Notes from IACP 2009: Demographics, Community Policing, and the Police: Preparing for the Future

From a presentation given by Donald J. Loree, Ph.D., Center for Criminal Intelligence Research and Innovation, RCMP, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

With technological advances in transportation, which made transportation easier and cheaper, the mid-1800s saw a shift in the way that communities are formed. With ease of travel also came shifting demographics in communities. As immigrants began to move around the globe, existing communities started to change in ways that they had never needed to before. Today, we live in a very dynamic global community, and demographics in any one law enforcement jurisdiction can change very quickly—in as little as five to ten years—and law enforcement needs to be aware of trends in shifting demographics in order to better police the communities they serve.

Here are some key questions to ask to understand the way that community demographics may change:

1. What are the age demographics of your community? How will they change in the next 5, 10, 20 years?
2. What is the ethnic breakdown of your community? How will it change in the next 5, 10, 20 years?
3. What are the income demographics? How will they change in the next 5, 10, 20 years?
4. What about your department? What is the age and ethnic breakdown of your own department, and how will it change in the coming years?
5. Are offender demographics changing? How will changes in the community affect offender demographics?

Of special concern is the growing elderly population. The age of citizens 65+ is growing worldwide. New challenges arise with an aging population, like increased elder abuse, financial scams, burglary, and more.

But how can you keep track of your changing population and shifting demographics if you are not engaging that community? Community policing becomes very important in engaging the community, understanding it, responding to its changing needs, and preparing for future challenges as the population changes.

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