“We needed them to believe that the officers cared about the people on the street.”

Nicole Polit, a civilian social worker, regarding vulnerable people’s increased trust in Philadelphia’s SEPTA police officers. In a pilot project called Serving a Vulnerable Entity, police and “outreach specialists,” or social workers, work together to patrol the transit system and look for people who may be in need of services, such as temporary shelter, food or drug treatment. (NPR — April 21, 2022)