New York City community policed itself for five days
- NYC community is experimenting with non-police responders to crime
- Community responders operate within 5-day windows
- Residents have a range of views about the experiment
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(NewsNation) — For five days, a New York City neighborhood embarked on an experiment to see if it could police itself.
As The New York Times reports, the neighborhood of Brownsville picks several times a year to have a community-led organization respond to low-level crimes on a couple of city blocks rather than the police.
The organization Brownsville In Violence Out has civilians stand watch and prevent crimes and anti-social behavior ranging from shoplifting to assaults. During the five-day period, police funnel 911 calls to the civilian responders rather than to their officers. But police are still present; plainclothes officers shadow the civilians.
Police officers may still step in if a victim asks for an arrest or in extreme circumstances, but the bulk of public safety activities are handled by the civilian responders. The goal is to reduce potentially distressing police encounters and arrests.
As one example the Times highlights, a group of civilian responders stepped in to stop a group of teenagers who were chasing a girl. They directed the teens to go different directions as the girl absconded.
The project was actually the brainchild of a police commander who grew up in Brownsville and wanted to work to regain community trust.
Residents interviewed by the Times are split on the experiment.
One woman who runs a jewelry store feels defenseless during the five-day period.
“It’s like they left us without protection,” she said. “It doesn’t give me peace.”
But a senior citizen who lives in the same area was impressed by the responders.
“We call them and, poof, they come right away,” she said. “You think they ain’t ready for this? Yes, they are.”
Community alternatives to policing have increasingly sprung up since the 2020 protests against police brutality.
As one example, public safety officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, have assembled a mental health responder team that can respond to calls without police altogether.
From February 2021 through the summer of 2022, the team has assisted more than 3,000 people, although it remains on the margins of the city’s overall policing effort. St. Petersburg police receive around half a million calls a year.
