INTRODUCTION

Patrol is to Protect. I tis only form of the police service which responsibility and duty
is to eliminate/reduce the opportunity and the desire of an individual to commit an unlawful act.

In the police organization, it is the only one that performs twenty-four hours duty. Has
the duty to interact with the persons in community, responsibility to respond in a traffic
investigation of accidents cases. And make arrest if theres no cares and availability of other police
division. Respond to distress calls for assistance, investigate and determine the cause of a certain
case.

PATROL OFFICERS provide police within the community. They are the most visible
officers in the police department, since their out in public for most of the time every day. When a
crime takes place, a patrol officer will be the first to respond in the scene, for the security and
protection of the scene and every evidence. And interview witnesses, to help the investigator and
detectives for investigation to solve a certain case

This is the officer may speak at schools and participate in community events, programs
and occasions for the solidarity of the police and community relation. It to be involved in
practically in every incidents calling for police action and assistance. Patrol Officers are also
known as the most important decision makers in both police department.

Patrol is the backbone of the Police department because of the following

reasons:
1. First of all, it is the only division that cannot be eliminated.

2. All other divisions of the police department may, if necessary, be eliminated. Patrol
officers can, and have, assumed the duties of other police elements in times of financial
crises requiring agency cutbacks.

3. Patrol officer is the primary agency representative. The majority of contacts between the
public and police occur between citizen and patrol. The first and foremost police element
is patrol; all other units exist to augment and support this function. This is the only police
element to be distributed in a geographic manner calculated to provide rapid service
anywhere in the jurisdiction.

4. Patrol provides the initial response every event requiring police presence; whether this
is a major crime, serious injury, or a cat up a telephone pole. The patrol officer is the

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 only member of the law enforcement agency to be involved in practically every
incident calling for police action.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Primary goals and objectives

The primary goals and objectives of police patrol are; maintaining order and protecting
life and property. These are among the most basic roles of government, and government hires the
police to perform these activities.

Secondary goals and objectives:

1. Preventing crimes the police attempt to prevent crime by trying to create a sense of
omnipresence through routine patrol; responding to calls by citizens with problems that
may cause crime; and establishing and participating in police-citizens partnerships
designed to prevent crime.

2. Arresting and prosecuting offenders arresting offenders and assisting prosecutors in

bringing charges against defendants is one of the primary methods used by the police to
maintain order and protect life and property.

3. Recovering stolen and missing property when people find property on the street, they
generally bring it to a police officer or to a police station.When people lose property, they
generally go to the police station in the hopes that someone has turned it in. Besides all
of their other duties then, the police serve as societys foremost lost and found department.

4. Assisting the sick and injured because they are available seven days a week and 24
hours a day and because they are highly mobile, the police generally are the closest
government agency to any problem.

5. Enforcing non-criminal regulations when government offices close, the police become
roving representative of the government who assist people with problems no one else is
available to handle. When lights go off in an apartment building, the water main breaks,
people call the police.

6. Delivering services not available elsewhere in the community the police respond
and take whatever actions they can to ameliorate problems and deal with emergencies.
They direct traffic, evacuate residents, and decide whom to call for assistance.

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Because of the diverse activities performed by the police specifically the patrol
officers in their daily contact with the public, their responsibilities are
categorized into two, namely:

a. Law Enforcement this embraces crime prevention and crime control role, including the
customary police functions.

b. Order Maintenance peace keeping on community service role or social services.

FACTORS AFFECTING PATROL OPERATIONS

A. Factors affecting police performance

1. External factors

a. trust and confidence of the people

b. participation of the public in patrol activities

c. support of the barangay officials

2. Internal factors

a. higher pay

b. endorsement by higher authorities

Operational level decision makers judgments are governed by the same kinds of
influences that affect decisions of higher level administrators. But, because officers operate
within a much smaller political sphere, they find their relationships with the more limited
community potentially more intense. The reciprocal impact of both officer and community
becomes clearer. It is easier to bargain within these more intimate relationships.
1. Community input if citizens do not report crimes to the police or summon on officer
when service is needed, police will intervene only in those situations that they personally
observe. Witnesses and victims who do not cooperate with the police limit police
discretion.

A common reason why citizen do not report auto accidents or burglaries to the police is
that their insurance might be cancelled or their rate increased if the report is made. Conversely,

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they might report if they believe such report is necessary in order for them to collect the
insurance. The relationship between the victim and offender and the attitude of the citizen toward
police also have a great influence on the willingness of the citizen to report. In a sense, the
community members express their expectations to police in their interactions with them. The
clearer the statement, the better police can structure their discretion to meet the communitys
need.

2. Situational factors several studies have found specific situational factors to be

influential in discretionary decision making. Major factors include the attitude and
appearance of the offender, political factors such as community attitudes, pressures, and
biases.

Another important factor is, whether the situation is on view ( one that the officer has
been and in which he or she intervene without invitation) or , is one to which the officer was
summoned by citizens.

3. Environmental factors

a. personal values

b. pressure of police supervisors and peers

c. personal perception of what alternatives to assess are available

An officer who grew up in a conservative environment may find decision making in a

liberal environment uncomfortable. Routinely, the officers will be required to assess cultural
and social engineer at the moment, in his discussion of police use of deadly force, points to an
apparent correlation between attitudes of violence in a community and use of deadly force. Where
high rates of police violence existed, he found high rates of citizen against police violence also.

4. Educational and experiential factors college-educated police recruits were slightly

more likely to choose alternative to arrest. Their findings suggest that education does
have some effect upon discretionary decision making.

The Police Exercise of Discretion

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 Discretion is the wise use of ones judgment, personal experience and common sense to
decide a particular situation. The police are decision makers, and most of the decisions they make
involves discretion. Discretion is part and parcel of the police role.

The policeman on the beat, or in the patrol car, makes more decisions and exercise broader
discretion affecting the daily life of people every day, and to a greater extent in many respects
than a judge who will ordinarily exercise in a week. No law book, no lawyer, no judge can readily
tell how the police officer on the beat exercise his discretion perfectly in everyone of the thousands
of hour to hour work of a police officer.

The police are trained to be self-reliant and make decisions. Most of the decisions they
make involve discretion. The police exercise discretion whenever they must use their own
judgment and personal experience in deciding when to act when confronted with specific
situations.

Should there be full enforcement of the law by the police or can selective enforcement
be restored to as a result of discretion. The fact of the matter is that the police do not enforce all
laws all the time against all law violators.

