In the Newark Foot Patrol Experiment there was an article about how foot patrol may not reduce crime but it definitely does reduce citizen’s fear of crime because people in the community feel much safer when they see police being out in their areas. “Researchers then began comparing reported crime, arrest and victimization rates, citizen fear and satisfaction with police services, as well as the attitude of foot patrol officers and officers on motorized patrol.” Within this experiment, the researchers have found that by introducing foot patrol back with a different mix of police strategies it has increased people’s safety in their neighborhoods. The positive effects from this were: people knew when officers were patrolling their neighborhoods, they felt safer that they would be able to spot a crime easier than just by being in a car, they felt safer and less likely to be victimized if they knew officers were in the area at that time, and they were a little bit more satisfied by police services than from before. The researchers have realized that even though foot patrol did not exactly lower the rate of the crimes as they have hoped for, but they did realize that maybe people would not commit crimes in those areas if they knew that officers are around almost at every other corner and they would be easily caught right away. Also, in this article, it has been noted that close contact between police and the people helps the former develop first-hand information about crime and possible criminal behavior. Information system such as this is more likely to have a positive long-term impact.
http://www.policefoundation.org/docs/newark.html
