"Adopt
A Block" ... an adjunct to Community Policing and the Ideal
Basic Car
A Hollenbeck community based program that was first conceived
almost four years ago, "Adopt A Block" was reviewed
by the Police Commission, then by Hollenbeck's C-PAB, and approved
as a pilot project well worth trying.
Captain Tom Moselle (retired), the Area Commander back then, was
enthusiastic that "Adopt A Block" would encourage a
better partnership with the local residents, since all
the Basic Car Officers were requested to step out of their vehicles
every day ... and get within arm's length of the public.
Hollenbeck began to implement the program. The first batch of
pamphlets were printed and stuffed with materials ... and into
the cars they went.
Then, before the Deployment Period was over, the Senior Lead Officers
were put back into patrol.
That halted everything.
Now that the Hollenbeck SLOs are back full time, and the compressed
work schedule has allowed full deployment of the area's Basic
Cars, the "Adopt A Block" program is being resurrected.
It has the go-ahead and support of Central Bureau.
The program costs almost nothing, yet fosters a working partnership
between the Basic Car Officers and the community they serve where
it's needed most ... at the street level.
You'll find a full description of the program at a link below,
as well as a facsimile of the pamphlet Hollenbeck C-PAB produced
almost four years ago.
This is a refreshingly easy to understand concept, but one that
makes a lot of sense.
And you know, not all Community Policing programs need extensive
studies or massive funding ...
