NCJ Number
104831
Date Published
1987
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Foot patrol officers interacting with citizens to address community problems, prevent crime, improve informal social control, and refer citizens in need to appropriate community services can help reduce crime and the fear of crime.
Abstract
The foot patrol experiment begun in Flint, Mich., in 1979 has been expanded citywide and replicated in other cities. The foot patrol or community police officer is responsible for organizing communities to prevent deviant behaviors, to defend against crime, and to guide residents in receiving and providing various services. Activities by foot patrol officers throughout the country have included leadership in establishing neighborhood watch and neighborhood patrol programs, recreational programs for juveniles, and a curfew incentive program that rewarded children for meeting curfews set by their parents. A 1979-81 evaluation of the Flint foot patrol program found that in the foot patrol jurisdictions, calls for police service were down 43.4 percent during the evaluation period. In the areas with foot patrol, reported crime was down 8.7 percent during the project's life while crime rates in other Flint neighborhoods were rising. Photographic illustrations.