Several factors can be attributed for the lack of full, strict, or total law
enforcement such as:

Broadness and inflexibility of the criminal statutes

Ambiguity and vagueness of the law

Over criminalization of the criminal law, or too many laws

The need to individualize the law in action (selective enforcement)

Main Problems arising from uncontrolled discretion are:

it lacks uniformity for implementation

it may be discriminatory

it fosters police corruption in victimless crimes

it converts the law into a personal instrument of social control through the so called
sidewalk justice

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OCCUPATION HAZARDS

A career in law enforcement can be exciting, challenging, and rewarding for people who
are oriented and committed to public service. Yet it can be devastating for those who are not
prepared for its rigors. Thousands of dedicated, well-meaning people who thought that police work
was the career for which they were destined have discovered that the mental, physical, social, or
economic costs of continuing such career were too high. Many others have perished within the
field but at considerable expense on their part and that of others.

Law enforcement is a hazardous craft that requires strong, caring individuals who can deal
consistent with stressful situations. Overtime, the impact of the dangers and stressors inherent in
policing affect individual police officers differently. Some, perhaps most, go through their entire
careers without suffering personally in any unusual or specific way. For other potential appears to
take a special toll on their lives. The sense of community isolations, the potential dangers, and the
unique life style all seem to work together to affect adversely certain officers physical, mental,
and social well-being.

A. Physical Hazards

1. Violence danger is an inherent part of police work, and this danger is reinforced by the
element of authority. Police are required to enforce laws, laws that are many times either
more conservative or more liberal than the area or person against whom it is being
enforced. Police officers are always interacting with people in moments of crisis. Thus,
more often than not, the police are perceived more as adversaries than as friends.

The threat of death and injury due to violence as well as the physiological impact of
possibly having to cause death or injury to others is a fact with which law enforcement officers
must content. The keys to coping with these hazards are personnel selection and training.

2. Accidents - law enforcement officers have about an equal potential to lose their lives due
to accidents as due to homicide. Automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, aircraft
crashes, being struck by vehicles, accidental shootings, falls, and drowning, tend to be
the most common causes for accidental deaths among officers.

3. Contagious disease during the later half of the twentieth century, police officers hand
relatively little to fear from contagious diseases. Some of the most common
communicative diseases, such as gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis, would hopefully not be
contracted while on duty. Outbreaks of such old horrors of earlier times as diphtheria,

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 polio, tetanus, small pox and whooping cough were being controlled through
vaccinations.

B. Psychological Hazards

Historically, many people believed that policing attracted persons with a propensity
toward authoritarianism and cynicism those with a specific police personality. A research
suggests that there is no specific personality: rather, that the socialization process in becoming a
police officer creates a working personality that the police officer uses in the performance of the
job.

The working personality and the accompanying sense of isolation are the result of
conditions inherent in the practice of police work. Another aspect of the police personality is the
concept of cynicism. This is the belief that all people are motivated by selfishness and evil.
Unfortunately, after years of seeing humanity as its worst, many police officers subscribe to it.

Cynicism become an emotional plank deeply entrenched in the ethos of the police world,
and it serves equally well for attack or defense. For many reasons, police are particularly
vulnerable to cynicism.

1. Emotional Distress. Due to the hazards that are inherent in the law enforcement, all
officers will, on occasion, experience emotional distress. Although other occupation
may be far more dangerous, the constant exposure to stressful stimuli makes policing
one of the most difficult occupations.

The threat of violent death and injury, the constant exposure to human tragedies, the
responsibility for others, the feelings of alienation and helplessness, the demands of shifts work,
the limited career opportunities, and the lack of input in administrative decision making, all
combine to create stress for even the most stable well-adjusted persons. It is of vital importance
that law enforcement administrators and employees realize the source and consequences of stress
before officers can learn to cope with the stress that is inherent in policing, they must be taught to
overcome John Wayne Mentality, which means the police refuse to acknowledge any
weakness. Once officers have learned to acknowledge the existence of stress, they can be taught
how to identify and neutralize those stressors with which they as individuals must content.

2. Mental Illness. If the distress is not dealt with appropriately, it may escalate into behavior
that, threaten the welfare of the officer and/others. The individual officer may suffer from
relatively mild emotional disturbances, which require only counseling and reassurance, or
she/he may be plagued by severe mental disorders that are career or even life threatening
in nature. Law enforcement agencies must not only have assistance programs designed to

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 help officers contend with emotional distress but must also develop strategies to aid those
for whom problems become too severe for continued police service. Medical pensions,
extended health coverage, and family support services are only fair for those who have
paid too high a price for their police careers.

3. Suicide. Being a police officer also increases ones risk of falling victim to suicide.
Preliminary suicides appear to identify higher levels of suicides among police officers
than among other professionals or occupations.

Given the general nature of police work, many officers who feel suicidal are either afraid
or have no one to turn to in discussing their feelings. This leads to an even greater sense of
isolation, with many believing that suicide is the only way out.

4. Substance abuse. Psychological dependency. Police administrators frequently

report that alcohol is a severe problem with officers and often report the existence of
alcohol-related problems. The use and abuse of alcohol among police officers is
apparently one way of coping with the problems inherent in the job.

Although alcohol is the drug of choice among police officers, caffeine and nicotine are
also extremely popular. It is not unusual for officers to drink several cups of coffee, glasses of
tea, or soft drinks during their workday. Similarly, many officers use tobacco products while on
duty. In addition to being chemically addictive, these drugs are also psychologically addictive, in
that they often develop as means of killing time during periods of tedium.

C. Physiological hazards

1. Substance abuse: Chemical dependency. The impact of drugs and alcohol is even
more devastating physically than psychologically. All too frequently, casual use of
such substances leads to chemical dependency.

Social users of tobacco, alcohol, or narcotics now find themselves in constant need of that
particular drug in order to get by. This addiction results not only in social difficulties
but can become life threatening.

2. Physical health. In addition to substance abuse, a number of other physical hazards exist
for police officers. Stress, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise also contribute to poor
physical health.

Terry 1981 has documented numerous physiological effects of police stress. Some of
these problems include headache, indigestion, ulcer, lower back pain, and high blood pressure.

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In addition, Norveil, Belles, and Hughes (1988) have found that police officers have higher risk
of mortality associated with cancer, diabetes, and heart disease than the non-police. It is evident
that, strong relationship exists between job-related stress and physical illness.

D. Social hazards

1. Isolation from the public. One of the difficult aspects of policing is the sense of isolation
from the community. Perhaps this is endemic to law enforcement given the nature of the
job. In addition to enforcing unpopular or at the very least nonconsensual laws, police are
required to be suspicious. Required to ask questions, to demand answers, to proceed
forcefully against all appearance of transgression..to penetrate the appearance of
innocence..to discover craftiness

2. Isolation from the family. All too often, policing becomes a disruptive influence for the
family. The potential for danger, the authoritarian nature of the job, the round-the-clock
shifts and constantly changing shifts, and accommodations that must be made in family
life all work together to increase tension in the law enforcement family. As a result, many
believe that marital problems are endemic to law enforcement.

