KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) --
The Kansas City Police Department plans to send 21 newly graduated officers into some of the city's most crime-infested neighborhoods in a three-month experiment with foot patrols.
It's been decades since neighborhoods have seen foot patrols in Kansas City, but the department hopes the effort will help officers connect with residents.
Officials hope to extend the patrols past the three-month initial phase if they prove successful.
The officers who will walk the beats in pairs will come from the current police academy class and will start after their "break-in" period training with experienced officers.
Some skeptics question the use of brand-new officers in the Kansas City's most violent areas, but other departments across the U.S. say what really counts is how officers talk to people.
Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
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