We need DC police to walk beats again - get out of cars and talk to people

[Anonymous]

One of the big changes in policing over the past century is that police used to walk around cities, and now they drive.

https://archive.curbed.com/2016/9/27/13063102/police-walking-safety-lapd

While the traditional concept of walking the beat has never disappeared from denser cities like New York and Boston, it has become less and less common in most American cities over the years.
...
Cops roving cities in police cruisers have become a ubiquitous part of the urban landscape. But having law enforcement officials monitor cities in glass and steel bubbles has proven problematic. Not only does a patrol car further isolate police from their communities, it sets up an undeniable us-versus-them hierarchy on American streets.

Cleveland

"I think because its that they get to see us, you know getting out of the car and interacting with the business owners and the citizens, and it seems like everybody likes to see us out here," she said.

Adams was walking the beat, an initiative started by Mayor Justin Bibb last year, meant to help law enforcement better connect with the community they serve.

"It's good for us, too," she said. "We get to know the people. We get to know the owners. We're building a relationship with them, and they can come to us if they do have a problem."

https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/07/07/oh-patrol-beat

When was the last time you saw one or two MPD officers just walking around talking to people?

[Anonymous]

I think that would be a good idea. It’s important to build relationships — and have police officers who really are a part of our communities. I also have had very good experiences with community oriented programs like the PAL, and even the Officer Friendly program long ago (although the officer assigned to my elementary school wasn’t all that friendly.).

[Anonymous]

That's why they pulled cops out of schools, at least in MCPS. They felt having polices around led to too many people of certain races getting arrested.

[Anonymous]

I was recently thinking the same. For example, we have people with babies selling flowers on the corner or holding fake signs asking for money. They’re dropped off there by men who come back to collect them later. It’s a ring. In the old days, a police car would pull over, check them out, inquire what they’re up to and send them on their way. Now anyone can do anything. These poor babies are used as props and no one cares!

[Anonymous]

This idea has been floated around for forever. You should read the book by a Harvard grad who became a Baltimore cop for a year:

https://www.amazon.com/Cop-Hood-Policing-Baltimores-District/dp/0691143862

[Anonymous]

Yeah right. I’m sure the police union will be happy to accommodate.

[Anonymous]

No one even wants to be a cop in the first place. Let’s start with that.

[Anonymous]

Digital addiction is real.i it's not the "glass and steel bubble" They're sitting in that keeps them from policing, it's the little glass and metal in their hand shining addictive nonsense that they scroll through endlessly. I don't see cops in cars looking out their car windows, I se them illegally parked looking down at their phones. Every last one of them.

[Anonymous]

This activity would intimidate some citizens and therefore it is inequitable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This activity would intimidate some citizens and therefore it is inequitable.

This. We have to first decide that we want crime to be enforced. Right now there are a whole lot of “educated” people who would rather see the city burn than tell someone “no.”

[Anonymous]

Walk the beat, stop and frisk, make DC safe again.

[Anonymous]

This has long been considered a best practice and effective way to reduce crime. Unfortunately the DC mayor has chosen to do nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one even wants to be a cop in the first place. Let’s start with that.

AI robot cops will eventually solve this problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This activity would intimidate some citizens and therefore it is inequitable.

And I think it’s absurd that this takes precedence over reducing crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Digital addiction is real.i it's not the "glass and steel bubble" They're sitting in that keeps them from policing, it's the little glass and metal in their hand shining addictive nonsense that they scroll through endlessly. I don't see cops in cars looking out their car windows, I se them illegally parked looking down at their phones. Every last one of them.

Actually, I've seen this too. They should be issued work phones with emergency money