It's a buzz phrase we've heard in the Albany police chief search process for months. Community policing. But what is it? It took an expert to explain it to search committee members before they faced the candidates and now he'll explains it to us. And what does the man in charge of the next step of the process think of the ill-defined crime-fighting strategy. Our Britt Godshalk reports.

ALBANY, N.Y. – "Everybody likes the phrase 'community policing.' I mean how can you not? It's like 'motherhood' and 'apple pie.' You can't possibly be against it can you? That's why everybody wants it even though they don't know what it's about," said Dr. David Bayley, a UAlbany community policing expert.

"So if community policing is a major part of it, fine and it has been and it will continue to be. A lot of people in this city know our officers because of deployment," said Albany Mayor Jennings.

Our reporter said, "But the public has been pretty vocal about..."

"No, there's been a certain element of the public that feel community policing," Jennings said.

Actually, it's been the buzz phrase in the five month search for Albany's next police chief, starting at a public forum in December. Then front and center in the job description. And on resumes left and right, there was that phrase again. On Steven Krokoff's. On Jamie Fields. On John King. All but John Pikus, special agent in charge of the Albany field office of the FBI, an organization not particularly known for community policing.

But now that those four nominees will head into one on one interviews with the Mayor himself, is community policing a priority to him?

"There are different parts of effective community policing," said Jennings. "I want to hear that."

"He is saying 'if it's a new cop on every corner, I'm not in favor of that,' neither am I, I think that's smart. What I think he's saying I'm opening to listening to how any chief proposes to use his resources that responds to the needs of the community. I don't think he's saying no to that," Bayley said.

Jennings says he used stimulus money to put 10 additional officers on the street, which then frees up 10 officers for community policing strategies.

"The key question is are they then freed up to do the particular things that those beats require?" said Bayley.

Bayley says community policing requires a chief to let local commanders decide how resources should be spent in individual neighborhoods. Bayley says the police must then hear directly from the community about what the local problems are, much like what already goes on at these public forums in Albany, and officers must find out from community organizations what they're contribution will be in deterring crime. The fourth element is a way for the other city departments, like the buildings inspector, to deter recurrent problems, for example, a bar known for criminal activity in the neighborhood.

"We can close you down now unless you do these things in respect to plumbing, electricity and exits and all of that. And we're going to do it. Unless you stop these problems from occurring on Friday and Saturday night," Bayley said. "The art of this, the politics of being a chief in Albany, is defining it in ways the community can understand and responds to their concerns about public safety."

All while keeping in step with the mayor of the city.

"Probably," Bayley said.