jimmygo.com

I saw this post on Slashdot today and it got me thinking about how our police are dispatched. The article was about randomly assigning police in airports so that they are unpredictable. That’s all well and good in the airport, but how about non-airport cops that we encounter every day? I think their actions should mostly be directed by public will.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a system where we could have a dialog of sorts with the police? What if we had a national database (like this one or this one) that displayed all crimes, accidents, and public complaints. If commonly used by all police forces, a popular nationwide system like this could have many benefits:

1. The police could more effectively direct their efforts. The police would have the times and locations of all major crimes in recent history. They could direct the bulk of their actions to try to prevent similar crimes in the future.
2. Citizens could help direct the actions of the police. I can only assume that our local police set up speed traps and the like because they are trying to keep us safe. As it is, there is no good way for a municipality to tell the police where the trouble spots are though - so the police do the best they can with random speed traps. A better method would be to have complaints collected, aggregated, and available for all to see. If there are complaints of loitering on certain streets, or complaints of speeding at certain times in certain areas then the police can address those complaints specifically and feel justified in doing so. If there are no complaints in a given area than the police can focus their efforts elsewhere without having to worry about neglecting neighborhoods.
3. Police could show if they are effective. By having all of the data readily available police forces could see how they perform over time and compare themselves with other jurisdictions.
4. Police could start using tactics other than tickets. If I get a ticket right now I just get mad at the police and resolve to watch out more diligently, I may even be a worse driver because of it. A sign telling me that my neighbors are scared by speeders, or a letter to me saying that 14 people said my aggressive driving scared them is more of a wake-up call than a ticket will ever be (and it is easier/cheaper for the police to arrange).
5. Police could spend time doing other things. In an area where there have been no (or very few) recent crimes, accidents, or complaints - the police could focus part time on training, community outreach, or physical fitness. Areas that are functioning smoothly shouldn’t just have officers randomly enforce laws. I would argue that it would be better overall if the police are spending time with future potential hooligans. The police need not be the stoic strangers of a neighborhood - I say the more they get out in the community and get to know people the better.
6. Citizens could step in. People could check the database themselves and respond to their own problems. If there are complaints of loitering on a certain street, the loiterers may not even be aware of the problem; a complaint database could make them realize that they are a problem and respond by being friendly or moving to a more appropriate location, etc. If parents are concerned with speeders they could band together to educate the speeders in their neighborhood; some people like driving fast, but most will slow down if they realize they are terrifying all of the parents and pet owners around them.

At the end of the day we all want to be respectful of each other and go about our lives safely. As it is though there is really an “us versus them” attitude when it comes to police in this country, but if you think about it they are tasked with a really tricky goal - and a good means of community communication would allow them to do their jobs much more effectively. Anyone who operates any sort of system will tell you that communication and feedback are crucial to make systems operate better - but our police forces have been using the same community feedback mechanism for the past 100 years. It could be time for a change.