Functionalist sociologists see the police as coming from and working on behalf of the community that they police. There is general agreement in the community about law and order and the police are on the same side as the vast majority. Their presence is welcome and reassuring; they follow-up on crimes reported by the public and they are known members of the community. Left realists recognise that this is not the reality of policing in many areas but that this is the desirable model and how policing should be organised.