Chapter 9
Patrol Operations
Learning Objectives
LO1 Describe the traditional methods of doing police work and their effectiveness.
LO2 Describe the evolution of police patrol operations and the activities involved in the patrol
function.
LO3 Discuss the challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of police work.
LO4 Describe the findings of the Kansas City patrol study.
LO9 Describe alternative strategies in use to better combat certain types of crime.
LO10 Describe police traffic operations, including efforts against distracted, drunk, and
aggressive drivers, and the debate surrounding police pursuits.
LO11 Discuss special operations employed by departments around the country.
Lesson Plan
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Traditional Methods of Police Work
Learning Objective 1: Describe the traditional methods of doing police work and their
effectiveness.
Class Discussion/Activity:
Discuss whether the three basic methods used by the police to fulfill their mission are effective. If
they are effective, why? If they are not effective, why not?
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II. Police Patrol Operations
Learning Objective 2: Describe the evolution of police patrol operations and the activities
involved in the patrol function.
A. Activities of the Patrol Officer
2. The maintenance of a feeling of public security
3. Twenty-four-hour availability for service to the public
B. The Legacy of O. W. Wilson
2. Called patrol “the backbone of policing” and stated that patrol is designed to
3. Professional police management has consistently followed Wilson’s ideas,
III. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Police Work
Learning Objective 3: Discuss the challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of police work.
A. Crime Rate, Police Work, and Research
1. The police cannot control all the variables that might produce crime, such as
2. Despite the difficulties and problems associated with conducting academic and
IV. Random Routine Patrol: The Kansas City Study
Learning Objective 4: Describe the findings of the Kansas City patrol study.
• The Kansas City study forced academics and progressive police administrators to
A. Kansas City Patrol Study
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1. The first study conducted to test the effectiveness of random routine patrol
3. The Kansas City study indicated that our traditional three cornerstones of policing
might not be the most effective way to do police work.
V. Rapid Response to Citizens’ 911 Calls
Learning Objective 5: Examine the issue of rapid response to citizens’ 911 calls.
• Rapid police response to calls was found to be not as critical as once thought because
Class Discussion/Activity:
Identify and describe some alternative responses to crime that law enforcement can use rather than
rapid response to calls.
A. Academic Studies of the Police Patrol Function
1. Four basic functional categories:
a. Calls for service
Media Tool
Police Officer on Patrol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpjinRTSGNQ
o Female Police Officer Makes Arrest on Patrol
o Discussion: Discuss this video. Discuss the officer’s actions and demeanor. Is the officer
professional? Was the arrest justified? What would you have done?
b. Preventative patrol
Class Discussion/Activity:
Explain what the academic studies regarding police patrol revealed about what the police do while
on patrol.
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2. Patrol activities studies
a. Incoming calls to police departments (calls to 911)
B. From the Foot Beat to the Patrol Car
2. The change from foot to motor patrol revolutionized U.S. policing, but it involved
a trade-off in the relationship between the police and the community.
3. After moving from foot patrol to vehicle patrol, law enforcement has realized the
value of foot patrol and is once again using it. Reactions by both police officers
and the community indicate that foot patrol enhances the relationship between the
police and the community and leads to improved exchange of information.
C. One-Officer Versus Two-Officer Patrol Cars
What If Scenario
Your department is currently in the one-officer model of patrols per vehicle. You are an advocate of
two-officer patrols. What would you do to convince your supervisors that two-officer patrols should
be used in your agency? Develop a plan and present it to the class.
1. O. W. Wilson believed that one-officer patrols could observe more than two-
2. There is an ongoing debate about having one officer or two in patrol cars.
D. Return to Foot Patrol
1. Findings of the Newark foot patrol study
a. When foot patrol is added in neighborhoods, levels of fear decrease
significantly.
b. When foot patrol is withdrawn from neighborhoods, levels of fear
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VI. Patrol Innovations: Working Smarter
Learning Objective 6: Discuss innovative ways of performing the patrol function.
A. Involving the Community
1. In the overall realization that the crime problem is not entirely under the control
2. Developing a partnership and a working relationship with the community can help
address these issues and make the law enforcement mission successful.
B. Evidence-Based Policing
1. The best use of available research on the outcomes of police work to implement
guidelines and evaluate agencies, units, and officers
3. Departments should use evidence-based policing to determine which methods to
employ in solving the problems they encounter.
C. Predictive Policing
1. Application of analytical techniques to identify targets for police attention and
interaction and to prevent crime or solve past crimes
3. Departments should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the data and data
collection.
D. Smart Policing
1. Advocates expanding on the use of an evidence base for policing with the goal of
See Assignment 1
VII. Personnel Deployment
Learning Objective 7: Discuss the issues and perspectives behind decisions on how to deploy
personnel and resources on patrol.
