Integrating safety, order and duty of care in public space foot patrols

This policy-focused paper reviews established and emerging studies on policing-based foot patrols in public places, addressing the question of how to utilise policing-oriented services to better manage problems of crime and disorder in public places. The study identified a limited traditional model of patrols and recommends an enhanced model which integrates the work of diverse providers to meet overlapping aims of crime prevention, public order, reassurance and wellbeing. The paper begins by reviewing the evolution of police patrols away from pedestrian beats through mobile patrols to private security patrols. It then examines available studies on public preferences, multi-modal co-response formats, and studies on impacts – illustrated with international case studies. These sources support the idea of reconfiguring traditional enforcement-focused patrols to include a strong welfare orientation to address common public space challenges – including substance abuse, mental illness and homelessness – along with broader quality-of-life challenges.