What's Up With Greenfield?

The police department announced that an officer will be assigned to the downtown area full time. Good news! It's an old-fashioned idea--an officer walking a beat, knowing everything going on and everyone in the area.

I learned at a young age from my grandfather how important this is. He was a policeman in Quincy, Mass. for 38 years starting in the 1920's. Over the years he worked on a horse (there was the time the horse reared up and almost trampled him), on a motorcycle (which required a tight grip, which he blamed for his arthritis) and on foot, which I think was his favorite. He knew everyone on his beat, and when something went wrong he was right there--but more often nothing went wrong, precisely because he was there. He never liked the more reactive approach of squad cars responding to calls.

While I never feel unsafe on Main Street, there are a couple of spots that feel uncomfortable at times, with groups of people hanging out. One day I saw a guy show off his knife to his buddy. Another time I saw a fistfight break out in a crosswalk. Stuff like this can happen anywhere, but it should happen less with officer Dave on the beat.