Policing the Beat: the Experience in Toowoomba, Queensland

Modern beat policing, or foot patrol, programs have expanded the role of the beat officer beyond the traditional surveillance function of "walking the beat." Today, beat officers are also expected to liaise with the community and solve community problems. Thus, the beat officer's role has become a popular way of incorporating preventive and reactive functions into the day-to-day duties of a police officer. This paper reports the major findings of an evaluation of a two-year beat policing pilot project established in Toowoomba, AUS. The results showed that the Toowoomba projectincreased beat residents' levels of satisfaction with policing services; had little effect on beat residents'feelings of safety; had some success in tackling chronic problem addresses in the beat areas 154 — Christine E.W. Bond and David John Gow and helped to reduce, or at least contain, the incidence of certain types of crime. Implications of the Toowoomba evaluation for police management are discussed.