You Can't Beat a Police Beat

In Queensland there are now 35 Neighbourhood Police Beats and 49 Police Beats Shopfronts unique to Queensland.

A Neighbourhood Police Beat is a form of policing designed to make individual police officers responsible for the community's policing needs in a specific area, usually within a residential suburb. Beat policing has been a part of the policing landscape for well over a century, dating back to the traditional English Bobby who walked the beat, talked to community members and was known by everyone.

The modern Police Beat sees a police officer working and living from the office/residence within the beat area. This type of model instils a more 'country' style of policing into suburban or urban areas, and research shows that local reported crime rate drops when a Neighbourhood Police Beat is set up.

The success of this program to date has been demonstrated by the high community acceptance of Neighbourhood Police Beats and the expressed desire of communities to have more of this service in their immediate area.

Police Beat Shopfronts are most often found in major shopping centres, and are aimed at placing an effective policing presence in central business areas. As well as being convenient for the public in reporting crime, Shopfront Beats are extremely useful in fighting it. Shopfront Beats work closely with Loss Prevention Officers from major shopping outlets in collecting and sharing information regarding theft. This has proved successful in passing on information to other shopping centres regarding crime trends and preventative strategies.

So next time you are out shopping, or walking past your local Neighbourhood Beat, pop in for a look, pick up some brochures on crime prevention and say g'day to your local police officer.