One city's police reform values 'social currency'

Crime in Camden, New Jersey - a city of 74,000 on the Delaware River east of Philadelphia - has dropped since it dissolved its police force and rebuilt it in 2013 with a focus on community engagement.

This report produced by Chris Dignam.

Police officers Natalie Perez and Alexander Baldwin are patrolling a main thoroughfare in Camden, New Jersey - once considered the most dangerous city in the United States.

But since 2012, the year before Camden dissolved its police force and rebuilt it with a focus on community engagement, crime incidents are down 42% as of 2019.

Excessive force complaints are down as well.

In 2014, 65 such complaints were registered.

In 2019, there were three.

"Camden has the best police department in the world." "Aw, thank you." Zsakhiem James, a police captain in Camden, sees every encounter with a resident as an opportunity to build "social currency" to prevent or solve a future crime.

"I'm proud of you guys." "Thank you.

We weren't always the department you were proud of but we're glad to be the one that is now.

We're still working on it." "But it really has come a long way." At this small pharmacy in Camden, Captain James preached the importance of forging personal ties on a police officer's beat.

"The whole force is dedicated to community policing.

It's from the top down, from the chief all the way down to the newest officer.

When officers graduate the academy, they are put on a foot beat and put into neighborhoods to meet people on a human level.

The key for us is being in the community before a crisis happens and meeting people on a human level and building relationships and partnerships in that manner." Officials are quick to point out that Camden's protests over the death of George Floyd remained peaceful, with some officers taking part, while there was looting and destruction just across the Delaware River in Philadelphia.

Some critics say the drop in crime in Camden has as much to do with the hiring of more officers than a softer approach.

Camden's police department has nearly doubled in size since its reformation, a factor that educator Keith Benson believes gets overlooked in all the praise being heaped on the force.

"Cops not being in their cars and just riding through, and just arresting people, but actually getting out and walking around is a benefit, right?

It improves their image and has the potential to improve relationships between two individuals - one as a resident and one who happens to be a police officer.

Does that necessarily mean that the attitude of residents has changed towards the police as an institution here in Camden?

I would say not necessarily.

Does one officer having these sort of social events influence whether someone gets killed?

I'm not necessarily prepared to make that connection." Nevertheless, more than 130 agencies and police executives have visited Camden's command staff over the past four years, according to a county spokesman, a number that is likely to grow as cities respond to calls to "defund the police".

Camden still has problems, including one of the highest crime rates in the state.

And in January, neighborhoodscout.com ranked it as America's 10th most dangerous city in the country.