22 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2017 O neofthedifferences between today and times gone by is that things that would never require a police response now routinely do so. Whether it’s an unruly kid getting arrested for goofing off in class instead of a trip to the principal’s office or a youngster cutting across someone’s lawn, offi- cers are frequently handling calls that seem trivial if not downright crazy. Consider the fact that in West Harwich, Massa- chusetts recently, a sixth- grader was served with pa- pers because she cut across a neighbor’s property to catch her bus to school. Back in the day this would have been an easily resolved issue by grown- ups – maybe over a cup of coffee or better yet, no one would have even noticed. “Listen Jeff, you know how my wife is about the lawn. Could you just ask little Sally to plan ahead and not cut through the yard? It would make my life a lot easier.” Instead officers served a child with no-trespass or- ders after neighbors grew weary of the girl cutting through their properties to get to and from her school bus stop. The mother of 11-year- old Autumn Blanchard told the Cape Cod Times her daughter received three pink no-trespass notices from the Harwich Police Department. The neighbors had been complaining – not to the parent but to the school. The school didn’t bother to call the girl’s mother. Krystal Blanchard said she was unaware of the cri- sis until the moment police arrived at her door. “I am beyond distressed by this situation,” she said. “I can’t imagine why it had to go to this level. Some- one should have spoken to me.” Harwich Police Chief David Guillemette blamed a “breakdown in communi- cation” for the situation. He thinks it might have been a good idea to do a little community policing and have officers at least speak with the mother be- fore the setting the wheels of the criminal justice sys- tem in motion. “I would have preferred it would have been handled with more tact,” he said. A police report stated that the neighbors asked the girl (named Autumn) to “walk around on the street and she ignores their wishes.” The report also referred to a school resource officer and the school principal talking with Autumn. The mother was never made aware of those con- versations. All that remains to be seen is whether or not the girl dares to engage in some civil disobedience. Should she cut through the yard again, Autumn could be arrested, fined up to $100 and imprisoned for up to 30 days. Law enforcement A mayor is a symbol and a public face of what a city bureaucracy provides its citizens. – John Hickenlooper Seriously, you guys? Do Seriously, you guys? Do any of you realize the PR any of you realize the PR disaster that’s disaster that’s happened here? happened here?