…at the CACGEC candidate’s night I attended last night. While most of the talk was on casinos, at the very end of the meeting a woman stood up to make a great point. This happened in the middle of a short debate between three of the four people running for the Niagara District Common Council seat.
A woman in the way back stood up and instead of asking a question, she made a statement. She said she lived in the East Village of New York City, but had gone to school in Buffalo and loved the city. She indicated that nothing would truly change in the city until its safety was improved. She indicated that what Giuliani-Bratton did in New York in the 90s needed to be duplicated in Buffalo; cops walking a beat, being permitted to talk to people and to become acquainted with the people whom they serve. Her point was that having all of these wonderful things going on in Buffalo would be for naught if people weren’t safe, and/or didn’t feel safe. For all the hand-wringing over one- or two-officer patrol cars, community policing is what should be set up.
The Buffalo Record 
Isn’t that exactly what David Rivera has proposed for the Niagara District?! – answer: yes, it is, and who better to have a great handle on how best to address crime and quality of life issues than a Buffalo cop?
Community policing works – it’s an excellent model for creating safer neighborhoods, and Officer Rivera is right on target to call for it.
I hope that he wins so that the ND will finally get some much needed improvement – we need action and committment – not a lapdog for the mayor.
It’s no longer a new idea. The Humanities Dept at S.E. Louisiana was teaching a course in it in 1987 when I took it there. Of course, being 20 years old, it’s a “BRAND NEW IDEA” in Buffalo.
People may laugh at BS Detector when he opines “Welcome to Buffalo, set your watch back 20 years”, but looks like he may not always be the whack a doo that many of you here think he is.
Most of the larger city PD’s have either embraced it and implemented it, or have at least studied it and have experimental precincts.
There are plenty of beat cops in Charlotte, especially downtown. Plenty of new high rise condos have been built in the last 10 years, so there is a population downtown 24/7, a trend Buffalo is trying to copy.
Buffalo used to be known for its tight knit neigborhoods. The system works best in such an area. Downtown and the neighborhoods that border the Business district would be a great place for a test precinct.
20 years is still too new to impliment something for Buffalo. After a few more years and a few more impact studies we should be able to get this up and running. And by that time it will more cost effective because with the increasing volume of people leaving, Buffalo should be down to just one neighborhood.
Community policing was a part of Clinton’s Crime Bill back in the ’90s. It’s not new to Buffalo. Kerlikowske and Donovan both tried to implement it, but like all other great ideas to improve our community, it was shot down by the unions. The federal government was even providing funds to assist in it.
Buffalonians do not lack ideas and creativity. We lack enough people in the leadership who are willing to buck the status quo, from unions to politicians. Unions and politicos here are more concerned with their own jobs and laziness than with what’s best for the community. We just keep electing them and even progressive bloggers are willing to endorse them.
Russell, very well said.
I agree that there are many people in WNY who are creative, and have good ideas, ideas that if implemented would surely work. No doubt in my mind about it, as I read lots of them on the local blogs.
But between the cancerous, corrupt Buffalo Political Machine, and our dear friends the Public Service UNIONS (Damn, theres’ that freakin’ union word again), Buffalo remains a dinosaur, behind the times.
Maybe the reason that Buffalo South (Charlotte) already has an effective Community Policing Program is because the Charlotte-Mecklenbug Police Department IS NOT UNIONIZED.
As Bugs Bunny said many times, “Eh, COULD BE!”
sorry dudes, the Buffalo PBA had NOTHING to do with the decline of Community Policing. The program was started by R. Gil Kerlikowske and it was very efficient plus federally funded. The Rocco Diina came into power and destroyed it. Rocco took designated money and put it elsewhere, like his extensive travel schedule. Over the years, the number of Police Officers has dwindled to present 700. Let’s not forget that 32 Officers were laid off by Masiello and none have been hired in 8 years. There are not enough Officers to handle the volume of calls and surely not enough to staff a Community Policing Unit. In closing let me say that I find it humerous that one lad blames a union and the other piles on with more nonsense when in reality they are both WRONG on the subject. Apologies? Doubtful. Better yet, how about a detailed explanation on how the Buffalo PBA ruined Community Policing?