Friday Night Lights

Friday night I went to the Police Department’s North Cambridge Community Meeting at the Peabody School. Understandably, a number of residents were concerned about a recent spike in violence in their neighborhood. Even though the data shows our city is safe, any increase in crime in a neighborhood makes people want to know why and want to have it stopped.

The Police Department has agreed to have monthly neighborhood meetings, which should help ensure that the community has a chance for its concerns to be heard. I was also pleased to see Police Commissioner Haas at the meeting. I have been impressed by his openness and his visibility in the community. It also seems like he has a very good rapport with the officers.

I finished the evening at Russell Field to watch the second half of the high school football game. It was a perfect night for football under the lights – slight breeze, beautiful shirtsleeves night, and the Falcons beat Peabody 36-0. It was great to see the defense shut down Peabody and preserve the shutout.

After the game, I hung out with the Police Commissioner and police officers –some of whom had been at the community meeting. As people were leaving, a number of the students and officers said hi to each other by name, and bantered back and forth. It’s encouraging to see such connections – those relationships are essential if community policing is going to work. Only if the police and community get a chance to know and trust each other can we expect to have a safe city.


Friday Night Lights