Safer Communities with Community Policing - The Lisbon Tool

Community Policing in Lisbon is a preventive and participative policing approach. It differs from traditional models of policing by being jointly planned and operated by a partnership established between the Lisbon Municipal Police, local partners and residents.

This policing approach requires close cooperation between the police, partners and residents, through regular partnership meetings and daily patrolling on foot by dedicated police teams assigned to specific neighbourhoods. This enables Community Policing teams to gain recognition and acceptance by the population, facilitating a trusting relationship between police and citizens.

The Tool addresses the problem of Community Police teams being frequently redeployed from their assigned neighbourhoods to other policing tasks. This leaves officers unable to carry out the activities expected of them by partners and residents in their assigned neighbourhood, and so negatively impacts police-community relationships and citizens' trust in policing. The Tool helps decision-makers and senior police officers in managerial positions better understand and recognise the value of Community Policing, so they support Community Policing teams remaining dedicated to their role in their designated neighbourhoods.