“Community policing” is a social concept and philosophy that is still seen by many Malaysians as strange; although practical community surveillance such as the neighbourhood watch, the patrol system, the COP partner program (Rakan COP), and the voluntary patrol scheme have long existed in our communities. There is no specific official term “community policing” in the Malay language. Some use the term “community police” in the English language. However, the Malay equivalent term for “Community Policing”, is “Pengawasan Komuniti” which means supervision of the community. This article reviews previous literature and studies relating to community policing. The main purpose of this article is to explain the position of community policing as part of a strategy to secure the safety of the community. The discussion is organized into the following three main sub-topics. First, the meaning and function of community policing, second, the development of this program in Malaysia and third, the main characteristics of the community policing approach.