CAMDEN NEW JERSEY: A MODEL FOR POLICE REFORM
By Jason Sibert
The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has renewed the debate on policing in our country.
Many ideas are being exchanged in the media and in the population at large on the direction policing should take. The mini-metro area of Camden, NJ has rightly been in the spotlight over the past several weeks. The city has a population of a little over 77,000. It’s also a majority non-white city, as African-Americans and Latino Americans make up roughly 80 percent of the population. Camden has its troubles. The city is a high poverty city and it has struggled to retain the manufacturing base it had years ago. It’s also struggled with both a high crime rate and a corrupt police department. Camden was considered one of the most violent cities in the United States just a few years ago. The police department had a reputation for corruption, as police officers routinely planted evidence on suspects, fabricated reports, and committed perjury, said reports.
In 2012, the city broke apart its old police department and built a new one. The results were impressive, as Camden’s crime rate has dropped in half. Officials had two goals in creating a police department – reducing violent crime and making residents feel safer. The city moved to “community-oriented policing” where problem solving and partnership are more important than violence and punishment, reports said.
When a new police officer joins the force, he or she is required to knock on the doors of the people in his or her neighborhood and see what is needed to improve the neighborhood. Officers routinely host neighborhood cookouts for residents. Police training emphasizes de-escalation and violence is stressed as a last option. Camden’s police don’t resemble military units at all. Scott Thompson, the former police chief who led the transition to a new force, said the new force would resemble the Peace Corps instead of a military organization. The militarization of our police forces has received a significant amount of attention in the controversy over police shootings.
In addition, diversity was stressed in terms of hiring. Camden is a majority non-white city and many new hires are African American or Latino American. Camden Police Chief Joseph Wysocki recently marched in a “Black Lives Matter” March in Camden.
Although police departments are under local control, departments receive some funding from the federal government. Reform advocates should use Camden as a model and tie federal funding to changes in local police departments. Citizens would see radical changes in policing in municipalities all around the country.
Jason Sibert is the executive director of the Peace Economy Project