E. Economic hazards

1. Salary limitations. If ones goal is to accumulate great wealth, he/she should not become
a law enforcement officer. Despite their education, training, and professionalism, unless
they rise to top administrative positions, become corrupt, or win the lottery, they will
experience a lower-middle-class existence.

2. Career limitations. Everyone cannot become the chief of police in a large metropolitan
agency. Nor will all those who wish to become supervisor do so. Whether ones career is
successful depends on how one defines success. Many officers who have spent their entire
careers as patrol officers in small or midsized law enforcement agencies are rightfully
proud of their accomplishments. Similarly, there are many frustrated persons (at all ranks
and level of policing) who feel that they never received a fair chance.

3. Liability issues. Failure to act in a manner that is felt to be consistent with proper law
enforcement procedures could result in a minor reprimand. More serious violations could
result in more severe disciplinary actions, such as suspensions, compulsory transfer,
demotions, or even terminations. Violations that are felt to have infringed on the legal
rights of others could result in costly civil litigation at the state levels. Violations thought
to constitute criminal actions could result in arrest, conviction, and imprisonment.
Whether officers are convicted or subsequently acquitted of all charges, the economic

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 impact of legal costs and career damages can be devastating to both the officers and their
families

PATROL ACTIVITIES

1. Patrol and Observation constant and alert patrolling with a keen sense of observation
on person and things is a gauge of an efficient patrol officer. Because only people commit
crime and they invariably do so with the medium of things, the beat or the mobile patrol
crew must focus their attention on these two factors that if left unobserved and unattended,
will constitute hazards. Conceptually, a hazard is any person, things, situation or condition
that, if allowed to exist may induce an accident or cause the commission of crime.

2. Called for services the patrol officer, whether on foot or in a radio equipped car, respond
to every conceivable call from the public. This is because the police have always been
expected to know how to deal with every problem, although most of them are totally
unrelated to actual policing functions. Due to diverse range of interpersonal problem the
patrol office must mediate in his daily contact with the public, it is important that he must
be provided with a background knowledge and understanding of both normal and deviant
behavior which he will encounter in the community.

3. Inspectional services are effectively performed by foot patrol officers in uniform. As

they go about their routine tasks of walking their assigned beats they pay particular
attentions to person and things. Particularly at night, when assigned in business, financial
and commercial districts, they inspect and check doors and display windows of
establishments. In residential areas, particularly where apartment-type of buildings
abound, inspectional service of the police is necessary.

4. Control of public gatherings considering the present thinking among the different
groups of demonstrators, notwithstanding acts as malicious mischief and vandalism,
aggravated by labor strikes and tantamount to anarchy, the police have their hands in these
crowd control situations. In the forefront for this police activity is the patrol force whose
manpower is drawn from the different police stations. Depending upon the scene of
happening, the size of the gathering, and the gravity of the situation, each police station is
held responsible to maintain peace and order in its jurisdiction. However, if the assembly
is big and unruly, and in the estimate of the situation violence may erupt, the station
commander can seek the assistance of the specialized strike force to quell and disperse the
Crowd psychology is a factor in crime prevention. Demonstrations, in any form, whether
involving the academe, labor, or subversion, in order to initially be successful must attract
attention. The demonstrator first concern is to arouse the curiosity of the people in their
show and eventually win their sympathy to their cause.

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5. Responding to emergencies constant availability to public calls gives the patrol force a
unique reputation for efficiency. The fact remains that, in many cases, the patrol office is
the single police entity with trained and experienced personnel on duty where human
emergencies and domestic crisis arise. The fact is, the public is immediately attended to
in time of their need under every conceivable kind of situation. This is the yardstick
that measures the patrol force efficiency.

6. Attending to complaints the uniformed patrol officer on the beat must be, looked
upon by the community as their friend and protector. This is the image he must
constantly strive to maintain. In so doing, he will always be confronted with situational
problems, most of which are not criminal in nature. Still, patrol officers must make every
effort to settle the problem amicably because most of these cases are potentially a
stimulus to criminal acts. However, he must be cautious to explain to the parties involved
the limits of his authority because most often the ground for action is civil in nature

7. Conduct initial investigation how reliable a patrol officer records the events of a crime
to which he responds will have a definite impact on the case outcome when detectives takes
over to pursue the case. Actual cases have demonstrated the important contributions made
by patrol officers during the investigative process. Records have shown that,
notwithstanding the efforts of detective specialists, it is often the information developed by
the patrol officer during his initial investigation of the crime that determines whether a case
will eventually be solved. The information supplied by the victim and/or the witness to the
responding patrol officer can be an important factor for the solution of the crime. Based on
contemporary procedures of many police departments, most often the patrol officer, being
the first to arrive at the scene in required to stand-by to protect the crime scene until the
arrival of investigators or until the investigators are through in their crime scene
investigation. Different police departments have different operating procedures in crime
investigation. Patrol officer is limited to conduct only initial investigation at the scene.
The objective is for the patrol officer to concentrate in his preventive task.

8. Preservation of crime scene since crime scenes are classified into indoor, outdoor
and vehicle, the first concern of the patrol officer is to estimate the situation. If it is an
outdoor scene, he must approximate the area to be covered by the investigation; if it is
indoor, he must prevent the entry and exit of people; if it is a vehicle, to protect it from
being moved or tampered. Generally, the success of most criminal investigation begins
at the crime scene. The patrol officer should be cognizant of this.

9. Criminal apprehension despite the utmost efforts by the patrol force in its crime
prevention strategies, crime occur. Consequently, it becomes a police responsibility to

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 apprehend the criminal. Hence, patrol commanders must be aware that this
responsibility is their main concern, must program their manpower development in such
a manner that constant availability of patrol officers to public calls is always assured;
that members of the patrol force, whether on foot patrol beats or in mobile patrol sectors,
can readily apply the element of surprise in the apprehension of the criminal.

10. Writing of reports report writing is the last of the ten basic functions and activities a
patrol officer has to perform. To many law enforcement officers, whether performing
patrol work or investigation functions, report writing is a dilemma. When they enter police
service they have only the vision of activity and excitement-pursuing criminals and
solving crimes. They do not realize that amount of paper work involved; that for every
police action there must be a report-writing reaction. In a police organization, reports are
the source of planning, for policy formulation, for decision making and for operation.
Since the patrol officer, by nature of his work, is primarily the constant man of the
department with the community, his observation of persons, things, and happenings must
be properly documented by means of carefully prepared report.

ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING OF THE PATROL FUNCTIONS

CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATION-

Basically, organization consists of arranging personnel, and functions in a systematic

manner designed to accommodate stated goals and objectives in the most efficient manner
possible. A poorly organized police department cannot function effectively even with the best
management. Similarly, an organized police agency will not operate with maximum efficiency if
it is not well managed.