A. Directing Patrol Efforts
What If Scenario
You are an officer in a medium-sized agency. You shift has been plagued with burglaries on a
somewhat regular basis. Your sergeant has asked you to develop a plan to solve the problem. What
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will you do to address this problem for your shift?
3. Focus extra directed patrol attention to crime hot spots
Media Tool
Hot Spot Policing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAhwsJ67k20
o Video: MPD: Hot spot policing making neighborhoods safer
o Discussion: Discuss what you see in the video. How should police agencies patrol “hot
spots”? Is hot spot policing effective? What would you do?
See Assignment 2
4. Officers and departments can better use discretionary time to fight crime through
B. Differential Response to Calls for Service and the 911 System
1. The police response to calls for service varies according to the type and severity
of the call.
Class Discussion/Activity:
Police response time to a critical incident is very important. Discuss the process of a 911 call from
start to police arrival, detailing the different steps in the process and how much time elapses.
C. Reverse 911
1. Police departments can call citizens in the entire jurisdiction or limit calls to a
3. The program has also been expanded to include cell phone numbers when users
D. Smart 911
1. Voluntary registration of phone numbers and enter associated personal, medical,
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VIII. Allocation of Resources
Learning Objective 8: Examine the various methods of resource allocation.
A. Personnel
1. Personnel are the most expensive part of a police department’s budget.
B. Vehicles
2. Take-home vehicles: initially significantly more expensive than fleet programs,
IX. Alternative Strategies
Learning Objective 9: Describe alternative strategies in use to better combat certain types of
crime.
A. Tactical Operations
1. Aggressive Patrol
2. Saturation Patrol
a. Assigning a larger number of uniformed officers to an area to deal with
a particular crime problem
b. Crackdown: targets a specific violation of the law
B. Specialized Policing Responses (SPR) to Individuals with Mental Illnesses
What If Scenario
You are patrol officer responding to a call of a female who is walking in the middle of the street
“talking” to herself. As you drive up on her, you notice she is not wearing any clothes. As you
approach her, she begins walking toward you. What do you do? How should you treat this person?
2. Models of SPR
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C. Decoy Vehicles
1. Involves no danger to officers, and its primary goal is preventing crime violations,
2. Uses unoccupied marked police vehicles in strategic locations to give the
perception of omnipresence
D. Alternative Vehicle Deployment
1. Police motorcycles
3. Electric bikes
5. Multiterrain vehicles
6. Mobile substations
X. Police Traffic Operations
Learning Objective 10: Describe police traffic operations, including efforts against distracted,
drunk, and aggressive drivers, and the debate surrounding police pursuits.
A. Top Ten Trends in Traffic Enforcement: identified by the chairperson of the IACP
Highway Safety Committee
2. Dangerous work zones
4. Sleep-deprived officers
6. New laws and tactics
8. Drugged drivers
10. Incident clearance
B. Video Camera Traffic Enforcement
1. Red light cameras
a. Automated cameras mounted on poles at intersections
b. The cameras are triggered when a vehicle enters the intersection after the
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d. A citation and the photos are sent to the owner of the vehicle along with
instructions on how to pay the fine or contest the ticket.
C. The Challenge of Distracted Drivers
Class Discussion/Activity:
Cell phones are common now. People have them at their disposal and quite frequently use them to
report a crime. Discuss the impact that cell phones have had on policing, both positive and negative.
How have the current cell phone laws (texting while driving, etc.) affected reporting of crime?
1. Increasing popularity of texting and smartphone apps, crashes could reach an
epidemic level
3. Click It or Ticket operations
D. Efforts Against Drunk Drivers and Impaired Drivers
1. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Media Tool
“DUI Sobriety Test”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u78p_-Jc1aU
DUI roadside sobriety test
o Discussion: Discuss what you see in the video. How do you feel about the DUI tests
administered? Were they fair? Discuss DUI enforcement.
2. Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD)
4. Alcohol monitoring ankle bracelets
E. Fighting Aggressive Driving
See Assignment 3
1. Sometimes road rage takes the form of aggressive driving, and innocent people
have died because of the recklessness of aggressive drivers.
2. Aggressive driving is not necessarily defined as a specific offense but, rather, is a
combination of several violations.
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F. Police Automobile Pursuits
Class Discussion/Activity:
Police pursuits have been a nationwide phenomenon that has attracted great media attention. When
someone is hurt, it attracts even more public comment. Discuss the impact a police pursuit has on
the public perception of the police.
1. Outcomes of chases
See Assignment 4
a. The pursued driver stops the car and surrenders.
b. The chased vehicle crashes into a structure, and the driver and occupants
are apprehended, escape, are injured, or are killed.
