Created: 11/18/2008 4:42:19 PM 
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- After a string of daytime break-ins in Arlington, JSO is stepping up patrols by its Mounted Unit. Three officers on horseback were out Tuesday riding in neighborhoods between the Arlington Expressway and Lone Star Road, and between Townsend Boulevard and Mill Creek Road. Larry Stanford lives in the area and two of his neighbors were burglarized in the last few weeks. Both in the middle of the day and he couldn't be happier about recent visits by three four-legged JSO officers, Hercules, Chocolate and Sampson. "I like that very much, it's been feeling kind of unsafe around here lately, especially with two kids," says Stanford. And neighbors came out of their houses just to say how grateful they were for these crime fighters that are hard to miss.
The main advantage of horseback officers is their height; at eight to ten feet up they can see farther than an officer on the ground.
"When the horses are riding through the neighborhood they're a lot higher than a patrol car and can see across a larger area. Plus they're a deterrent to criminals, who see horses coming through and might go to another neighborhood instead," says Lieutenant Brett Sharp with the JSO Mounted Unit.
The horse patrols are also being increased in Riverside after break-ins there.
And at the request of a zone commander they will ride to the rescue in any neighborhood that needs them.
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