You notice that something’s just not right. Your door has been broken open and you hear footsteps inside. You call 9-11, but all that’s available are unarmed social workers. The scenario hasn’t quite come to the Boston area, but if our local politicians and bureaucrats get their way, we might not be that far off.
Cambridge is creating a social worker unit to replace some police calls. A full use of its resources could start as early as next month. The Community Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) team is intended to respond to “non-emergency cases” and “mental health crises.”
The tumult and riots following the killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked an infatuation with replacing policing with social work in cities. The wider impulse to try and de-police urban areas became one of the worst policy failures in generations. By the end of 2020 homicide rates in the US had climbed 30% — the highest single-year increase on record. The upward trend continued the following year as murders rose another 6%.
Cambridge was under increasing pressure to change its policing approach after cops shot a Bangladeshi-American student in January of 2023. The student allegedly jumped out a window while committing self-harm and was chased by police for five blocks. According to police, he brandished a knife and approached officers. After being shot by a non-lethal sponge round, Faisal continued approaching. An officer then shot and killed the student.
The shooting was found to be justified by a Massachusetts judge. But ideologically driven protests that followed, accusing the police of racism and excessive force, doubtless fed into the current CARE team plan.
The proposal to use social workers as police auxiliaries is also a convenient way to plug severe hiring deficits in the Cambridge Police Department. For years, and especially following the 2020 Great Awokening, left-wingers shamed cops and stripped law enforcement professions of their dignity. For many young men and women, the risk of vilification by activists and politicians is not worth taking a job with high personal risk and not enough pay. Police shortages have affected the entire state, with some Massachusetts police departments reporting 20%-30% vacancy rates.
While social workers may represent a feel-good Band-Aid for police shortages, the risk of a confrontation between an unstable person and a member of the CARE team could easily require a massive response. The CARE team will likely be sent into situations involving drugs and potential mental breakdown. The team could wind up in the middle of a mental breakdown of a junkie, who may ultimately harm themselves or others.
Cambridge officials insist that because the CARE team is unarmed, it would “reduce escalation,” and that “there’s backup” for the social workers. When the crisis is measured in seconds, police will be minutes away. The unfortunate reality is that the plan dramatically increases the chance of a tragic fatality.
Similar to how gun-free zones can be an unintentional message to criminals, the knowledge that members of the heavily female CARE team are unarmed is dangerous in and of itself. Criminals hardly pay heed to armed, trained police officers. The danger to unarmed young women trying to fill a similar role is obvious to most reasonable people.
Does it seem outlandish that unarmed social workers would be placed in violent situations? One of the City of Chicago’s official examples of its own CARE team response was when an “individual experiencing homelessness” given the moniker “Mark” started a fire that “got out of control.” The CARE team spoke to Mark, and rather than bringing him to jail they sent him to a “community crisis stabilization center,” and then to a shelter.
There is also the very real possibility of mission creep. If staffing shortages at the police department continue, it is certainly possible that politicians or administrators will ride the line of how dangerous or complicated incidents the CARE team can go to. After all, it’s all arguably rooted in “mental health issues.” There will eventually be a point where the CARE team will be completely unprepared for what happens next.
This idea has the ability to snowball into a policy error of historic proportions. Smaller crimes that would have otherwise ended in arrests could lead to bolder, or even organized crimes. Ironically, we’ve figured this out before. The successful implementation of “Broken Windows” policing in the 1990s in New York and elsewhere led to dramatic reductions in crime. Now we want to try the opposite, expecting the same result.
Cambridge should learn from the experience of other cities. Those that gave into the temptation to slash police funding saw a sharp jump in crime, even beyond the wider lawlessness of 2020 and 2021. After Minneapolis lost more than a third of its officers, there was a sharp increase in crime, including in organized gangs. After slashing its police budget, Oakland saw a dramatic increase in murder and carjackings.
The CARE program is one that will ultimately harm those who need the police the most. Remember, during the George Floyd era those with higher incomes were significantly more likely to support defunding police. If you’re a coddled white-collar politician, the thought of replacing police with social workers may make much more sense than if you live in a crime-ridden neighborhood.
Will the CARE team experiment work? Probably not, of course. However, these types of experiments often breed academic studies and copycat efforts in other cities and states before they bear the worst results. Who cares if such a change is successful if it gets you a gauzy magazine article about your commitment to social justice?
The Cambridge CARE experiment doesn’t have to be right. It just has to sound right.
Don’t be surprised if such ideas bloom over the next several years, committed by politicians and bureaucrats guided by ideology rather than results. As the great Thomas Sowell said, bad policy is often directed by those who don’t have to suffer its consequences.
Kristin Tate is a political columnist and author based in Massachusetts. Her latest book is “The Liberal Invasion of Red State America.” Follow her on X @KristinBTate.