Less than a year after launching a highly visible neighborhood policing initiative, the Buffalo Police Department has discontinued its Foot Patrol Integration Unit with city officials pointing to staffing limitations, overtime costs and operational challenges as the primary reasons for ending the program.
The decision was confirmed during a recent Police Oversight Committee meeting at Buffalo City Hall after Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope questioned Interim Police Commissioner Craig Macy about the unit’s sudden elimination.
The walking patrol program, introduced in April 2025 under then-Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, was designed to increase officer visibility, strengthen relationships between police and residents and improve communication with neighborhood businesses and community groups. Officers assigned to the unit regularly patrolled commercial corridors and residential streets on foot while attending block club meetings and local events…