NCJ Number
106442
Journal
American Journal of Police Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 17-44
Date Published
1987
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study reports the initial results of an evaluation of the impact of the foot patrol component of a program restructuring the Boston Police Department (BPD) in 1983, a program making foot beats the predominant form of patrol in a city previously patrolled almost exclusively by two-officer rapid response cars.
Abstract
A growing dissatisfaction with rapid motorized response caused the change. Analysis of the most extensive change, the shift to foot patrol, is based on the police department's computer-aided dispatching system in the 19 months after the plan went into effect. No reliable evidence on order maintenance or crime control appears due to foot patrols. Improvement is quite limited and probably is due to increased staffing. A short-lived reporting enhancement appears only in the locations experiencing a move from unstaffed to fully staffed foot beats on both day and evening tours of duty. Data cannot show whether the introduction of foot patrols affected citizen satisfaction with the police, their fear of crime, or willingness to move about. Police satisfaction and morale were also untested. Foot patrols do not seem to reduce problems or prevent their recurrence. More planning to develop effective patrol strategies and to provide familiarity with neighborhood and individual problems in various areas is necessary. 9 tables and 11 references. (Author abstract modified)