John Kass has it partly right. He argues in his Feb. 24 column that if Robert and Amy Castaneda have to leave their home, “the mayor’s CAPS program will be proven to be phony public relations .” If the Castanedas have to move, it will not be CAPS’ final heartbeat, but it will be another one of the thousands of failures that have betrayed community policing.
If the Castanedas stay, however, it will not mean that CAPS is healthy. The issue here is not enforcement of the Mireles law. Ultimately the Castenadas’ well-being depends on solidarity in the neighborhood, not police protection. The solutions being used here are not community-policing solutions. Most likely that means they will not last.
CAPS is shrinking to empty words and disguise. The anti-loitering law is another piece of evidence. The city argued it was “a tool of community policing.” It is not. It relies on regular violations of fairness. It targets not only gang members, not only young people. It targets everyone who is standing near a gang member. It thrives on fear. It encourages dependence and the passivity of residents. It is the opposite of community policing.
There is little reason to believe that the director of the CAPS office or the mayor or the superintendent know how to make community policing work. Even if they knew how to make it work, they probably wouldn’t. The city does not want residents to be independent and active solving neighborhood problems.
But there is hope. CAPS got off to a good start. People were enthusiastic. They worked to solve problems. Thousands of people took seriously the idea of working with neighbors and police. Thousands still want something better. There is still a foundation on which to build real community policing.
