A huge crowd gathered in Richmond Hill last night for the 102nd Precinct’s Community Council Meeting to discuss several longstanding issues. Making matters worse was the fact that the 102nd Precinct’s Community Affairs officer John McCoy was transferred to the 105th Precinct.
McCoy was an invaluable resource for the community. Community Council President Maria Thomson said McCoy’s transfer came out of nowhere, and she has been fighting fervently to have him returned to the area.
The Forum strongly believes community policing is a key part of keeping our neighborhoods safe. When everyday residents care about the neighborhood and have constant contact with the police, they can enact major change.
We aren’t talking about residents acting like police officers or enacting their own vigilante justice. We’re not even advocating for more foot patrol officers in neighborhoods (although that’d be great).
Rather, it’s just obvious that community involvement helps solve numerous issues. Thomson and McCoy know Woodhaven better than most, and when they worked together on issues, things were accomplished and questions were answered. Now a new cop must learn the area, and Thomson and other community leaders.
For this to be a viable strategy, police officers need to know the community. It does no good when a police officer finally learns and connects with a neighborhood before getting transferred to a different station.
We would never denounce a cop from taking a promotion at another precinct or retiring after years of service. But more care should be taken when transferring officers around, especially officers like McCoy who have become integral part of the neighborhoods they help protect.
