“Positive community interactions” sounds pleasant enough as a policing strategy. Who could deny the benefits of having Chicago police officers serve as messengers of goodwill in the neighborhoods that they serve?
The idea sounds particularly appealing in a city where relations between police and residents have been notoriously poor, notably in neighborhoods that need good policing the most. Small wonder that Chicago police Superintendent David Brown, in a news conference with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, proudly announced an ambitious goal of tripling reported “positive community interactions,” or “PCIs” for short, to an impressive 1.5 million this year.
As a measure of law-enforcement success, the city’s promotion of friendly interactions might encourage the cooperation of victims and witnesses. But, in reducing the city’s high violent crimes, it certainly is no substitute for making arrests.