The act of organizing is indispensable to proper management, and without some form or
organizational structure, most police operations could not be carried out. If the organization is
poor and if the organizational concepts are poorly understood or applied, the efficiency of the
department will severely affected.

ORGANIZING FOR PATROL

The organization and operation of the patrol force is said to be a semblance of the pattern
of organization of a police department because patrol is the police. Due to the nature of work
they perform, they adhere very closely to rigid chain of command, specific assignment of duties

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and responsibilities, and functional job description that distinguishes between line and staff
authority.

The objectives of the patrol are the same as those of a police organization. The
uniformed patrol officer represents all the powers and responsibilities of the police. In a very
real sense, the uniformed patrol force is the police while the specialized branches represent in
depth applications of responsibilities and techniques that the patrol officer initiates. In fact, the
beat officer, in August Vollmers opinion, should be a virtual organic unit.

The operational heart of a police organization is the patrol force to which other
departmental divisions relate in a supportive capacity. The patrol force incorporates all
objectives inherent in the police organization.

Since the problem of crime is the concern of government and crime prevention is the
basic responsibility of the police, enforcement of laws through effective patrol work is its
motivating ingredient to achieve peace and order. Undeniably, the programs of the community
are inseparably linked with peace and order. Without peace, without order, society is doomed
politically, socially, economically, and culturally.

A police department is organized first and foremost for crime prevention. In a newly
created community a prime concern of local government officials and citizens is peace and order.
Hence, priority is the establishment of a police department entrusted with the basic responsibility
of crime prevention. They are aware of the police role of safeguard the communitys progress and
stability. Operationally, this task is the sole responsibility of the patrol force of any police
organization.

The prevention of crime is a fundamental role of the patrol force. The preventive role
of the individual patrol officer on his beat is a basic element of modern police service. The mere
presence of a properly organized and efficiently operating patrol force is conceded to be one of
the greatest crime determine thus far developed by organized society.

DETERMINATION OF PATROL FORCE

REQUIREMENTS:

PATROL FORCE SIZE.

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 Given the fact that personnel resources are limited in every police agency no police
administrator ever has as many officers as might be desired---what proportion of the force should
be assigned to patrol.

First, there is no magic number, and no role of thumb that can provide guidance. In
small agencies, it is common for 80 to 90 percent of the force to be devoted to patrol. In very
large agencies, the proportion might be 50 percent or less.

The single most important factor is the number and nature of the services that the patrol
officers are expected to provide. If patrol officers are required to make complete investigations
of every criminal incident reported or discovered on their beats, plus respond to all non-criminal
crises, plus devote a considerable amount of time to preventive patrolling, plus handle a variety
of nonproductive tasks, then certainly a large number of patrol officers will be needed.

Geographical and population factors also influence the need for patrol officers. If
population density is relatively high, a single officer may be kept busy responding to calls for
service within a small geographical area. If population density is low, one officer may be enough
to handle all calls that arise in a very large area. However, response time may be unacceptably
large because of the long distances that an officer must travel to respond to a call.

These are not the only factors that affect the size of the patrol force. The basic efficiency
of the agency and the productivity of the patrol officers themselves have an importance influence.
If administrative and operational procedures are designed to assist officers in carrying out their
tasks quickly and effectively, and if the officers are competent, well trained, and highly motivated,
fewer officers will be needed to handle a given quantity of work.

But the ruling factor, in practical terms, usually is the size of the agencys budget. Few
police administrators are given a budget large enough to hire all the officers they would like to
have. Consequently, the usual procedure is to tract the personnel who must be assigned to non-
patrol duties. Whatever is left determines the number of patrol officers available. This base
number may be decreased by, shifting non- patrol officers to patrol-or by persuading the parent
government to increase the agencys budget.

Decreasing the size of the patrol force is not always a bad idea. For example, in a small
department it may be the standard practice for patrol officers to perform all of the tasks involved
in booking their prisoners including fingerprinting, photographing, assigning a jail cell and so on.
This may be a time-consuming procedure. At some point, it is likely to be preferable to assign one
officer as the full-time booking officer, thereby reducing the amount of time that the patrol officers
must spend off the street. Even if this means there will be less patrol officer on duty, the increased

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efficiency of the entire force may outweigh the loss. However, if the agency has a booking officer
whose duties are not sufficient to keep officer occupied full time, it might be preferable to shift
the booking officer to patrol and require the patrol officers to do their own booking of prisoners,
or to assign other duties to the booking officer.

PATROL FORCE STAFFING

It is not possible, of course, to retain all competent patrol officers within the patrol division.
Even though the administrator must make conscientious efforts to avoid draining the patrol force
to supply manpower for specialized units, the fact remains that the patrol division must usually
accommodate most of the new officers who join the department. The patrol division is also the
largest division, and thus there are far more basic police-officer positions within the patrol force
than in any other division. Since it is therefore inevitable that good patrol officers will gravitate
away from patrol, even in the best of systems, the department should compensate for their loss by
staffing middle- level and command-level positions in patrol with the very best talent available in
the department.

SCHEDULING

The police administrator and middle-management supervisors must make decisions about
the assignment of shift hours, rotation of beat assignments, and rotation of shifts. Once the policy
is established, there not be further planning work except when changes in procedures are
contemplated.

Frequent change of beats undesirable. The highest quality of patrol services results from the
permanent assignment of an officer to a beat. Police hazards vary from place to place, and the
resulting police duties consequently vary in nature from beat to beat. Advantages may be taken of
difference in abilities and preferences of patrol officers by assigning them to beats having duties
for which they are best suited. Frequent beat changes prevent an officer from becoming well
acquainted with persons, hazards, and facilities on his beat; they also interfere with continuity of
service because the investigation and disposition of cases sometimes extend over several days, and
when a change is made, there is delay and sometimes neglect in disposing of these cases.

Finally, frequent changes of beat assignments make it difficult to place responsibility

for unsatisfactory conditions. Procedures that interfere with the application of the important
rule that officers should be held responsible for the performance of their duties must not be
tolerated.

Rotation of shifts is undesirable. Most efficient patrol service is attained by the permanent
assignment of patrol officer to a platoon unit such time as the quality of his/her services and the

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need for them justify transfer to another platoon. Police hazards, facilities, persons aboard, and
physical conditions vary according to the hour of the day or night; consequently, knowledge of
conditions on one shift is not as useful to service on another shift.

Police duties at night are quite different from police duties during the daytime, and the
officer should not be rotated if the advantages of specialization are to be derived and if the officers
skills to be developed in handling certain types of situations.

