On Monday morning at a little after 11 a.m., we noticed a pair of beat cops walking along U Street NW near 12th Street. In many other cities, this would certainly be nothing to take note of, but in D.C., the cries from neighborhood associations and individual residents for more officers to patrol on foot have been heard for years. Police Chief Cathy Lanier thus rightly made a big deal out of increasing the number of beat cops within her first week on the job, and now, after a particularly deadly weekend in the city, Mayor Fenty has announced that police will be adding even more.

Starting this week, all seven police districts will select additional officers who will be dedicated to patrolling on foot. This is an indisputably good thing, though of course it’s less good that it took such a bloody weekend to make the adjustment. Eleven people were shot in the District over the weekend, resulting in at least four deaths, including an infant and a 15-year-old.

But will the changes to foot patrol assignments be permanent? It’s unclear from the Post account of the press conference. Fenty and Lanier would be wise to ensure this tactic doesn’t follow along the lines of their All Hands on Deck initiatives, disappearing just as they began to do some good. If there’s any one policing strategy the community at large has been begging for, it’s more permanent, dedicated beat officers. So keep an eye out for any new foot patrols you see in the city, and let us know about them.

Photo by blugrn