Cops on Foot

Selectman Aaron Hutchins commented recently at a Board of Selectmen meeting that he spotted Northborough police officer Philip Martin on foot patrol, walking between several buildings recently.

"I think it's wonderful," said Hutchins. "That's the sort of police presense I've always been accustomed to, and if it's possible, I'd love to see more of it. I thought it was great." 

Northborough cops have been on foot as part of their "legwork," so to speak, since October of 1994, when Park and Walk patrols were instituted. Park and Walk is an information program that is an officer-initiated activity, and they are encouraged to head out on foot when they are not on calls for service.

Last year, according to Lt. William Lyver, the Northborough Police Department conducted 354 such patrols. shifts, he said, are fairly evenly divided. 

"The intent is to make officers more visible and to encourage a positive contact between officers and local business employees and citizens," said Lyver. "Oftentimes, they are the result of a new business opening, and the officer assigned to that sector will stop in to introduce themselves and obtain business contact information. There is an obvious crime prevention element to the program by having officers on foot in business areas, as well as at town parks, particularly if we see a spike in incidents at the parks such, as vandalism or undesirable behavior. The midnight shift park and walk patrols are centered around the motels and licensed venues open after midnight."

The program, Lyver added, is similar to the department's bike patrol initiative, where officers drive a patrol car to a specified area, remove the bike from the rack, and patrol the area within a half-mile radius. 

For both bike and park and walk patrols the areas are focused on parks, schools and business areas," said Lyver. "Similarly, the park and walk covers a much smaller geographic area as in both cases the officer needs to be able to return to the patrol car quickly to respond to calls for service. We do not have sufficient personnel to assign a dedicated foot or bike patrol, so we make due with these modified versions."

Patrolman Martin and Sergeant William Griffin are the most active in this area, with 115 and 77 respectively. The rest, said Lyver, are fairly evenly divided amongst the patrol force.