Usually, the first platoon (midnight to 8 A.M shift) is considered the least desirable, and
the second platoon (daylight shift) the most desirable. Recruits should be assigned for training and
experience to the first platoon, where their less frequent contact with more critical citizens lessen
the disadvantages of their experience.
Also, if recruits exposed only to qualified field-training officers, they are likely to develop
superior attitudes and work habits. Well-trained, experienced, very active officers are needed on
the third platoon (evening shift); officers should be assigned to this shift as they become skilled
by experience in police service and as they develop seniority.

As they become older in years, more experienced, and less active physically, officers
should be transferred finally to the day shift as a reward for long, efficient service; their knowledge
of police service and acquaintance with the general public will prove most useful on this shift, and
they will be subjected to less physical strain. Permanent shift greatly facilitate having different
numbers of officers on each shift, in proportion to workload. Rotation of shifts, on the other hand,
may force a chief to adopt the same number of beats on each shift simply because of the scheduling
difficulties.

TYPES OF PATROL

The most common and known form of police patrol the world over is that performed on
foot by a police officer in uniform. Its success in controlling crime was discovered in London since
1763, when Henry Fielding, aided by his brother St. John, both of whom successively, were Bow
Street magistrates, organized a force known as the Bow Street Foot Patrol. This was a group of
men, privately employed and, specially trained as thief takers. Its demonstrated utility gave rise to
Robert Peels Metropolitan Police Act of 1829.
On the modern police department, there are many types of patrol. In this unit they will be
discussed as the type of patrol, the advantages and disadvantages of each and various techniques
that may be utilized. Most patrols are assigned to a particular area called a BEAT, and they are
referred to as Beat Patrols.

The size of the BEAT is determined by:

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 a. The type of area to be patrolled (business, farming, residential, recreation, etc.)
b. The type of criminal activity that occurs in the area.
c. The frequency of crime in the area

To properly cover the beat, when it is needed, patrols assigned in shifts. Shifts are
usually determined by, the number of personnel available and, the frequency of calls for
police service.

A. FOOT PATROL

The foot patrol is the most expensive type of patrol; and most departments have reduced
their foot patrols to a minimum because of this. However, it does have certain advantages that
warrant its continued use if even on a limited basis. Usually, a foot patrol is assigned to an area of
dense population such as the downtown area, or where there is heavy traffic congestion and the
assistance of an officer is needed to help eliminated traffic jams.

Types of Foot Patrol

1. Fixed foot patrol is usually used for traffic, surveillance, parades and special events
2. Mobile foot patrol is used where there is considerable foot movement such as
patrolling business and shopping centers, high crime areas, and in places where there are
many or multiple family dwellings.

a. line beat patrol is used in securing a certain portion of roads or street

b. Random foot patrol is sued in checking residential building, business

establishments, dark alleys, and parking lots.

Some of the advantages of the Foot Patrol Beat

1. The foot patrol officer can provide immediate traffic control when it is needed. Being
within a close proximity to problem areas, he will know when his assistance is needed due
to the increase of traffic. He does not have the problem of parking his vehicle, nor finding
a place to park it without causing further traffic problems.

2. More person-to-person contact can be made with the public. This provides greater chances
to promote good public relations. However, if the wrong man is given this assignment, it
can backfire and harm public relations. The foot patrol officer makes more personal
contacts and is seen more by the public than any other type of patrol, therefore becomes
an important link between the department and the public.

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 3. The officer can actually get to know the physical layout of his beat better. There are many
things that an officer misses by patrolling his beat in a police car because of the speed he
is traveling and because of the size of the beat.

4. He gets to know the public on his beat better, and can develop criminal informants
easier. He can also make rendezvous with informant easier without being noticed since
he does not have to park his police car nearby.

5. A foot patrol officer can sneak up on situation where a patrol car is easily noticed
when it approaches.

Basic Techniques and Procedures of Foot patrol

1. Do not establish a set of pattern of patrolling procedure

2. Walk systematically (with purpose) on the beat while on patrol

3. Do not smoke nor drink while on patrol especially during night shift.

4. Walk near the curb during daylight. This technique offers:

A better view for observing street activity

Less chance of obstruction by pedestrian on the sidewalk if you are required to take
quick action

Higher police visibility, which is effective in crime prevention

5. Walk near buildings during night patrol.

6. Do not immediately open the door when intending to get inside. Observe and evaluate first
the situation.

7. Check the interiors of buildings and rattle door knobs to ensure that the premises
are secure

8. Enter and inspect alleys when not seen by public.

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 9. Watch for persons loitering or hiding in doorways, either ingress or egress 10.Use fire
escapes to inspect building rooftops once in a while.

11. Be attentive or on alert for the sound of breaking glass

B. AUTOMOBILE PATROL

The automobile is the most economical type of patrol, and offers the greatest tactical ability
when used in numbers. The automobile has advantages over all other methods of transportation
for general patrol under ordinary conditions.

Some of the advantages of the automobile patrol

1. When speed and mobility are needed such as in a large area that must be covered by few
officers, the speed of the automobile allows them to service the whole area and do so
efficiently.

2. It is of the best means of preventive enforcement. The patrol type police can with its
distinctive colors, red light and doors insignia, is very effective in deterring criminal
activity by making people conscious of the presence of police enforcers, and by creating
an awareness of punitive action.

3. It offers the officer protection. It protects him from the weather and to some extent from
traffic in that he would probably suffer less if hit by another car while he is in the patrol
car than he would if he is walking.

4. It permits the officer to carry extra equipment such as rain gear, extra clothing,
first aid equipment etc.

5. Patrol vehicles can be used as barricades in roadblocks, and they also offer a higher degree
of safety during pursuit of criminals.

General techniques and procedures in automobile patrol

1. Thoroughly check the patrol car before leaving the garage.

2. Do not establish route patterns in patrolling the area of jurisdiction (sector)

3. Do not develop the habit of using only the main arteries (primary routes) in your area.
Most criminal activity occurs at the back streets, out of sight from the main thoroughfares.

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 4. Always take note the license numbers of strange or suspicious vehicles.

5. Do not spend too much time in drive-inns or coffee spots.

6. Get out from the patrol car regularly/frequently

7. Set an example to other motorists

8. Avoid driving too fast on general patrol conditions except during emergencies or in
pursuing criminals/suspects. Maintain a cruising speed of 20-25 mph during patrol. This is
slow enough to make detailed observations without impeding the traffic flow.

9. When conducting solo patrol, maintain frequent contact with the dispatcher or other
communication personnel in the field or at the HQ.

10. If you are patrolling with a partner, divide the observation area around your vehicle.

11. Minimize hiding behind hills, curves or signboards to trap traffic violators. This is bad PR
and serves to erode community confidence in the police sense of fair play.

