Policing is a divisive issue in the 21st century. Many people in the United States fear the police are guilty of profiling minority groups, and that they are slowly becoming more military-like in appearance and equipment. Police officers respond to these claims by saying they only target criminal activity and a recent wave of anti-police sentiment has forced them to adopt a more careful approach to the public. The police would say the incorporation of new equipment is required for them to meet the demands of their job.
Regardless of these arguments, it is undeniably true that the public’s trust of the police is at an all-time low. Having a lack of trust between the public and the police is never a positive thing. Citizens are less likely to report crimes, making law enforcement’s already challenging job even more difficult. In turn, the public feels they have no one to turn to in a bad situation. The City of Oswego and Mayor Billy Barlow are addressing these issues head on.
In response, Barlow proposed a $90,000 grant for increased policing in the City of Oswego. The grant called for the Oswego Police Department to conduct evening foot patrols, weather depending, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Barlow said the patrols would be used for code enforcement, crime discovery and making sure there are no major disturbances in the city after dark.
One of the reasons the proposal was initially granted was the OPD was receiving an unusually high number of complaints for night-time disturbances. Barlow said another reason for having foot patrols was public outreach.
Community policing is when a police department assigns a certain group of officers to a certain area of patrol. This allows the officers to become familiar with the unique dynamics and citizens of that area. Community policing breaks down the barrier between citizens and police. It makes the police officers a staple of the community and removes the shiny, black tinted wall standing between patrols and the public.
Additionally, as the police become more familiar with a neighborhood and the people that live there, they are better able to gauge what constitutes necessary force in certain situations. Community policing puts everyone on the same team and it appears that is what Barlow is looking to accomplish with these foot patrols.
Some students on the Oswego State campus fear the new patrols are only meant to target students, but this is simply not true. Barlow has said the patrols will be conducted during the summer months, too, when college students are not living in Oswego. Barlow said patrols were going to be conducted in neighborhoods on the east and west sides of the city were students seldom go. Barlow said the weekends were selected for additional patrols because it is the city’s busiest nights of the week.
Students should try to look at the OPD’s new foot patrols as the chance to become more familiar with the people responsible for their community’s safety. Additionally, they may find the foot patrols useful the next time a fight breaks out at the bars. Foot patrols are not meant to punish students; they are meant to benefit everyone in the City of Oswego.
Photo from Utility_Inc via Pixabay
