boom in wind and solar energy. But Gwede Mantashe, the minister responsible for energy planning, has been a vocal promoter of coal, gas and nuclear power, while sounding sceptical of renewables . This standpoint is also reflected in his recently released and much criticised draft Integrated Resource Plan for electricity.

The ANC election manifesto is most closely aligned with the presidential vision. It highlights industrial growth and job opportunities linked to renewable power, such as developing a green hydrogen sector. There is only one short entry that states that the ruling party intends to “develop gas, nuclear and hydro power projects”.

A smaller party that has its base in the Western Cape province, where solar and wind conditions are also favourable, is GOOD . Along with the DA, it favours the idea that new generating capacity should mainly come from wind and solar.

Read more: South Africa's power crisis: five essential reads

While promoting a “mix” of energy sources, the EFF sees coal and nuclear as “core” energy generating technologies. Its very long manifesto goes as far as saying that the nuclear plant construction should be established in co-operation with Russia. This is a provocative position to take, given that former South African president Jacob Zuma made a failed bid when he was in office for a massive new nuclear build by Russia.

Another controversial technology specifically advocated by the EFF is so-called “clean” coal. This is produced when relatively costly technological improvements are made to a power plant that would partly lower, but not eliminate, carbon emissions.

What do the parties agree on?

All the parties whose manifestos I examined agree that small scale domestic solar rooftop installations should be further promoted by the government. This followed a massive boom in 2023 that prevented even more extensive power cuts . Incentives to achieve this include subsidies, tax breaks and the opportunity for income generation through selling back excess electricity to the utility.

If a coalition government takes power after the elections, the route out of the electricity crisis could remain contested. This will hamper speedy progress on larger new builds. However, the intensified rollout of domestic solar installations enjoys support across the board. This is perhaps where progress will be fastest.

• Renewable energy
• Solar power
• Democratic Alliance
• loadshedding
• African National Congress (ANC)
• green transition

Biocloud Project Manager - Australian Biocommons

Director, Defence and Security

Opportunities with the new CIEHF

School of Social Sciences – Public Policy and International Relations opportunities

Deputy Editor - Technology

Sudbury Town Council praises improvements to local policing as Insp Ben Hollands discusses new community model

A n increased visible policing presence in Sudbury has been applauded by town councillors, following the introduction of a new model to improve police engagement.

Inspector Ben Hollands, locality inspector for Sudbury, highlighted the early success of the new county policing command (CPC) model as he addressed residents and councillors at the annual town meeting on Friday night.

Introduced in December, it saw 50 new community policing areas (CPAs) created across Suffolk - each overseen by dedicated officers - to enhance the understanding of specific local issues.

In Sudbury and the surrounding area five CPAs are in place, including two covering the town centre.

During the public meeting at Sudbury Town Hall, Insp Hollands said the new model had seen a significant increase in visible foot patrols by uniformed officers, helping to boost public confidence.

“The community policing teams put the community at the heart of everything we do,” he said.

“Their prime focus is around community engagement, prevention and problem solving, targeted activity and proactivity.

“Our level of community engagement has increased significantly. Community police officers are much more embedded and understand the needs of those communities.

“One of the bits of feedback we had is a lack of visible policing presence on market days. As a result, we now have a stall on the market for people to come and engage with us.

“It’s the biggest change in 10 years that Suffolk Police have implemented, in terms of the way uniformed police work in the county. At the moment, it’s a real success.”

Town councillor Ellen Murphy praised the change.

She said: “My main concern was always the lack of visible policing, especially on market days, but I’d also like to now change my mind and say well done to the police. I am so impressed.”

Town mayor Jan Osborne paid tribute to Sudbury Police for a doing a ‘grand job under challenging circumstances’.

“It highlights the fantastic working relationship and partnership the town council has with our police, especially with the new model in place,” she added.

“I’ve noticed the difference. I’ve seen more police on the beat. We have an officer who comes to our full council meeting, which is really appreciated.”

Addressing specific issues, Insp Hollands said the priority in Sudbury remained tackling drug offences, due to the influence on other criminality.

He referenced the recent success by officers, through proactive patrols and prevention advice, to clamp down on a spate of tool thefts from vans.

Insp Hollands said police were looking to run a pilot scheme in collaboration with Sudbury’s community wardens, which could be rolled out countywide if successful.

“Sudbury is really lucky, in that it’s one of the few towns within Suffolk that still has community wardens and is seen as a success story,” he added.

“We are going to have a pilot scheme going forward to build on that, in terms of what powers we can use and how we can support them.”