Operation Patrol On Foot Research Paper

During the 2016-2017 school year there have been a variety of criminal incidents that have occurred both on and off campus. Many times, it has been difficult for the police to be in the spot where many of the incidents occur, especially those that occur in areas on campus. The recent on campus incidents include but are not limited to indecent exposures, burglaries, and armed robberies. With respect to these crimes that have occurred on the University of Maryland campus, I propose the implementation of Operation Patrol-On-Foot. This proposal suggests that more campus police officers would be patrolling the campus by foot rather than by motorized vehicle. Operation Patrol-On-Foot would help make the campus a safer place for students, faculty, and visitors by enhancing the practice of preventative patrol and building stronger trust in relations between the police officers and the community.

Much of the campus is not easily accessible by motorized vehicle and is often left unsupervised by members of the campus police force, including the buildings located on Mckeldin Mall and the area around the Memorial Chapel. The implementation of this operation would allow campus police to better practice preventative patrol which would “[make] themselves more visible and their presence known in an effort to deter crime and to make officers available to respond quickly to calls,” (pg. 158). A huge effort made by police personnel is designed to prevent crime before it occurs and this operation would make these efforts more effective and keep the campus community