Chapter 9 Patrol Operations 1-

Introduction This chapter is about police operations: what the police do and how they do it The chapter will discuss the academic studies of the 1960s and 1970s Most of this chapter will be related to police patrol operations, the core of policing The chapter will discuss traffic operations and special operations, including SWAT teams and emergency service units 1-

Traditional Methods of Police Work Random routine patrol Officers driving around a designated geographic area Rapid response to citizens’ calls to 911 Officers being dispatched to calls immediately Retroactive investigation of past crimes by detectives Detectives conducting follow-up

Police Patrol Operations Patrol: foundation of the police department 60 to 70 percent of officers on patrol Purposes of patrol: Deterrence of crime Maintenance of feeling of public security Availability for service to public 24 hours a day

Legacy of O. W. Wilson Former dean of School of Criminology and police chief Patrol: designed to create “an impression of omnipresence” Concept of random routine patrol One-officer patrols can observe more than two-officer patrols Police Administration: first textbook for police executives

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Police Work Very difficult to measure Different and complex variables Changes in policy and practice Create important conceptual and operational effects Ways to address the crime issue Creativity

Evaluating Effectiveness of Police Work Cannot control all variables that might produce crime Controlled experiment Experimental group: receives changed conditions Control group: not acted upon

Random Routine Patrol: The Kansas City Study First attempt to test effectiveness of random routine patrol Study in brief: Fifteen beats used: five control, five reactive, five proactive Collected data on: reported crime, arrests, traffic accidents, response times, citizen attitudes, and citizen and business victimization

Random Routine Patrol: The Kansas City Study (cont.) Results of study: Failed to demonstrate that adding or taking away police patrols made any difference Value of study: Did not result in elimination of preventive or random routine patrol Set the stage for further experimentation with alternative patrol strategies and tactics

Rapid Response to Citizens’ 911 Calls Traditional way to catch criminals Early studies of rapid response 1967, Task Force Report: Response within 1 to 2 minutes an arrest likely; Improvements of 15 to 30 seconds greatly improved likelihood Later studies of rapid response Basic components Time between when crime occurs and moment victim or witness calls police Time required for police to process call Travel time from time police car receives call from dispatcher until it arrives at scene

Academic Studies of Police Patrol Function Took many years to realize that much of what Wilson taught was wrong Defined goals of patrol as: Crime prevention and deterrence Apprehension of criminals Provision of non‒crime-related service Provision of sense of community security and satisfaction with police Recovery of stolen property Divided routine patrol into 4 goals: Calls for services (25% of patrol time) Preventive patrol (40 %of patrol time) Officer-initiated activities (15% of patrol time) Administrative tasks (20% of patrol time)

Patrol Activity Studies Patrol officers spend less that 20-30 percent of their time on crime-related calls most patrol work involves not doing anything very specific but, rather, taking breaks, meeting with other officers, and engaging in preventive patrolling Administrative duties and police-initiated activities (33%) Police-initiated calls are mostly related to traffic enforcement Calls from dispatcher (67%)

From Foot Beat to Patrol Car First formal police patrols on foot By 1960s, car patrol was main method Revolutionized policing More efficient patrol coverage Disadvantage: isolated police officers from the community

One-Officer vs. Two-Officer Patrol Cars Larger urban departments deploy two-officer cars Suburban, rural departments prefer one-officer cars Officers believe departments are compromising officer safety to save money Argument in favor of two-officer patrol cars: Less likely to be assaulted in pairs Argument against two-officer patrol cars: Officers can become distracted or not quite as observant Officers can be overly confident and have false sense of security

Return to Foot Patrol Mid-1980s: emphasis on return to foot patrol When foot patrol is added in neighborhoods: Levels of fear decrease significantly Citizen satisfaction with police increases Police who patrol on foot: Have greater appreciation for values of neighborhood residents than police who patrol same area in automobiles Have greater job satisfaction, less fear, and higher morale than officers who patrol in automobiles

Patrol Innovations: Working Smarter LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE Challenging of long-term beliefs regarding policing Current economic challenges Do more with much less Order maintenance and service activities Working relationship with the community are critical Objective: To discuss how law enforcement has responded to the academic studies 1-

Evidence-Based Policing Scientific research could provide great information Let go of the traditional wisdom Apply “best practices” from literature Monitor and evaluate projects to see if they work Share information with other agencies to continually add to body of knowledge 1-

Patrol Innovations: Working Smarter PREDICTIVE POLICING Predictive policing: Application of analytical techniques Four broad categories Predicting crimes Predicting offenders Identifying offenders Predicting victims of crimes

Patrol Innovations: Working Smarter SMART POLICING Smart policing: Emerging paradigm Problem-solving teams Chronic offenders Chronic locations Hot spots

Modern Response to Citizens’ 911 Calls Directed patrol Patrols specific locations at specific times for specific crimes Split-force patrol Half the force responds to calls for service and the other half performs directed patrol Differential response Response to calls for service varies according to type and severity of call

Allocation of Resources PERSONNEL Personnel are the most expensive part of a police department’s budget Staggered shift changes and briefings Scheduling of personnel VEHICLES Fleet Assigned vehicles Take-home vehicle plans Objective: To make you aware of methods of resource allocation 1-

Alternative Strategies TACTICAL OPERATIONS Aggressive patrol Saturation patrol Crackdown DECOY VEHICLES ALTERNATIVE VEHICLE DEPLOYMENT Bike patrol Multi-terrain vehicles Objective: To discuss new tactical approaches to patrol operations Objective: To explore the various vehicles law enforcement is using for patrol activities Courtesy of © Jeff Greenberg/The Image Works 1-

Police Traffic Operations Concerns for law enforcement: Speed enforcement Dangerous work zones Fatigued or distracted drivers New types of vehicles Drugged drivers Police pursuits: most deadly force available to police

Police Traffic Operations THE CHALLENGE OF DISTRACTED DRIVERS Texting Talking on cell phones Smartphone apps Serious safety issue

Efforts against Drunk Drivers 1990s: much attention paid to damage done by drunk drivers Sobriety checkpoints: used to enforce laws Decline in alcohol-related fatalities attributed to: High-visibility enforcement Increased sanctions Decreased public acceptance Laws establishing ALR have reduced alcohol-related crashes by almost 40 percent MADD push for breath-test interlock devices

Fighting Aggressive Driving Aggressive driving: not necessarily specific offense, but combination of several: Speeding Tailgating Driving on the shoulder Not signaling when changing lanes Unmarked vehicles detect aggressive drivers

Police Traffic Operations POLICE AUTOMOBILE PURSUITS Evolution of police pursuits Air assistance Studies Involving Police Pursuits The Evolution of Pursuits Police pursuit policies Learning Objective 5: Describe police traffic operations, including efforts against distracted, drunk, and aggressive drivers, and the debate surrounding police pursuits. 1-

Other Police Operational Units SWAT Teams and Police Paramilitary Units (PPU) Carefully chosen and trained K-9 Units Big asset in the war on drugs Public relations asset Increased demand for dogs Objective: To discuss special operations, including SWAT teams and K-9 units 1-

Summary The three cornerstones of traditional police work are random routine patrol, rapid response to 911 calls, and retroactive investigation of past crimes Law enforcement has realized the value of foot patrol and is once again using it Departments should use evidence-based policing to determine which methods to employ in solving the problems they encounter SWAT teams and K-9 units supplement the patrol mission in fighting crime 1-