{"id":4963,"date":"2010-12-07T07:26:56","date_gmt":"2010-12-07T12:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2010-12-12T13:30:59","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T18:30:59","slug":"costs-and-benefits-for-raleighs-mounted-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2010\/12\/07\/costs-and-benefits-for-raleighs-mounted-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Costs and benefits for Raleigh’s mounted police"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blade stamps his hooves, evidently anxious to keep moving. Officer John Hood pats his neck and scans Moore Square, keeping an eye on the students and residents who gather there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe develop a relationship with people down here,\u201d he says, indicating a group of homeless people near the bus station. \u201cThey\u2019ll tell us stuff, let us know if gangs are meeting around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community relationships are the core job of Raleigh\u2019s mounted police officers, four of whom patrol the streets with their horses, Blade, Flash, Cody and Ike.<\/p>\n

You can usually spot two patrolling the city\u2019s parks each day, watching for drug and alcohol use, issuing parking tickets, communicating with the public and, yes, occasionally pulling over speeding cars.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPhoto by Karen Tam.<\/center><\/p>\n

Officers like Hood and his partner, Meredith Sharon, are usually assigned to the equine program if they have previous riding experience. Officers go through about eight weeks of training at the start, learning first to ride bareback before acquiring their own specially made saddle.<\/p>\n

The horses also undergo training, experiencing fireworks, flapping objects such as tarps and other noise pollution such as leaf blowers, chain saws and sirens \u2013 anything that they might encounter on in the city.\u00a0 The horses wear rubber shoes to better walk on city streets and even have riot gear if needed.<\/p>\n

The equine units are often on patrol during large events, allowing officers to see over the crowd. That came in handy during a 2003 rally at the Capitol, Hood said, when the crowd began throwing things.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe saying goes, \u2018One horse has the power of 10 officers on foot,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cPeople respect the horse and its abilities as well as our abilities on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also came in handy just two weeks ago, when a 3-year-old girl went missing at Umstead Park. The horses were about to begin searching the forest, just as the girl was found.<\/p>\n

The four current horses were donated by residents. They live on a 100-acre site near Garner, southeast of the city. Each day officers trailer the horses to a downtown barn to saddle up. Blade and Officer Sharon\u2019s horse, Flash, are Tennessee Walkers. Ike is a Hanoverian and Cody is an American Quarter Horse.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPhoto by Karen Tam.<\/center><\/p>\n

Officers ride English style, which is the more upright posture seen in competitions, compared to the more relaxed seating of cowboy or Western style. The saddles have no horns. Aside from looking more professional, Sharon says it\u2019s easier to get off the horse in a hurry.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, she leans in her saddle and she and Flash move a few steps. \u201cSir,\u201d she says, to a man walking in the square with a paper bag-covered aluminum can. \u201cI need to check your drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hood explains that on a horse, it\u2019s easier to keep an eye on things.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can smell marijuana when you\u2019re riding a horse. You can\u2019t smell it in car,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The horses work year-round, only staying in when it\u2019s too hot, too cold, or pouring down rain. On those days, he and Sharon ride in patrol cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe horses could handle [the rain],\u201d Hood said. \u201cWe\u2019re just not too thrilled about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not too many people run from a horse, but Hood did have to chase one man down. A man used counterfeit money at the Subway sandwich shop in City Market, and was running away when Officer Hood heard about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe heard the click clack of the hooves behind him,\u201d Hood said. \u201cI pinned him against the wall … put him in handcuffs. That was rare. After that, he said he\u2019d never run again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPhoto by Karen Tam.<\/center><\/p>\n

Horses live between 30 and 35 years. When these police horses ready to retire, usually around the age of 25, they are returned to the original owner. If that person does not want the horse, the officer who rode the horse longest has the option of keeping the animal.<\/p>\n

It was about this time of year, in 1988, when the horses first hit the Raleigh streets.<\/p>\n

Now, at a time when the police department is defending itself against the not-long-ago shooting of an unarmed woman, community relationships are more important than ever.<\/p>\n

Community policing and outreach has been Police Chief Harry Dolan\u2019s pet project, often given credit for helping reduce the city\u2019s crime rate. Police reported 15 homicides in 2009 – a large drop from the 32 in 2008 and a far cry from the 23 reported in 2007.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPhoto by Karen Tam.<\/center><\/p>\n

The cost of feeding and housing the horses is about $940 per month, plus vet bills if the horse is injured or sick. That\u2019s more than $11,000 per year compared to the average cost of $4,900 per year to operate a patrol car.<\/p>\n

But although the horses are not inexpensive, Capt. Stacy Deans said the cost-benefit analysis cannot be settled with figures.
\n\u201cWe have to look a cost benefit analysis with respect to what they provide for the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Deans pointed out that during the Hillsborough Street celebration in September, children and families came up to the horses and spoke with officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was by far the biggest attraction. Just to let people come up and talk to them, to let the kids rub them — that is a benefit for the police department. It\u2019s a bit of an icebreaker. To see those horses standing out in front of Memorial Auditorium or Progress energy center, it\u2019s a good attraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officers Hood and Sharon agree. As they stand in Moore Square, multiple people come up and pet the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love these horses,\u201d says one woman, stroking Blade.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPhoto by Karen Tam.<\/center><\/p>\n

Rumors often fly about cutting the equine police program, but Deans said he has not heard anything concrete.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat typically is one of the first things that gets cut across the nation [at police departments],\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re fortunate that our city council and mayor and manager have done such a good job managing our finances and we haven\u2019t been hit like that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The horses are also a lot of work for the officers, who provide care for the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to have a love of this,\u201d Deans said. \u201cIt is a lot of time over and above the normal duties of a patrol officer, grooming and feeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Officer Sharon says the horses are the best part of the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome days you don\u2019t want to come to work,\u201d said Officer Sharon. \u201cBut the horses make you want to come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hood said he loves to be out, more closely in contact with people who might be afraid to approach a patrol car. Besides, when patrolling in a car, you\u2019re often only responding to bad news, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what I do is not always negative,\u201d Hood said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different job in law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A horse costs more than a car for the Raleigh Police Department, but it gives a couple officers a way to get out of their cars and interact with the community. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24025,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24025"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}