If aliens were to land in America, they’d quickly notice a pattern: There’s an issue plaguing not just cities, but the nation — public safety.
That’s why The Citizen welcomed legendary Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who ran departments in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia — where, alongside former Mayor Michael Nutter, he oversaw a historic drop in crime, including a 28 percent drop in homicides — to our Ideas We Should Steal Festival in November.
But 30 minutes was simply not enough time with Ramsey. So we brought him back for two more installments of our How To Really Run a City podcast, co-hosted by former two-term Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former two-term Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, and Citizen co-founder and award-winning author and producer Larry Platt.
The biggest take-away from this episode?
“Everyone has a role to play in public safety,” says Nutter. It’s not just about police and fire: It’s also about tree-trimming and keeping streets well-lit, because crime tends to happen in the dark. It’s about mental health services and schools.
“I think of it more as community safety than public safety,” Ramsey says.
To be effective, those multi-department efforts can’t be haphazard or uncoordinated. As Platt observes, that’s what’s meant by the latest governing term of art: “A whole of government approach.”
Find out what your role can be — and where the future of policing lies — in part two of this special three-part series. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts, and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode.
