Boston police have installed a cardboard cutout of a uniformed officer rather than a costly real one in a train station known for its rampant thefts.
Law enforcement is expensive so local governments are using creative ways to cut costs while reducing crime.
Transit police from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority have installed a cardboard cutout of a uniformed officer rather than a costly real one in a train station known for its rampant thefts.
Crazy as it sounds, what’s even crazier is that it’s reportedly been working.
With hundreds of people using the bicycle cage at Cambridge’s Alewife transit stop, the spot had become a particular locus for bicycle thieves.
However, placing a living, breathing uniformed officer on the site would have cost the city an estimated 200 thousand dollars a year.
For the cost of the lifesize cardboard cutout, which uses a picture of a real police officer, officials say they’ve gotten thefts down by over 65 percent.
In addition to the cutout, video cameras and a new lock have helped to curb the thefts.
The officer who served as the model said that the second it takes for a potential criminal to glance at the cutout seems to be enough.
The tactic has been such a success, more cut-out cops are planned for other stations.
