Police in Springfield, Massachusetts have been taking their patrols onto neighborhood sidewalks as officers take part in a new foot patrol initiative. The city’s top cop says it’s a step toward improving community engagement.
Four months into his role as Springfield’s police superintendent, Lawrence Akers has announced a new effort to boost engagement between the police and locals.
Announcing the effort with the mayor and city councilors, Akers says his department is engaging in a new “citywide walking patrol initiative” — taking officers out of their vehicles and putting them in direct contact with the public.
“I don't think that the police can really engage in community engagement inside the cruiser, being slaves to the radio,” he said during his announcement on Thursday Aug. 22. “So, we're getting out here in the community, we want to talk to the people, we're going to be going to the businesses, just to check to see how things are going. We want to talk to every day citizens out here on the street. That's our goal, that's what we're going to accomplish.”
According to Akers, the walking posts started earlier in the week after he tasked the head of the department’s “Neighborhood Stabilization Bureau” with having both C3 and Metro unit officers start making rounds on foot.
The goal is to expand the effort citywide.
“I think the neighborhood's going to appreciate seeing it, the residents and also the business community - these walking patrols, hospitality engagement, community engagement, also deters people if they're thinking to do the wrong thing,” Sarno said.
Soon after Sarno named Akers as the next head of Springfield PD, the now-superintendent said building trust and changing perceptions of the department are a priority.
Before and after his swearing-in, Akers has appeared at various community forums, including several dealing with gun violence and firearms.
Regardless, local leaders like City Councilor at Large Jose Delgado say he and others have been calling for increased community policing and called Thursday’s announcement in Indian Orchard a step in the right direction.
“This was something that I also advocated for, in terms of community policing, so to continue to see that going on is great,” he said. “We want to see these community members be able to meet the police officers. Sometimes, we feel that we don't know who our folks are, and so your presence on there is just going to do much more for that. I want to commend the officers for wanting to do this as well, because that shows the type of people that we're recruiting and hiring in the SPD.
Currently, the city’s Indian Orchard neighborhood lacks coverage from a C3 unit, Akers said. With units in spots like the city’s North End, Forest Park and Mason Square, the police superintendent says he hopes to expand the “Counter Criminal Continuum Policing” force once resources allow.
In the meantime, he says the foot patrols supported by overtime funds fill some of the community engagement gap while building bridges.
“When I first took over this position, one of the things that I said that I was going to really focus on was community engagement,” Akers said. “And this is just one of the pillars that I hope to start and bring … our police department together to build those bridges of trust so we can get together once again and smile with each other, walk down the street with each other, talk to each other and talk about any issues that the residents may have.”
