In an incident-driven approach, police officers often became little more than what in most communities?

In an incident-driven approach, police officers primarily focus on responding to specific calls for service rather than engaging in proactive policing or community-building activities. This reactive stance often leads officers to operate in a way that can reduce their role to that of report takers. They respond to incidents, gather information, fill out reports, and then move on to the next call without further interaction with community members.

This approach emphasizes the documentation of occurrences rather than working collaboratively with the community to prevent crime or address social issues. The impact of such a method can create a perception that officers are merely there to record what happens—sometimes leading to a disconnect between the police and the community they serve.

In contrast to this role, being community helpers would involve more interaction, engagement, and building relationships with residents, while being crime reporters implies a focus on dissemination of information rather than direct policing activities. Sheriffs typically have different responsibilities and authority compared to police officers, so they don't represent the same dynamic in an incident-driven context.