We need patrol men. Guys to cruise around & help people & keep an eye on stuff. We need investigators. Detectives to look into crimes & analyze evidence & clues to solve crimes. We need people that citizens can call to subdue conflict, ideally mental health professionals that know how to calm folks.
Neighborhoods can patrol themselves. We have the tools to connect instantly with each other. Detectives, absolutely, but not cops. Social workers/trauma specialist/addict specialists/mental health pros, sure. Cops are outdated & clearly do more harm than good.
Not cops. Just regular good people who can patrol and offer help to their neighbors. Sort of like neighbors but professionals like the ones you mentioned, social workers/trauma specialist/addict specialists/mental health pros, etc.
In my neighborhood, we sort of already do this. I know most of the people on my street. We keep an eye out. Anything weird goes on, we let each other know. Most of us have cameras, too. The one time my car got busted into, I knew who did it. The only time I've ever called the cops for something. 1/2
The guy showed up, acted like I was wasting his time, said it was a group of kids he knew but they didn't take anything, so he wouldn't even write a report. Almost every neighbors cars were getting busted into. We took care of it ourselves. As a group.