It took a moment of family trauma for Colonel Dean Esserman to figure out how he needed to transform the Providence police department. The upset arose when the police chief's son made a sad phone call from Washington D.C. to report a stolen bicycle. Esserman was pissed. Not with his son, of course (though he quickly and ruefully realized he'd be the one taking care of replacing the bike). But because it suddenly dawned on him that this type of situation epitomized what's wrong with the contemporary policing system.
"The reality is that in the post-modern era of America... we have lost the relationship with the community. When you're a victim of crime, big or small, you report it but you tell who you know. And you don't know the police any more," Esserman told the rapt audience at the recent BIF conference, a two-day celebration of often-unexpected innovation held at the Trinity Rep theatre in Providence, RI. (See also my report of some of the highlights of the first day.) So while policy wonks might wring their hands at the staggering statistics of unreported crime, Esserman saw a new story. "Crime does get reported—just not to the authorities, but to dads, moms, roommates, neighbors, pastors," he said. And that's when Esserman resolved to take action.
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