It had been a quiet April afternoon until about a dozen teenagers began running up Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville, yelling and cursing. They were chasing a girl of about 14 and it was clear they wanted a fight.
Five plainclothes police officers watched warily. Across Pitkin stood about half a dozen men, civilians in jeans and purple-and-gray sweatshirts.
“They got it,” an officer said.
The teenagers slowed as they spotted the men, workers from an organization called Brownsville In Violence Out, who calmly waved them in different directions. They scattered as the girl fled down a side street.
The brief encounter encapsulated a simple yet unorthodox concept that is at the heart of a bold experiment organizers believe could redefine law-enforcement in New York: letting neighbors, not the police, respond to low-level street crime.
Sashaflick on June 4th, 2023 at 15:32 UTC »
I love the idea but is 5 days really enough of a sample size?
creepyoldlurker on June 4th, 2023 at 14:47 UTC »
This isn't really a new idea. Broward County, FL had a program similar to this back in the late 70s/early 80s. My grandfather was a "peace officer" (I think through the sheriff's office) and when a call came in for a drunk and disorderly, domestic disputes, etc. he was sent in unarmed with a partner to deescalate the situation and provide solutions to the dispute. He very rarely had to call in for police back-up. He LOVED the job and was very good at it - he was originally from a rough section of Brooklyn, NY and was a very successful and charismatic salesman before he moved to FL - attributes that I'm sure helped him with the job. It's a shame they did away with the program but I guess that's Florida for you.
Just_Merv_Around_it on June 4th, 2023 at 14:27 UTC »
Reminds me of the Simpsons drunken posse.
Can you swing a sack of doorknobs?
Can I…
Then you’re in , here’s your sack. But you gotta supply your own own doorknobs.