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The Foot Beat Experience

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Foot Patrol

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Criminology ((BRIEFSTRANSLAT))

Abstract

This chapter examines the pros and cons of foot patrol work from the perspective of officers performing the duty, using extensive field notes and officer quotes throughout. It explores the notion of what is “real police work” and how in the minds of many officers foot beats are not real policing, a view often shared by their commanders. The chapter explores how officers learn to use a variety of legal and informal means to police their beats and develop a rapport with the entire community, law abiding and otherwise. A section examines the potential to generate work statistics and the pressure of performance evaluations in driving ‘busy work’ that is not necessarily effective at community crime and disorder control. The chapter concludes by discussing beat integrity, the reasons why officers leave their assigned beats, and the impact that might have on crime prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jerry H. Ratcliffe

  2. Department of Law and Justice Studies, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA

    Evan T. Sorg

Authors
  1. Jerry H. Ratcliffe
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  2. Evan T. Sorg
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Ratcliffe, J.H., Sorg, E.T. (2017). The Foot Beat Experience. In: Foot Patrol. SpringerBriefs in Criminology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65247-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65247-4_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65246-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65247-4

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

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