Dean Esserman: Connecting Police with the Community

by Brian Jepson

Dean Esserman, the Chief of Police for the City of Providence told his story at BIF-3 about community policing. He talked about how 911 was supposed to connect people directly with police and emergency services and massively reduce crime. But instead of connecting police and community, 911 made law enforcement anonymous and even further away; Chief Esserman likened that situation to finding yourself in the emergency room and meeting your family doctor for the first time.

The innovation of community policing is that it eliminates this distance, and connects police with the people they serve, right on the streets and in their neighborhoods. Esserman put it well when he said that you don't need to love the police uniform, but you need to love the person in it. Does the idea of loving a policeman seem unusual to you? If so, consider what Abbie Hoffman said in Revolution for the Hell Of It; right after he said "Cops are our enemy", he went on to say "Not each one as a person, naked, say. We're all brothers when we are naked. Did you ever see a fight in a steam bath?"