Did you grow up with a cop on the beat?

Ralphy1

Ralphy1

Well-known Member
We had one that patrolled our neighborhood daily, and it was a shame when he was replaced by a patrol car that was dispatched by phone. Our cop was a friendly, gregarious guy that provided us with a sense of security...
 

There were a few, directing traffic, in the small shopping areas. Not any walking a beat in my rather small suburban town.
 

No,like Nona,just a cop who directed traffic at one bad intersection that was right at the train tracks. Funny though,I belong to a scanner page for our county and someone posted the other day about a warning she got from the watch captain (Sheriff`s Dept.) the other day. I live in a rural/resort area and there is a bear that has been causing all kinds of havoc the past year or so. Our friends lived in that "neighborhood" until recently and ran into him on a couple of occasions. They moved and rented their house to their sister and mom and last week the bear got into a large pot of deep frying oil that they put out on the deck. She posted pics of oily bear paw prints all over their deck. Anyway,the watch captain warned that he came face to face with the bear the other night while on foot patrol and warned people that this bear will not back down-even with a spotlight shining directly in his face! Sounds like the guy got a bit of a scare lol. But I was very surprised to hear of anyone doing foot patrol around here.
 
We saw a couple of cops walking the neighborhood now and then but not on a daily basis. They always seemed friendly and easy to talk to, much simpler time then though. :sentimental:
 
We don't have them in my area and I don't remember ever seeing them in other residential areas. However, in our inner city downtown core they are sometimes seen walking around especially near the police station.
 
The role of the police officer has changed pretty dramatically over the years. Many inner city cops in some of the small to medium size cities still walk a beat, but in the larger cities, most have taken to being in a cruiser for obvious reasons.

As for us in the Pennsylvania State Police, we cover large amounts of territory on our section of a county or two. We are more responsible for doing what the local police departments do, except we do it in areas that have no police department. We also aide the local police departments and even large city police departments when we are called upon.

Cars are really our lifeline. We could not function without them. In most instances when the state police arrive on the scene, we are welcomed because we do the jobs that no one else would care to perform. We do everything from directing traffic to changing a tire on the freeway to delivering a baby to investigating a suicide or homicide and everything in between. It's a great job and all of us are eager to do whatever needs to be done. I have never known a PA State Trooper to shirk his duty or to do just enough to get by.
 
This thread got me thinking of the police in my era. I do not remember any going to homes, except once when there was a rabid dog and when a horse went wild and ran into a car. Injuring himself. Both times the officer had to shoot the animal.
Wonder if there just was no need for people to call the police, with complaints about neighbors, at that time? No one locked their doors, everyone knew everyone. No crime.
Only time I remember that might have been a need to call the police is when a drunk fell asleep on the trolley and missed his stop. The last stop was about a mile or two up the street from us. He must have been put off the last trolley of the night....and wandered down the street to our house. My parents had gone to a movie, and he just walked in out house, up three flights of stairs and climbed into a bath tub and fell asleep. I discovered him, as I was going to bed. My father tried to wake him up. When he couldn't, he let him sleep and then put him on the first trolley out, in the morning. How different life was then. Can you imagine the scenario if that were to happen now?
 
When I was a teenager our local police were the mounties --- they were more than a bit irritating because there really wasn't much for them to do except harrass kids at the beach or hide behind big ad structures on their motorcycles to catch speeders. They were always on the lookout to bust kids for pot. Ah, good old days.
 
If we saw a cop in our neighborhood, he was lost. We just didn't have problems. Never, ever saw one on foot.
 
There was always at least one cop walking the beat, especially in the inner city area, they were taken off to patrol the roads, the result more violent robberies.
 
We had a cozzer on the beat in London
he knew everyone on his patch
funny tho he looked really old and
never seem to do much or so it seemed
riding a bike on the pavement he"d tell you off
swearing smoking he"d have a word with your parents
differen t world now never see a cozzer on the beat now
 
My father was a police officer after he retired from the military for a period of time. I just realized I have misunderstood your question. No, I did not grow up where a cop walked the beat.
 
I grew up in a rural southern town. No cops around. My cousin was the Constable in our small town and he would drop by just to check up on my grandparents. I remember him coming by late one night with bags and bags of sugar. He had just raided a "Still" and brought my grandmother the sugar to can her fruit! LOL
 

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