Police-community gap bridged by clergy

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32407, 21 September 1970, Page 2

Police-community gap bridged by clergy

(By

TERRY McGOVERNE)

A new liaison between police and ministers of religion has sprung up in the United States to try to bridge the gap between the arm of the law and the community.

In California, at least six communities have developed chaplain patrols in the last year. The idea is catching on in other parts of the country as well.

The police think the scheme is a good one. They are the first to admit that clerymen are better equipped to break the bad news like telling parents of the death of a child.

Having a minister handy has proved to be very useful in dealing with one frequent kind Of trouble the family quarrel. The police say that a couple married for 25 years will take little notice of a policeman half their age. Some American cities have extended the “ride-along” programme beyond clergymen to provide school teachers, parents and teenagers with a first-hand view of crime and disturbances.

But because clergymen are frequently in contact with people by word of mouth and

through parish bulletins they are considered to be more adept than anyone at community relations. They are able to keep the people informed .about what the police encounter in their day-to-day work. In San Diego there is a chaplain patrol of 30 black clerygmen and one white minister who take turns riding in police cars on the most critical nights of the week— Friday to Sunday. Most of the problems on these nights' relate to what the public claim is police brutality; and the purpose of the clergy being present is to act as a buffer between the police and community. If someone is injured and an unruly crowd gathers and will not respond to the directions of the police then the clergy take hold of the loud-hailer.

The whole programme has had its problems. There has been some anxiety in the community that the clergy patrol is an endorsement of the police and its policies. But clergy insist that their only role is to keep open the lines of communication between the police and the people. Some newspapers have

urged the police and clergy not to join ranks but to stick to their- traditional chores and stay away from alliances that might do little more than create a confusion of roles.

Some ministers think the programme is turning the clergy into quasi-policemen compelled to use guns in an emergency. In spite of the criticism from various quarters the programme is expected to prosper and (Contribute considerably to allaying violence in the streets and preventing crime.