Roles of Community Outreach Coordinator
Community outreach coordinator and allied professionals play an important role as a link between the community and the criminal justice system. Their roles support criminal justice professionals in various ways. First, the coordinators and allied professionals support the criminal justice professionals through planning, implementing, developing, coordinating, and organizing educational programs for different community groups, including senior citizens, juveniles, and businesses (Majmundar & Weisburd, 2018). They also provide support through disseminating information on behalf of the criminal justice professionals to the community members about crime prevention meetings and the progress of the police department programs (Majmundar & Weisburd, 2018). As well, the coordinators and allied professionals provide support through preparing educational and communication materials to be supplied to the community members, such as brochures, guides, and fliers, on behalf of the criminal justice professionals. Another support they provide is establishing and maintaining corroborative relationships among different groups in the community, such as community leaders, religious leaders, public health safety organizations, and schools (Majmundar & Weisburd, 2018). They also provide support through doing research, writing and publishing reports, correspondence, memos, speeches, and studies related to criminal justice matters. Last, they coordinate tours in the law enforcement departments.
The community outreach coordinators have several benefits to criminal justice professionals. The first benefit is that they enhance the understanding of the criminal justice professionals and their work by the community members. The enhanced understanding leads to the improvement of the attitudes and views of the community members to the criminal justice system and their work (Majmundar & Weisburd, 2018). The enhanced understanding also facilitates improvement in the relationships between criminal justice professionals and community members. They also reduce the work overload of criminal justice professionals in the process of developing crime prevention programs and also enhance program efficiency and effectiveness. Third, the coordinators and allied professionals facilitate a respectful and inclusive work environment in the criminal justice profession. Thus, they increase the satisfaction of criminal justice professionals on their job and facilitate stress reduction (Majmundar & Weisburd, 2018). The coordinators and allied professionals assist the criminal justice professionals in halting crime by supplying important information and suggesting the best strategies to deal with existing and emerging cases. Last, they assist the criminal justice professionals in handling verbally abusive, hostile, angry, and upset citizens.
The coordinators and allied professionals require several skills to do their roles effectively. First, they need to have effective verbal, written, and non-verbal communication skills. Second, the should have the ability to work under pressure. They should also have effective decision-making and judgment skills. They should be able to create and maintain sensitive records of information. They should also have the ability to coordinate activities, individuals, and groups (Majmundar & Weisburd, 2018). Qualified persons should be able to embrace cultural diversity. They should also be able to use essential equipment such as computers, phones, and scanners. Last, they should be able to organize and implement meetings.
References
Majmundar, M. K., & Weisburd, D. (2018). Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and
Communities. Washington, DC: National Academies Press
References