Mounted Patrol in Lancaster

I’m really surprised that officers on horseback are such a crime deterrent… It just doesn’t make sense… However, it does seem like the officers enjoy their jobs and because of that, the average citizen seems more willing to approach them.

I’m waiting for mounted horse patrol to hit Mercer and Lawrence counties… However, if I ever get caught speeding, I don’t think that I would stop for an officer on a horse!

Cops on horseback are well-equipped to direct traffic, but that’s not exactly what most people call crime. On the other hand, getting closer to the community DOES fight crime.

People are normally reluctant to speak to cops. Gotta be careful what you say; Martha Stewart went to prison because she fibbed about doing something that was perfectly legal. Put a cop inside a car, and it’s even harder to talk to him.

When policemen are accompanied by horses, or going around on bicycles, or they attend community meetings, they are much more approachable. People are more at ease, and willing to ask the cop unimportant questions, questions based on idle curiosity – but when those questions help forge a relationship with a citizen, they pay off nicely. The cop often will pass out a business card, which the citizen is likely to retain.

When people know a cop by name, they are much more willing to phone him with a tip, informally, than they are to call some anonymous stranger at the police station. That anonymous deak sergeant may want to bawl them out with “Hey, we’re conducting important business here, how dare you interupt that”. The cop they know and trust will listen nicely – hey, he did before – when you call with, “Hey, it may not mean anything, but there’s this guy who’s been sitting in a car outside the bank for several hours, and he just put on a ski mask.”