\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a>What would have happened in Ferguson on that hot August afternoon had a social worker come upon Michael Brown on Canfield Avenue? What if a social worker saw Eric Garner selling loose cigarettes in the Tompkinsville neighborhood of Staten Island? My hunch is that they\u2019d both be alive today. [NOTE: This is an updated version of a post from December 14, 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n Among those who want reform, there is considerable talk about community policing. The Department of Justice defines<\/a> community policing as:<\/p>\n Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.<\/p>\n I went to the Occasional Planet\u2019s Director of Plain Speaking who said that what it means is a cop with a heart. Well, there\u2019s probably more to it than that and we don\u2019t wish to imply that most cops do not have a heart. An effective community police officer has much the knowledge of a social worker such as what approach to take when an individual or a group of people are truly upset about something. He or she is also someone who can brainstorm solutions to seemingly difficult situations. Whether they are on the \u201cmean streets\u201d of the inner city or closeted away in the hidden lanes of the farthest suburbs, there is essential work that community police officers can do.<\/p>\n Several days ago I was working with a group of inner city student about to enter high school. We were talking about the recent events in Baton Rouge, St. Paul, Dallas and elsewhere in the United States. One of the questions we asked was whether any of them had had any positive experiences with police officers. About a quarter of the class raised their hands and had encouraging stories to tell. One boy spoke of a day when he was playing catch with himself with a football. The ball got away from him and rolled out into the street. The boy said that a police officer drove up, and naturally he was scared. What ensued was that the officer stopped his car, got out, retrieved the ball, and tossed it back to him. The policeman did not reprimand him, rather he urged the boy to enjoy his play and to be safe.<\/p>\n