When Cops Move to Dangerous Neighborhoods

Cops in Rockford, Illinois are fighting high crime rates by living in the communities they serve. Here's how "community policing" is helping rebuild trust.

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It's a return to an old idea - the "neighborhood cop" who's part of the community. The Rockford, Illinois police department is getting back to it by providing police officers free housing in areas beset by high crime. They hope that by having police officers know their neighbors and build relationships with people in their communities, they can rebuild trust--and help identify and resolve problems without having to make arrests. While community policing was a movement in the 90s and grew as part of the 1994 crime bill, programs and budgets were slashed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Now, in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests and renewed attention to the collapse of trust between police and their communities nationwide, community policing is making a comeback. In this video, we tag along with Rockford PD resident officers Patrice Turner and Eric Thurmond and talk to chief of police Daniel G. O'Shea about how community policing is helping make a difference in Rockford.

Would you like to see it in your community? Let us know what you think in the comments.

It's Freethink's Criminal Justice Week. Subscribe for more amazing videos from the fight to fix the justice system. http://bit.ly/subscribe-for-criminal-... and join the conversation with #FixingJustice.

It's a return to an old idea - the "neighborhood cop" who's part of the community. The Rockford, Illinois police department is getting back to it by providing police officers free housing in areas beset by high crime. They hope that by having police officers know their neighbors and build relationships with people in their communities, they can rebuild trust--and help identify and resolve problems without having to make arrests. While community policing was a movement in the 90s and grew as part of the 1994 crime bill, programs and budgets were slashed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Now, in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests and renewed attention to the collapse of trust between police and their communities nationwide, community policing is making a comeback. In this video, we tag along with Rockford PD resident officers Patrice Turner and Eric Thurmond and talk to chief of police Daniel G. O'Shea about how community policing is helping make a difference in Rockford.

Would you like to see it in your community? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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