According to Conroe Police Chief Jeff Christy, the decision to create the unit was to bring back community policing as well as bridge a gap between police officers and the public. Christy explained these officers on horseback are more approachable and open to photo opportunities.
Vogel said in preparation to bring the mounted patrol unit to Conroe, Vogel studied similar-sized cities that have units, such as McKinney, Garland, Midland, Odessa and Houston. He said from a public relations viewpoint he believes nothing beats a mounted patrol unit. He said mounted patrol units are also effective in parking lots, due to the officers having an elevated line of sight.
"I think it's going to be a great program, and I invite everybody out to meet the horses," Christy said.
Vogel said mounted patrol officers went through 360 hours of training to learn how to care for their horses, ride and control crowds.
“When we are called, most people see the police in a negative light,” Vogel said. “It’s not necessarily going to be that way with mounted patrol, because they will be out, and people want to interact with the horses; therefore, it brings [residents] to interact with the officers.”
According to Christy, the mounted patrol startup costs were an estimated $216,000. Of that, $49,000 was paid by seized funds, $127,000 from the city's budget and the remainder from sponsors.
In addition, Christy said the Houston Police Department provided training for officers and the horses at no cost. In return, Conroe and HPD will enter an agreement to each district through the use of the patrol units.
“The horses themselves after being purchased are absolutely no cost to the taxpayers,” Vogel said.
According to Christy, three horses came from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and two horses came from a private vendor in Missouri. Christy said the horses are kept at the YMCA, which the city purchased in 2021 as the facility has an equine center.
“We are really excited about the Conroe Police Department's first mounted patrol unit,” Conroe Mayor Jody Czajkoski said in a statement. “The presence of this unit is going to help us with security as well as with building positive community relationships and providing the youth of Conroe a way to better get to know our police force.”
