A community perception of crime is more important than the actual presence off crime. More officers patrolling a neighborhood on foot than in car gives the presence of safety in that neighborhood. These officers spend time with the community and get to know them. These officers learn to distinguish strangers from "regulars", kicking out strangers as a result. Other cases where neighborhoods that leave a broken window unfix tend to encourage more broken windows, because it gives the impression that no one cares and over time more windows get broken initiating the degradation of that neighborhood.
Communities feel safer when officers patrol their neighborhoods regularly. These officers spend time and get to know the community as a whole. They learned to tell "regulars" apart from strangers. These strangers often came from other neighborhoods and hanged out on their blocks The more the officers patrolled the more they developed a closer relationship with the "regulars" of the neighborhoods.
crime trends
Crime trend
trend in crimeThis shows an excellent example of community control when an effective plan is implemented.
Crime rates do not have to be down to give a strong presence of neighborhood safety. Officers who patrol on foot talk to the "regulars" and development a bond with officers. These bonds allow the resident to feel safe despite crime rates statistics.
Officers walking beats had higher morale, greater job satisfaction, and a more favorable attitude toward citizens in their neighborhoods than did officers assigned to patrol cars...Foot patrol has no effect on crime; it merely fools the citizens into thinking that they are safer (268, Kelling/ Wilson)
The size of a community can often influence the perception of crime in a neighborhood. The larger the community the more problems it appears to have. This problem almost always appears to directly relate to the size the community. The...