12. Frequently check the potential trouble spots in your patrol area.

13. Stop periodically among parked cars at the entrance of side streets to observe
activity on the street.

14. Check the occupants of vehicles that stop beside and behind you at intersections.

15. Check parking lots in your patrol area regularly for abandoned stolen vehicles.

16. In stopping and checking a vehicle, park at the rear side of the suspect vehicle. Leave the
door slightly open unless the area is highly populated.

17. Make it a habit not to leave the key in the police car even for just a minute.

One Man versus the two man automobile patrol

Two man patrol car

1. A two man patrol car provides the officer with a greater safety factor doubling the
manpower and the physical protection.

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 2. The mistake that one-man makes may be caught by his partner, and vice versa.

3. One officer does not have to drive a full eight hours, and therefore, he is physically fit and
can do a better job. The variety of tasks makes the job more interesting.

4. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. It is difficult to drive in our present traffic let alone
devote much attention to what is going on around us while we are driving.

5. One-man can operate the radio while the other drives.

6. On quiet nights the driver can have someone to talk to and help keep him awake. Morale
is improved through companionship.

One-man patrol car

1. The preventive enforcement is doubled by having as many police car on the street.

2. When the officer is alone, he devotes his full attention to his driving and the beat rather to
the conversation with his partner.

3. In a two-man car, the officers begin to rely on each other, and as a result of human error,
an officer expects support when it isnt there. A man alone develops self-reliance.

4. In the two-man car, an officer will take more chances than if he is alone. He apparently
builds a false sense of security, and sometimes acts without caution because he does not
want to appear to be a coward in front of his partner.

5. Personality clashes are reduced. Riding in a small patrol car with another person for eight
hours will soon reveal most of his faults. In a short time these faults can get on the other
persons nerves.

NOTE:

Historically, the traditional foot patrolling in the Philippines was initiated in August 7,
1901 by operation of Act No. 183, known as the Charter of Manila, enacted on July 31, 1901.
Governor William Howard Taft, the first Civil Governor of the Philippines formally created the
Manila Police Department. Likewise, the second recorded event concerning patrol method in
police work was on March 10, 1917, as provided for in the Revised Administrative Code of the
Philippines when it mentioned, Requirement of police service or patrol duty for male residents.

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 After fifty-three years of foot patrolling in the Philippine policing system the first
automobile patrol was introduced on May 17, 1954 by the Manila Police Department, through the
initiative and foresight of Hon. Arsenio H. Lacson, the first elected Mayor of Manila Isaias Alma
Jose was designated by the Mayor to organized the first automobile patrol. He was appointed the
first Chief of the Mobile patrol Bureau that he commanded for ten years.

C. HORSE PATROL (Mounted patrol)

The horse patrol is one of the oldest types of patrol next to walking. At the present time there is
still need for the horse patrol where the terrain is steep and rough. The disadvantage of the horse
patrol is the cost of stables and upkeep, and their limited use in a city. They are not
much good at chasing criminals in an automobile. They tire easily and require close
physical attention.

The following are some of the most common uses of horse patrol:

1. Park patrol

2. Beach patrol

3. Posse and search duty - any community that is close to, or part of a mountainous area has
the problem of chasing down escaped or wanted person who have fled to their areas. They
also have the problem of children, hunters and fishermen becoming lost in those areas.
The mounted posse is undoubtedly the best means of locating these persons when used in
conjunction with the helicopter.

4. Parade and crowd control

The horse also provides its rider with higher and better plane of vision than the driver
of a patrol car.

D. CANINE PATROL

History shows us that dogs have been used as a means of personal protection throughout
recorded history. During world war 11,the military on all side widely used dogs as a means of
security and protection. ( Egyptian first to use dogs in patrolling). In US, dogs have been used in
police patrol since 1900. In April 1957, Baltimore was the only American police force that used

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trained dogs handler teams on patrol. As of April 1968, about 200 police agencies used a total of
500 man dog teams in police patrol work.

The key to the successful use of police dogs in patrol is based first of all on an
understanding and willing master; second is, on the proper selection and training of the dogs; and
finally is, on preparing the general public for their use.

To become a dogs master or handler, the officer must first of all have an
understanding of animals. He must be willing to make personal sacrifices in keeping the dog,
as must his family.

The selection and training of dogs is very important, and can present many problems. Not
all breeds of dogs are suited for police work. Even among those most suited for police work there
many that didnt work out. The type of dog that so far seems to be the best suited for all round
police work is the German Shepherd.

The use of dogs can work out fine, but if the public thinks that they are a danger to the
community as well as to the criminal, they will not last. A well planned public relations
campaign must be conducted to show the general public that the police dog is gentle except
when commanded by his master, and that his use will be restricted to the more serious offenses.

Uses of dogs or K-9s in police operations

1. Provide great assistance in search and rescue as well as in smelling out drugs and bombs.

2. Provide protection for one officer patrol.

3. Great value in crowd control. Trained dogs are fearless and loyal to their handlers have a
significant psychological effect on would-be trouble makers.

4. Extensively used in international airports to detect narcotics and bombs because of

their keen sense of smell. A dog is capable of recognizing an odor 10 million times
better than a human can.

5. Specially trained dogs are extremely effective in finding bodies dead or alive, just buried
or buried for years.

6. Locating trapped people during emergencies.

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 7. Can be an asset to public efforts. Well trained police dogs can be used for
demonstrations in public affairs, schools, or parades.

What breeds of working dogs are best suited for police works?

1. German Shepherds the most frequently used and highest scoring dog for police work.

2. Black Labrador retrievers and Giant Schnauzers

3. Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers

4. Bouviers and Newfoundlands

5. Airedale terriers

6. Alaskan malamutes

Disadvantages of using K-9

1. Most police dogs work with only one handler.

2. K-9, like most dogs, is territorial, and its handler and its K-9 cruiser are part of its territory.

3. Dog training is expensive. Dog training usually takes 10 to 20 weeks.

4. Police department that K-9 section is vulnerable to law suits.

E. AIRCRAFT PATROL

Among the more recent trends in patrolling is the use of aircraft, either helicopter or fixed-
wing. Today, it has become necessary for the police use aircraft in performing both routine and
specialized patrol activities. The use of aircraft is not totally new. In 1925, the Los

Angeles County Sheriff Department has already formed a volunteer Reserve Aero
Squadron. Full-time Aero detail is still an official unit in this police department today. Before
1929, the New York police department began using aircraft. In 1947, the New York Port Authority
began using helicopters for surveillance, transportation, and rescue. Other cities and state agencies
in USA have employed helicopters, usually during daylight hours. In 1986, the state of California
developed an experimental program using helicopters for police patrolling known as SKY
KNIGHT. During the latter part of 1959, the Public Safety Department of Dade County in Florida

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used the aerial patrol concept. At present, it is effectively utilizing fixed-wing aircraft and
helicopters in regular patrols to prevent crime and apprehend offenders or engage in surveillance
activities.

