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Take a walk!
Police in one small Colorado town are punting their patrol cars in favor of hoofing it around their beats, in an effort to save the taxpayers thousands of dollars that would be spent on fuel.
Estes Park police are being asked to park their cars and walk their beats for at least one hour per shift. Officials estimate it will save some 200 or 300 gallons per month.
My question is: why weren’t they, and their cohorts in other cities, doing this already?
I understand the need for quick response – and certainly want the police to have every opportunity to hurry-up when their help is needed – but taking a walk for an hour every shift is a nice way for officers not only to save money, but to really get out into, and learn about, the community they serve.
A lot can go unnoticed, even when traveling through a city at a laggard 35 miles per hour.
I think this idea’s as much a good policing and PR move as it is a cost-saving mechanism.
The average person doesn’t have many run-ins with the law, save the occasional traffic ticket, leaving his or her idea of “police” as the faceless boys in blue who bust people.
But if he or she becomes used to seeing Officer Joe on the street, the idea of “police” can (hopefully) become that of a trustworthy, real person.
And, I’d argue that a citizen, who, for example, has an idea of who’s behind a string of car break-ins, would be much more likely to pass on that information to an officer in person, than if he or she must call in a report to do so.
If and when gas prices sink away from $4 per gallon, I hope the officers will continue their patrolling perambulations.
And, to those of you looking to crack the overplayed "work off those donuts" joke, please just don't. It's had it's day and it's not even remotely funny anymore.
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