NCJ Number
154500
Date Published
1995
Length
121 pages
Annotation
In May 1993, the Queensland Police Service (QPS), Southern Region, and the Criminal Justice Commission launched a pilot Beat Area Policing Project in Toowoomba, Australia, and the results of that project are incorporated in this Beat Policing Resource Kit.
Abstract
The purpose of the kit is to provide QPS officers with the information they need to plan, implement, and evaluate a beat policing project. The kit shows how beat policing can improve the level of service police officers provide to the community, although no single approach to creating a successful project is identified; what works for one community may not work for another. Beat policing should not replace reactive forms of policing. Rather, beat policing is suited to particular areas, and it cannot exist in isolation. For example, in urban areas, beat area officers must rely on mobile patrols to provide backup in certain situations and coverage when they are not on duty. The kit attempts to show how pitfalls of beat policing can be avoided or at least minimized. Key principles of beat policing are delineated, as well as specific steps in planning, implementing, and evaluating a beat policing project. Appendixes contain additional detailed information on the Toowoomba project and beat policing strategies and sample forms that may be used to implement and evaluate beat policing. 14 references