Reflecting on 200 Years of Policing: From Tradition to Transformative Community Safety
Over the past two centuries, policing has evolved significantly—from early enforcement-focused models to today's integrated, community-driven approaches. This journey, captured in this graphic, illustrates how our understanding of safety has expanded beyond traditional policing to include community well-being and collaborative solutions.
The focus on public service and trust began in 1829 with the formation of the London Metropolitan Police and Robert Peel's foundational policing principles. However, by the 1960s and 1970s, policing became more reactive, with increased reliance on enforcement and tactics that, over time, led to concerns about militarization and declining public trust.
The 1980s marked a pivotal shift with the introduction of community policing—focusing on stronger relationships between officers and the communities they serve. Yet, while well-intentioned, this approach sometimes created silos between traditional and community-focused efforts.
Ontario took a significant step forward in 2010 with the Ontario Mobilization and Engagement Model (OMEM), aiming to address crime through community partnerships and early intervention strategies. Building on this, the 2014 introduction of the Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) framework has transformed how municipalities and police services work together.
The CSWB approach provides a framework for police services to define their priorities and success indicators in incident response, prevention, risk integration, and social development. It also emphasizes collaboration with service partners and community members to develop CSWB Plans for collectively addressing the root causes of systemic inequity and preventing risk factors that lead to crime and social disorder - making community safety a shared responsibility.
Today, community safety is about more than law enforcement or working in isolation with law enforcement on one end and social development on the other. It’s about collaboration between police, social services, health providers, and local communities to create sustainable solutions to strengthen upstream responses and reduce the number of situations from crossing the threshold into crises.
The journey continues, but the focus is clear: proactive, inclusive approaches that promote well-being and resilience for all.
We need to reflect on this journey and consider how we can continue to strengthen community trust, prevent harm, and work together for safer, healthier communities in our age.