Advantages of Fixed-wing Aircraft Patrol

1. Patrolling long stretches of highway or expresses of inaccessible land.

2. Excellent for traffic control in long stretches of highways, for search and
surveillance and other special missions.

Disadvantages of Fixed-wing Aircraft Patrol

1. Fixed-wing aircraft has very little flexibility in congested metropolitan areas.

2. Needs a space of flat land for lift-off and landing.

3. Very expensive to operate.

Advantages of Helicopter Patrol

1. Able to travel at low speeds, to hover if necessary, and to land even in small patch of flat
land.

2. Increased visual range/scope.

3. More efficient for rescue, medical evacuation, surveillance, and other high profile police
activities.

4. Improved response time to emergency calls and other called-for service

5. Increased rate of apprehension of professional and organized crime groups.

6. Improved efficiency of regular patrol units through airborne reconnaissance.

7. Increased ability in conducting searches for missing/lost people suspected offenders and
escaping prisoners.

8. Provide a better system of flood lighting areas to be patrolled at night.

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 9. Capable of broadcasting information to a large area through airborne speakers.

10. Provide rapid emergency transportation of personnel.

11. Added security to patrol officers on foot, motorcycles or in patrol cars through backup
offered by aerial patrol.

Disadvantages of Helicopter Patrol

1. Very expensive high cost of training of pilots/operators, buying, fuel, and special
facilities for housing and maintenance.

2. Public complaints about the noise and about being spied upon.

3. Forcibly grounded during bad weather; smog and light or intermittent clouds affecting
visibility.

4. Presence of various hazards especially in congested areas.

5. There are landing patterns or procedures that must be followed, which delays landing time.

6. Pilots must work shorter periods of time than regular police shifts since driver of
helicopters easily suffer work fatigues.

7. There are many tactical problems to overcome such as location of police units on ground
and the exact location of addresses.

8. Element of surprise is lost since criminals could hear the helicopter coming even from a
great distance.

F. BICYLE PATROL

Bicycle patrols are more common in temperate urban areas where limited coverage areas
are available. The use of bicycles instead of cars can make police officers more easily
approachable, especially in low-crime areas. Bicycles can also be issued to police officers to
enhance the mobility and range of foot patrols. Bicycles can also be effective crime-fighting tools
when used in densely populated urban areas. The bikes are nearly silent in operation and many
criminals do not realize that an approaching person on a bike is actually a police officer.
Furthermore, if the criminal attempts to flee on foot, the riding police officer has a speed advantage
while able to quickly dismount if necessary.

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 In the Philippine setting the bicycle patrol was once introduced by the Manila Police in
1939 to augment the foot patrol coverage in parks and residential areas. Unfortunately, when two
patrol officers were killed, one was stabbed when chasing in his bicycle a bag snatcher at the
Luneta Park, while the other one was sideswiped by a bus. Bicycle patrol was abandoned it was
then considered hazardous.

Advantages of Bicycle Patrol

1. It is economical or inexpensive to operate.

2. It has the combine advantage of mobility and stealth because it can be operated very quietly
and without attracting attention.

3. To control burglaries which are getting out of hand.

G. MOTORCYCLE PATROL

Although the use of motorcycle has lost ground to the use of patrol cars in recent years,
their need in congested traffic will insure their continued use as a form of police patrol. The two-
wheel motorcycle is quite adaptable to traffic enforcement, parades and escort duty. It has
disadvantages of being used only in fair weather, of causing a greater number of accidents that are
usually quite serious, and in the long run costing the department almost as much as a patrol vehicle
despite the apparent low rate cost.
The chance of a motorcycle rider being injured is nine times as great as that of the driver
of an automobile. He is also four times likely to be killed than police officer riding in an
automobile.

The three-wheel motorcycle is used almost exclusively in the enforcement of parking. It

has the disadvantage of not providing the rider with protection against the weather.

H. MARINE PATROL/BAY AND RIVER PATROL/ BOAT PATROL

Marine or water patrol units, aside from being a highly specialized form of police patrol,
is likewise expensive to maintain. In the early years of the PC/INP integration, it was the Western
Police District who introduced this type of patrol in police work.

The objective was to use the watercraft in the anti-smuggling operations along the Pasig
river and Manila Bay as well as against robberies committed in bonded warehouses located along

27
the riverbanks. However, because of the expenses incurred in its operation and maintenance did
not compensate the advantages, police use it became inoperative.

Water patrol units are extremely specialized and are not in great use except in areas with
extensive coasts or a great deal of lake or river traffic. The objective was to use the water vehicles
in anti-smuggling operations as well as against robberies committed in warehouses along
riverbanks or water ports.

Like aircraft, boats are expensive to buy, operate and maintain. Further, those who operate
them must have special training. Nonetheless, boats are the best means to effectively control
violators of water safety regulations as well as to apprehend drug and gun smugglers. They are
also valuable in rescue operations during times of flooding as well as in dragging operations for
drowning cases.

PATROL TACTICS, STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

If the police are to continue to fulfill their basic responsibilities to detect and deter crimes
and to apprehend criminals that are the primary goals of patrol activities, they must continue to
search for new and more effective patrol activities.

No single patrol strategy will work well in all cases or in every police jurisdiction. The choice
of the particular patrol strategy, or combination of strategies, to be employed will depend upon.

1. the resources of the police agency concerned

2. the particular crime problems and patrol objectives

3. the characteristics of the individual community

4. the imagination and determination of the police administrator and his patrol commander in
developing patrol strategies tailored to best meet the needs of their department, the
community their police will serve.

Types of Police Patrol: Preventive, proactive and reactive

The reactive function is a constant activity representing the bulk of what the public expects
police agencies to do- answer calls for services; enforce laws; arrest criminals; give traffic
citations, and perform random preventive patrol.

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 The proactive function requires officers to develop directed or structured patrol strategies
in response to identified crime problems. Officers are empowered with new responsibilities to cope
with crime. To a large extent, these new responsibilities downplay the use of random, moving
patrol cars. Instead emphasis is placed in tactical planning to develop patrol strategies for
responding quickly and effectively to a myriad of crime problems (i.e. a series of street robberies
in a neighborhood, a pattern of rapes at an apartment complex, or drug dealing on a school campus
attributed to the actions of juvenile gang.) These types of tactical response strategies are again
dependent on accurate and timely information from crime analysis units.

The third function is referred to as co-production or co-activity. It can be defined as

an active outreach and systematic engagement between the police and the public for the purposes
of identifying and addressing localized problems of crime and disorder. Co -activity addresses long
range strategic problems identified through ongoing contacts between individual patrol officers
and the citizens in a specific geographic area.

