Patrol Procedures

Chapter 3

Traditional Methods

• Administrative Activities– Activity logs, meetings, traffic studies

• Officer Initiated Activities– Traffic stops, citizen contacts, business contacts

• Assigned calls for service– 911 calls, report calls, civil issues - reports

• Follow-up contacts– With victim – citizen or business owner

Random Patrol

• The police officer patrols a designated geographic area.

• Beat assignment• Dept. procedures dictate whether the initial

responding officer is responsible for follow-up investigation

Rapid Response to Citizens’ 911 calls

• The police officer receives a call from the police dispatcher, then responds to the call.

Retroactive Investigation of Past Crimes by Detectives

• If the call involves a crime, the police officer conducts a preliminary investigation and often refers the case to a detective who then conducts a follow up investigation of the crime

• Patrol takes the initial report and all follow-up is done by detectives

Kansas City Study

• First attempt to actually test the effectiveness of random routine patrol

• During 1972-73, Kansas City Department conducted an experiment to test the effects of routine preventive control. This year long experiment has been both influential and controversial.

K.C. Study Format

• Fifteen patrol beats in Kansas City’s South Patrol were used.

• Five of those beats were assigned to a control group with no changes in normal patrol staffing or tactics.

• Five other beats were chosen as reactive beats, and all preventive patrolling was eliminated.

• The reactive beats and the proactive beats were all experimental groups.

K.C. Study Format

• Outside patrol units handled calls in the reactive beats, and units left the beats once they had handled the calls.

• During the experiment all activities within the 15 beats was monitored.

• Prior to the outset of the experiments researchers collected data on reported crime, arrests, traffic accidents, response times, citizen attitudes, citizen and business victimization for each of the 15 beats.

• No one in the community was advised during the entire year of the experiment

Kansas City Study Outcome

• Conclusions:• Adding or subtracting police patrols from an area

made NO difference in the community.• No change in crime.• No change in citizen fear of crime.• No change in community attitude toward police.• No change in police response time.• No change in traffic accidents.

Kansas City Study

• It had been commonly believed that putting more officers on patrol would cause a decrease in crime, and taking away police would cause an increase in crime. The Kansas City Study demonstrated this was wrong.

Kansas City Study

• James Q. Wilson: “…All it shows is that changes in the amount of random preventive patrol in marked cars does not, by itself, seem to affect…how much crime occurs or how safe people feel.”

• Joseph D. McNamara: “…the experiment seemed to show that police officers uncommitted time-(responding to calls or self-initiated police time) which is approximately 50%, could be used more effectively.”

Patrol Options

Patrol• Beat assignment/responsibility• Drive your beat at the beginning of your shift• Building checks– New businesses – contact info, site review– Open door report– Lights – on or off normally– Reflection off glass

• Special attention checks – beginning/end of shift• Vacation homes• Road construction – for you, FD & EMS• Construction sites – burglary targets

Patrol

• Calls from previous shift or since you last worked

• Hot Spots• Events/Gatherings – planned or impromptu• Bail checks

Team Policing

• Used prior to Community Policing• Shift commander has autonomy to run their

shift• Working with the same officers, supervisors

on the same shift with the same days off• Beat assignments are generally the same

Plainclothes Assignment

• Useful for maintaining visual contact• Recon info• Embedded in crowds• Identification to other officers• Conversing with uniformed officers– Let the undercover officer initiate conversation

Surveillance• Keeping a person, place or object under

observation in order to identify an individual, develop information, determine relationships

• Purposes:– Gather evidence to arrest or get search warrant– Locate suspects, wanted persons or

runaways/missing persons– Gather info for interview/interrogation– Build credibility of informants– Determine relationships

Specialized Enforcement Team

• Tactical Enforcement Unit• Crime Reduction Unit

• Separated from regular patrol operations• Responsible for addressing specific problems• Could be in uniform or plainclothes

Decoy Operation

• Officer takes on role– Prostitute• Deering Oaks• Deering Street

– Robbery victim– Car with valuables

• Requires uniformed back up

Sting Operation

• Involve using various undercover methods to apprehend thieves and recover stolen property.

• Sting operations can account for a large number or arrests and the recovery of a significant amount of stolen property.

• Pawn shop• Raffle winner – to clear warrants

Predictive Policing

• Based on data analysis– Idea taken from retailers like Walmart & Amazon– Walmart – storm = duct tape, bottled water and

strawberry Pop-Tarts• Less reactive

Stake Out

• A stakeout consists of a group of officers who conceal themselves in a or about a location waiting for a crime to occur or a suspect to arrive

• Fixed surveillance

• Starbucks opening