ABSTRACT
Historically, policing has been a reactive profession. Although the police patrolled the streets, they, for the most part, depended on people to call them when a crime or problem arose. Once the police received a call, a motorized patrol unit would be dispatched to the scene to handle it. Once on the scene, a police officer would make an arrest, take a report, advise a victim to obtain a warrant or protective order, or provide the person with information about
how to handle the problem. Once the officer completed the call, he or she would then continue patrolling, awaiting the next call, often giving little or no thought to the underlying causes of the problem. This was seen as the most effective means of dealing with people and their problems. In this fashion the police could respond to a large number of calls, take action, or push the call off on another social service agency and begin going about the business of law enforcement once again.
