BANGOR, Maine — Bangor police are back on the walking beat due to increased reports of disorderly conduct.
This summer, a walking patrol officer helped reduce crime and quickly addressed reports of panhandling, disorderly conduct, property damage and similar behavior.
Bangor police believe that approach has been very effective. As the city refines its response to new complaints of disorderly behavior in the downtown area, police say they’ll increase their visibility by enhancing downtown walking assignments with police officers on foot and for longer periods of time.
Probably a good move by the BPD. One of the pluses is the large amount of information about the whole community that a beat officer can pickup by just talking with the public and by building a good relationship with business owners.
Walking cops are GREAT for a number of ‘incident response; reasons, but I think the biggest benefit is that they talk to people and get friendly with the locals. It really diminishes the us vs. them attitude that a lot of people have toward cops, and builds trust between both sides.
Ever been down to Dorchester on a Saturday night? Lots of cops walking around, joking with the kids, chatting with folks coming out of the bars. Makes an otherwise kind of rough area much more friendly.