Providence needs to return to community policing: City Council President Igliozzi

Council President Igliozzi Calls for Return of Community Policing to Address Surge in Violent Crime
Community policing initiative, increased number of police officers on the street, diversion programs all needed to address increase in crime.

In response to a wave of serious violent crime incidents in recent weeks, City Council President John Igliozzi joined by Councilwoman and Finance Chair Jo-Ann Ryan are calling for a return to community policing in the City of Providence. 

They are also calling for sustained investments in new, diverse Providence Police Academies to bring the City’s police force back to full strength to enable community policing in every neighborhood.

“The level of violence we are seeing in the City of Providence this summer is unacceptable,” said Council President John Igliozzi. “Homicides, shootings, stabbings, and other violent crime are reaching crisis levels. Too many residents in my ward have told me that they do not feel safe sitting outside in their own yards or walking local streets at certain hours. That is why I am calling for a return to the community policing model which worked so well to reduce crime in our City. Unfortunately, we have allowed the Providence Police Department to drop from nearly 500 full-time officers, the level we were at when the community policing model was built in 2003, to a current staffing level of only 402 full-time officers, of which 113 are eligible for retirement. 

On November 6, we will graduate a new Police Academy that will bring on 50 new police officers. That’s not enough. We must bring on more new, diverse Providence police recruits as quickly as possible so they can get out into our neighborhoods and get back to community policing, which worked so well in the past but is heavily dependent on having a full complement of officers. That is why the Council recently approved a FY 2022 budget that included funding for a new Providence Police Academy, and why I am committing today that the City’s next budget will include funding for another diverse Providence Police Academy.”

“The brazen violence we have seen over the last few weeks is shocking and unacceptable,” said Councilwoman and Finance Chair Jo-Ann Ryan. “Public safety is more than just crime statistics, it’s about whether our City residents feel safe, and right now too many residents in my ward say they are concerned about violence impacting their neighborhood. We cannot allow this to continue. Public safety and residents feeling safe in their own community is at the core of any great City, and that’s why we must act now. The City Council stepped up to the plate in our FY 2022 budget by funding a new Providence Police Academy, but it is becoming clear that we must continue to replenish the ranks of the Providence Police Department. That is why I fully support Council President Igliozzi’s call for another Police Academy to be included in the next City budget and a return to community policing in earnest. 

We are committed to providing our Police Department the resources they need to return to community policing in every neighborhood of our City and to reduce the increase in violent crime that we are unfortunately experiencing. We are also committed to continuing to explore the addition of diversion programs to support our public safety initiatives.”