Latest in a series of posts about neighborhoods
A resident proposes a plan in response to the problems detailed over the last several posts, and — behold — we see another gadfly born!
- I know many of the older police, and we managed to clean up quite a few blocks.
- I feel community policing is very important, because it is the only way that citizens get to see that police are human too.
- We became good friends.
- And we managed to get good block watches going.
- I hear now that nobody wants to get involved any more in community policing.
- Some may not admit it, but they are afraid — and I understand that totally.
- Because I’m afraid . . . some guy pulled a gun in front of my house at me.
- I was pretty much a prisoner of my own home.
- Community policing has done a lot for me and other people.
- So I would really like to see something done with this.
- Get officers in to this, I’ll even volunteer to work with them.
- This is a very important part of the police department.
- If they’re afraid to go out there and talk to people, that’s not good.
- I’m going to be a thorn in everybody’s side, but I’m doing it for the good of my home, which is Bethlehem.
Gadfly knows this is a big change of pace, but how about this as an example of good community policing?
The pictured example could be an example of one aspect of community policing, but it might also be completely superficial; we can’t tell from the description. And I think getting residents to see that ‘police are human’ misses the point—the real point is for police to know, to be involved in, and to be invested in the community.