Are Police Patrols Effective?

For many years there has been a debate over whether police patrols have been effective in crime prevention. The articles "On patrol: the tough job of police officer gets more complicated every day" and "The policing revolution: back to the beat" are two articles that I will use to analyze the effectiveness of patrol on the areas studied. The following will explain the effect that implementing community policing has had on their departments and to the local crime rates.

Eli Lehrer's, "On patrol: the tough job of police officer gets more complicated every day" was an analysis that shows the effect that community policing has had on the Fort Meyers/Cape Coral, Florida area. It followed Rebecca Prince, a patrol officer for Fort Meyers to give a glimpse into her normal job activities (34). The article showed how they have trained officers to have a presence in the community and try to prevent crimes before they occur. This form of police patrol was implemented in response to these communities having a larger than average number of crimes per citizen that were being committed in their communities to try and stop some of the violence before it starts (35). Prince also explained how her knowledge of the local citizens and knowing who she could get information from proved to be one of the most valuable forms of intelligence and tips for solving larger crimes (36). She could ask the prostitutes or small time dealers for information on past or future violent crimes or wanted criminals in return for not arresting them for a minor charge. They knew her and trusted her so they were more likely to give information that would lead to a bigger arrest.

Another large part of this community policing plan was hiring officers specifically trained to deal with community issues (Lehrer 37). Michael Titmuss was hired as a Community Policing Coordinator with his main job making a presence in the community and as a person that can be trusted and that you can talk to. This form of human relations is made to try to give the police a more positive view from the citizens that may feel more like they know the police and may give a better feeling of security. If the community works with the police, this may lead to less fear and crime.

The article, "The policing revolution: back to the beat" by Ian Blair was an article explaining how the Police Reform Act of 2002 in England transformed the London Metropolitan Police. After the terrorist attacks of September 11^th 2001, the crime rate in London kept rising (22). They had to find a way to try and prevent more crime from occurring and trying to limit the amount of crime that was already happening (23). They decided that they needed a plan such as the one implemented by Bill Bratton in New York City (22). Bratton was able to drastically reduce the number of crimes taking place in his city by increasing the amount of officers on patrol and providing a large police presence within the community.

The Metropolitan Police formed a new officer position with this Act (Blair 23). The police community support officers were a new low level officer that had the power to give tickets for disturbances against the peace, but do not have the power to arrest or carry a weapon. These officers are not seen as big of a threat against citizens, yet they keep an official police presence in the community giving a better sense of security. They hope these new positions will help decrease the fear and incidence of crime in the London urban area.

Both of these articles seem to have a positive outlook on the use of community policing. The Florida cities seemed to have very good luck with getting their officers out and engaged with the citizens, while the London officers were very optimistic about their future with the use of community policing to solve their problems. The higher speed that both of these departments are now able to dispatch people when a crime has occurred can make a huge difference in the amount of crimes that do occur. People that know that police are close by or can respond quickly to a call may be less likely to commit offenses. Both of these articles showed how the use of officers that are specially trained to deal directly with citizens instead of being detached from them can be a positive when it comes to reducing crime in high threat areas.

The textbook Police Administration 5^th Edition states that, "As police departments have improved their crime analysis capabilities and gotten better at identifying 'hot spots,' the credibility of directed patrol has been enhanced (379)." This statement sums up what has made the difference in the patrol methods for Fort Meyers and the new methods of the London police departments. Now that they have identified and are able to focus on patrolling areas that are high crime targets they can work on preventing them before they occur. This will reduce crime and improve the efficiency of these departments so they are more effective.

I believe that increasing patrol and community policing have or will improve the departments from these articles. I believe there are many other communities that could benefit from these techniques. If all departments are able to learn their highest crime areas and focus on better relations with the community, I believe they will be the most effective departments. For all of these reasons mentioned above, I believe that extra patrol is a valuable method in the administration of justice anywhere.

References Cited

Blair, I. (2002, September) The policing revolution: back to the beat. New Statesman. 21-23. Retrieved May 1, 2007, from the WilsonSelect database.

Cordner, G.W., Scarborough, K.E., & Sheehan R. Police Administration 5^th edition. (2004). Anderson Publishing Company. Lehrer, E. (2001, July) On patrol: the tough job of police officer gets more complicated every day. The American Enterprise. 12(4), 34-38. Retrieved May 1, 2007, from WilsonSelect Database.