New Bedford Police Plan More Foot and Bike Patrols

New Bedford residents can expect to see changes in the way their police department operates. Some of those changes will be subtle, while others will be difficult to miss. One change will see New Bedford's finest rely a bit more on foot power than in the past.

Foot and bike police patrols will become more common this year.

Police Chief Jason Thody has issued a report, "Year One Goals & Objectives," which he considers a "roadmap to strengthen the New Bedford Police Department through modernized practices, enhanced accountability, and community partnership."

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What the ‘Year One Goals’ Report Outlines

The plan is "designed to build organizational capacity while earning and sustaining public trust."

You may recall the NBPD took a pounding in a series of reports in the Boston Globe last year for what Globe writers considered to be questionable policing practices. It's not the first time outside critics have hammered the department.

The report talks about performance measurement and accountability, training, and "structural and tactical realignment." There are references to several recently performed consultant reports.

READ MORE: NBPD Rolls Out "Broken Windows" Policing

The report also discusses an expansion of community policing tactics. Thody plans to adopt some aspects of broken windows policing, popularized by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, but Thody looks to go further, telling media outlets he plans to increase foot patrols and bike patrols later this year as a way to build trust with city residents.

READ MORE: New Bedford Police Rolling Out Bicycle Patrols

Foot patrols and bike patrols are popular with residents. Their use was limited due to financial constraints. Thody told the New Bedford Light that federal grants for the bicycle program were delayed last year due to the lengthy government shutdown.