The study is premised on “Social and Behaviour Change Communication Approaches and Community Policing in Calabar South Local Government Area, Cross River State”. It examines the awareness level of the concept of community policing and how it can be sustainably entrenched and effective, using a community-grounded communication approach. The study adopted the survey method as the research design while the data were gathered using the questionnaire. The population of study includes; CRUTECH residents, Police, Vigilante members and CRUTECH private security who are all stakeholders on security matters in CRUTECH. The purposive sampling method was adopted to select respondents from within the residential area while the Social Exchange Theory and Community Organization Model were used to theoretically underpin the concept of community policing in a social and behavior change communication perspective. The findings showed that, the awareness level of community policing among CRUTECH residents was moderate, hence, the isolation experienced between the parties. The study concluded that, for a result-oriented, cohesive relationship between the Police and the community, the government, Police, and Community Vigilant groups should adopt a conceptual umbrella to integrate their different message efforts that enable them share information for collective goals.
Keywords: Behaviour change., Community Policing, Security, communication, social mobilization
