A Real Look at NYPD’s Experimental Community Policing Plan

A history of community policing, and why it matters. But only if police department gets it right.

New York Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) Commissioner Bill Bratton answers questions at a press conference after speaking at the New York Police Department Shield Conference on December 16, 2015 in New York City. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

NEW YORK—Damon Jones was a 12-year-old African-American boy who learned to play football from a police officer. It was the 1980s, and the officers who patrolled his neighborhood in Westchester County also lived in his neighborhood. At the time, it was common for on-duty police officers to spend their time coaching local youth basketball and football practices.

“I didn’t see the police the way young kids see police today,” said Jones, who was inspired by his childhood models to become a police officer. “The interactions were different.”

“They were white cops. It’s not even a color issue. It’s a mindset. A culture,” said Jones, who is currently the New York State representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America.

Damon Jones, New York State representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, speaks on the steps of the White Plains Federal Courthouse, in New York State, on June 5, 2014. Courtesy of Damon Jones