Community policing is a curious blend of street-level connections, trust building and hard-data diving.
Oak Park, which has been a leader in community policing for a decade and has been reaping the benefits, is now ready to make better use of existing crime and incident data. As our Devin Rose reported last week, Chief Rick Tanksley has the department crime analyst looking at where crime occurs in the village on a block-by-block basis.
The goal is to isolate the blocks where crime is spiking and then to make a candid assessment of the causes. Let’s start with the stereotype that all crime in Oak Park is on the east side of town. Based on what Tanksley has learned about this sort of effort in other communities — Seattle has been a leader — he is expecting that the troubled blocks will be spread out in different areas of the village and that the blocks will change as problems are solved and new problems emerge.
Once blocks are identified, a range of responses are likely to be considered. More intense police presence is likely. But stepping up neighborhood outreach would follow through the existing beat cop system. And environmental issues would also be addressed. Does a block need more lighting or tree trimming? In a commercial district, have all the businesses been offered security reviews and training in spotting shoplifters?
This sort of innovation is essential as Oak Park continues to bring down its crime rates even as resources are limited and our surrounding communities remain economically troubled.