2. Studies Involving Police Pursuits
What If Scenario
You are a police officer on the graveyard shift in a mid-sized town. Your sergeant has just gone over
the department pursuit policy stating that you should terminate the pursuit when you have either (1)
been able to identify the drive, or (2) the pursuit is deemed too dangerous for conditions. You are in
the middle of your shift when you initiate a pursuit on a vehicle that is not stopping in response to
your patrol car emergency lights. You think you may know who the drive is because you recognize
the car, but are not sure. What would you do and why?
a. The California Highway Patrol study concluded that although there are
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3. The Evolution of Pursuits
a. Police pursuit policies: policies regulating the circumstances and
conditions under which the police should pursue or chase motorists
See Assignment 5
XI. Other Police Operational Units
Learning Objective 11: Discuss special operations employed by departments around the
country.
A. SWAT Teams and Police Paramilitary Units
See Assignment 6
1. Alternative names for SWAT: special response unit (SRU) or special response
2. Police paramilitary unit (PPU): term popularized in the late 1990s to refer to
3. Swatting is a hoax phone call to 911 reporting a situation that may require a
B. K-9 Units
1. Traditionally, K-9 units have supplemented the patrol function by responding to
burglary calls or opening doors where a premises search is needed.
3. The dogs are also a public relations asset and a great tool for bridging the gap
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XII. Summary
Lecture Notes
1. How effective is routine random patrol?
The Kansas City study on routine random patrol failed to demonstrate that adding or taking away
2. What do police actually do while on patrol?
Patrol is known as the foundation of the police department. Patrol is where most sworn personnel
are assigned and carry out the mission of the police agency. More than 60 percent of sworn
3. Police automobile pursuits have been heavily criticized. Why is this?
The police practice of using high-powered vehicles to chase speeding motorists has resulted in
numerous accidents, injuries, and deaths of innocent civilians, police officers, and pursued
4. What are police special operations?
Police operational units include SWAT teams, police paramilitary units, and K-9 units. SWAT
teams, which were created in the 1960s in response to riots and other disturbances, are
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Key Terms
bike patrol Officers patrol an assigned area on bicycle rather than in a patrol car. (p. 289)
crackdown An enforcement effort targeting a specific violation of the law. (p. 284)
differential response to calls for service The police response to calls for service varies
directed patrol Officers patrol strategically to address a specific crime problem. (p. 278)
evidence-based policing Using available scientific research on policing to implement crime
foot patrol Police officers walk a beat or assigned area rather than patrolling in a motor vehicle.
hot spot An area receiving a high volume of calls for service. (p. 278)
Kansas City patrol study The first study conducted to test the effectiveness of random routine
Newark foot patrol study A study conducted to determine the effectiveness of foot patrol
omnipresence The impression of always being there. (p. 268)
police paramilitary unit (PPU) A term popularized in the late 1990s to refer to police units
organized in a more militaristic manner (such as SWAT teams), with their primary function to
police pursuit policies Policies regulating the circumstances and conditions under which the
police should pursue or chase motorists driving at high speeds in a dangerous manner. (p. 296)
police pursuits The attempt by law enforcement to apprehend alleged criminals in a moving
motor vehicle when the driver is trying to elude capture and increases speed or takes evasive
predictive policing The application of crime analysis, data analysis, and statistical predictions to
identify targets for police attention, also called forecasting. (p. 277)
random routine patrol Officers driving around a designated geographic area. (p. 267)
rapid response to citizens’ calls to 911 Officers being dispatched to calls immediately,
regardless of the type of call. (p. 267)
red light cameras Automated cameras mounted on poles at intersections. The cameras are
retroactive investigation of past crimes by detectives The follow-up investigation of crimes by
detectives that occurs after a crime has been reported. (p. 267)
saturation patrol Assigning a larger number of uniformed officers than normal to an area to
smart policing A funding initiative from the Bureau of Justice Administration that partners local
law enforcement agencies with academics to develop and evaluate solutions to chronic crime
specialized policing responses (SPRs) A tailored law enforcement response to individuals with
mental illness that involves trained first responders and prioritizes crisis de-escalation and
split-force patrol A method in which the patrol force is split; half responds to calls for service
and the other half performs directed patrol activities. (p. 278)
swatting A growing and dangerous trend in making a hoax call to incite a SWAT deployment or
Assignments
1. Your police department is considering using uniform cameras. Using information
2. Parents of students at a local elementary school have asked the police department to take
action to curtail speeding near the school. What methods should the chief employ to
3. Using the Internet, research police efforts to stop drunk driving. What are the most
frequently used methods? What appears to be the most effective method to combat drunk
driving? What other methods would you recommend using to enforce drunk driving
4. Research police pursuits. Write a policy that would pertain to the circumstances in which
5. Road rage incidents have become a concern in your community and your chief has asked
6. Research the requirements to be selected to join a police department’s SWAT team. What