“Out-of-Car Experiences” in 2025: Getting Back to Basics in Community Policing

There is extensive evidence that when officers get out of their patrol cars and intentionally focus on getting to know the people on their beats, these informal interactions can enhance trust for both the officers and the citizens. Recent studies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have found that foot patrols reduced fear of crime and increased satisfaction with the police among the residents in the neighborhoods where the foot patrols were deployed. 

And, ultimately, “out-of-car experiences” represent a return to the policing strategies that pre-date a reliance on 911 dispatch and vehicle stops as the primary drivers of police interactions with the communities that they protect and serve.

But how do law enforcement leaders encourage their officers, deputies, and troopers to proactively engage in “out-of-car experiences” in the face of staffing shortages, high call volumes, and the many other issues that get in the way of this back-to-basics approach to community policing?

In this two-hour webinar, Chief Harry P. Dolan (Ret.) will share strategies that he has developed over 25 years as a police chief in four different agencies—ranging in size from fewer than 20 sworn officers to over 700 sworn officers—for prioritizing community policing basics and “out-of-car experiences” on a day-to-day basis.