MorganManiac

I went to the beach yesterday about 40 min from my house and they had mounted beach police strolling up and down the beach. I just think it's cool and I have never seen them before so I think it's a new thing this year. Last summer had police on bicycles patroling on the street next to the beach - this seems like it would be much better.

purplefdu

The problem with mounted police is they are incredibly expensive and require lots of extra training and often can only be used part of the season in some areas. We have mounted police in the town over but when no one showed up to take the officer exam and they were short handed their officers got stuck with car patrols for almost a year. We can't have them out in the winter either.

Both bicycle and mounted police make great alternatives for public areas with parks, beaches or foot paths. They navigate in narrow areas and offroad alot better than a big Crown Vic. And they are great PR as kids love to pet the horses.

MorganManiac

I saw the kids going nuts for the horses when I was there. The officers were being really nice and letting the kids pet the horses for a minute before moving on. I think just knowing the police are there helps with safety and it does kids good to see the police in a good light, too.

lynzi

We don't have any mounted police here that I am aware of. I can imagine many of the cops would love the idea of not having to peddle around and also the connection you can make with a horse, but purple is right just imagine how expensive that could run a city.

bitsandbridles

I've never seen a mounted police man/woman in person. Only picture of the Canadian Mounties (or whatever they're called). Sounds like a fun job - I would probably enjoy doing it myself!

Mick

MorganManiac, where are you from anyway?

I have never seen any mounted police officers around here, but I do not doubt that there still are some in other areas.

Where I am however, I have never seen something like that.

To me that does sound kinda cool, I just hope it's not too hard for the horses.

highstepper

There were mounted police in Vancouver when I was on vacation. We went to see a fireworks display and they were patroling the beach and streets around it. It was neat to watch. And I agree, great PR.

Mick

I guess different areas offer many different and interesting things, but we never seem to have anything cool like mounted cops around my way!

Actually, I take that back...we have some cool things here. Just no mounted cops

MorganManiac

The beach I'm talking about is Salisbury Beach in MA. I've never seen horse-mounted cops there before and I've been going for years. That area has been in a nosedive for years so maybe it's part of their PR and revitalization plans that I've been hearing about.