It's been a little over two months since the Worcester police introduced officers on horseback. There are four horses and seven officers in the new mounted unit.
They've been patrolling parks, the Worcester Common and across the city. Police Chief Steven Sargent said they're also sent out to a neighborhood after a report of a shooting.
"We always make sure that we have more officers in that neighborhood the next day, anyway, going door-to-door," he said. "But this gives us an opportunity also to bring the horses down there to walk patrol through the neighborhood...There's nothing more visible than a mount -- a mounted unit."
Sargent said the officers on horseback have been very well received by the community.
In recent years, Boston and Hartford have gone in the opposite direction -- eliminating horse units.