1. Chapter 9 Patrol Operations1-

2. 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-

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. Patrol Activity Studies
Patrol officers spend less that 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%)

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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-

17. 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-

18. 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

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

20. 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

21. 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-

22. 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-

23. 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

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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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-

28. 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-

29. 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-