I read an article this morning about Camden's retooling its police department. I thought of Hoboken not because the 2 cities are that similar, something in the article made me compare my civilian perspective on the Hoboken department. /1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/camden-police-chief-old-new-department/2020/06/18/37407536-b0b8-11ea-856d-5054296735e5_story.html https://twitter.com/KenFerrante/status/1273735196194545665

I am concerned that calls for reform see all police departments as cut from the same cloth. /2

When you have an opinion in Hoboken - folks who lived here through tougher times roll their eyes... So, my pedigree. I have lived in Hoboken much of my life and have family going back 4 generations but have spent enough time out of Hoboken I am not 'born and raised'. /3

My only relative to be in the HPD was my great-great grandfather - whom I know as "Captain Sullivan". His son Robert F. McAlevy was my great grandfather and I have a keyfob with his name on it saying "return to Hoboken Fire Department". /4

The generation after that were lawyers, doctors, teachers - so I have only a dim, historical family connection to civil service in Hoboken and I don't have a vested interest in defending the police in this town. /5

I feel like the police in Hoboken have been ahead of the curve in terms of the relationship between a police department and a community. They are approachable and responsive. This includes some of the most active and effective social media presences (and one of the first). /6

I have said hello and have spoken to the Chief on the street. I went to a "coffee with a cop" breakfast some months ago. As an EMT, I have also seen them defuse situations without violence (including leprecons and santacons...). /7

There are officers that you recognize as you go around town and that is a sign of a police force that is not remote but is a crucial part of how this town gets through each day. /8

It seems to me that they got the memo before it even came out. And that is due to good leadership. And I am sure it is not perfect but I hope any task force that looks at HPD does so with an eye on what works. /9

There are deliberate policies and a leadership style behind how the police engages with the community they are serving. I hope instead of a spirit of reform that assumes that police are always the problem, Hoboken can build on what has been successful. /10

Why would you 'defund' a department going in the right direction? Why wouldn't promotion and an increased investment be a better strategy? /fin