Theoretically, officers become more familiar with a district the longer they work in their
assigned areas. Therefore, officers are expected to identify what services are needed in specific
areas through self- directed effort. Through self-direction, officers are expected to contact people,
explain why they are needed, seek assistance in problem identification and learn how to coordinate
police agency involvement to remedy the problem.

The Psychology of Omnipresence: Patrol Strategy in crime prevention

While it is true that the patrol officer cannot detect the thinking or desire of the criminal
yet, he can destroy the opportunity to commit a crime by his ever presence patrol strategy. The
psychology of omnipresence, as an initial police strategy, is to establish the aura of police presence
in the community, and is best exemplified and effectively applied in: Patrols crime prevention
activities by uniformed foot patrol officers as well as mobiles patrol crew in conspicuously marked
radio-equipped, patrol cars.

There is no denying that a criminal in planning to commit a crime is not solely prompted
by his strong desire. More importantly, he has to consider the presence of an opportunity, i.e. the
absence of apprehension, wherein the police are known to be lax, inefficient, scarce. So, the
communities in which, their police have established a reputation of being extremely vigilant and
aggressive in their patrol functions are avoided by criminals.

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The Walking Beat: The traditional patrol pattern

Before WWII, the walking beat or foot patrol was the only type used by our local police
forces for crime prevention activities. It was a very successful method because of strict supervision
employed- close personal supervision; supervision by instrumentation; that resulted in a highly
and satisfactory visible police presence.

During those years, the Manila Police Department, looked upon as the premier law
enforcement agency in the country, have installed throughout the city the Gamewell Police Call-
Box System. Gamewell is simply the trade name of the American manufacturer, its system
operates like a telephone. It is operated only by a specially fitted solid brass key issued to every
police officer assigned for patrol duty as part of his official police equipment. The distribution of
those boxes were so strategically apportioned that two or three patrol officers of adjoining beats
can use one call-box, that the set-up facilitated the supervisory technique of the patrol supervisor
over his patrol officers.

Another patrol strategy, to further assure his high and constant visibility, is
through the following patrol pattern:

The Clockwise pattern The Police Manual and the List of Patrol Beats were the police bibles.
It must be memorized if one has to stay in the police service. A beat patrol officer, irrespective of
the size and number of beats, is assigned two call-boxes. The objective of the clockwise patrol
pattern at the start of the 8 hour tour of duty is for the patrol officer to survey the situation and
condition of the boundaries of his area of responsibility.

a. The Zigzag or Freewheeling Patrol Pattern this is done by patrolling the streets
within the perimeters of the beats, not at random, but with a definite target-location where
he knows his presence is necessary. This action is on course based on his study of the
situations and conditions of his beat.

b. The Counter clockwise Patrol Pattern this technique is simply the reverse of the
clockwise patrol pattern. It is done at the last hour of the 8 hour tour of duty in order to
ensure that nothing unusual has happened in his area of responsibility.

c. The Straightway and the Crisscross Patterns the straightway is patrolling the length
of a street, and therefore, the easiest to observe the movement of the patrol officer, whereas,
the crisscross is more or less similar to the zigzag pattern.

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 What is important is that the movement technique of a patrol officer must have a purpose
and objective. It is not aimless nor at random. The observation of the patrol officer must keenly
be aimed at persons and things, the sources of hazards.

Mobile Patrolling: Concept of Operation

The operation of mobile patrol shall be under centralized command, irrespective of

the size of the department and the area of coverage where, the assignment of the patrol cars
and its crew components shall be the sole responsibility of its commander.

The radio cars shall be used exclusively for patrol functions. Flexibility in their
deployment shall be the primary consideration. Normally, radio cars shall be allocated to areas
in accordance with a) volume of crime incidence; b) need for police service; and c) prevalence
of hazard.

The mobile patrol crew, perform the same functions and duties and is subject to the same
discipline like his counterpart- the man on the beat. The only distinguishing feature is found in the
extent and facilities for patrol performance where the crew is provided with an automobile
equipped with two-way radio transceivers to afford immediate communication and dispatch to
scene of crime.

Two Phases to consider in managing mobile patrol

1. Administrative Aspect

a. Staff supervisor an inspector in charge of shift or platoon

b. Disposition officer supervising deskman

c. Deskman patrol officer assigned to receive phone calls from public and reports
from mobile patrol crews.

d. Dispatcher patrol officer in charge of the radio control room that are dispatching
mobile patrol crew to scene of assignments, transmitting, and receiving, recording
radio message.

2. Operational Aspect

a. Field supervisor one who supervise mobile crew in the field, for discipline and
performance.

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 b. Crew normally two men complement of uniformed patrol officers in the radio car,
one acting as the driver and the other as the recorder.

HIGH AND LOW VISIBILITY PATROL

The general tendency in crime prevention strategy is high police visibility to ensure citizen
feelings of security for the law abiding but the creation of fear for would be violators. However,
in other instances, low visibility patrol programs have been designed to increase police activities
of arrest of criminals who have already committed or are in the act of committing selected types
of crimes. The theory underlying the high visibility patrol concept is that, certain types of crimes
can be reduced by, increasing the aura of police omnipresence in the community. Another strategy
is the saturation concept wherein selected risky crime of robbery in residential areas of the city is
saturated by intensive patrol of clearly marked police cars equipped with 2-way radios.

Low-visibility patrol is a strategy wherein members of the force in plainclothes patrol areas
on foot or in unmarked automobiles where street crimes become high-risk crimes. Under the low-
visibility set-up the primary purpose of the patrol is no longer crime prevention but crime
repression, wherein the objective is the increased apprehension of criminals engaged in selected
street crimes, and the deterrence of criminal activity as a result of greater probability of
apprehension.

DIRECTED DETERRENT PATROL

An alternative to random routine patrol is directed patrol, in which officers are given
specific directions to follow when they are not responding to calls. The directed patrol assignments
are given before they begin their tour and are meant to replace uncommitted random patrol time
with specific duties that police commanders believe will be effective. Directed patrol assignments
can be based on crime analysis, specific problems, or complaints received from the community.

SPLIT FORCE PATROL

One of the problems with directed patrol, however, is that calls for service often interrupt
the performance of directed patrol assignments. Split force patrol offers a solution to this
problem. One portion of the patrol force is designated to handle all calls dispatched to patrol
units. The remaining portion of the officers working that tour, are given directed patrol
assignments with the assurance that except for serious emergencies, they will not be interrupted.

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DECOY PATROL

One of the primary purposes of police patrols is to prevent crime through the creation of
sense of omnipresence; potential criminals are deterred from crime by the presence or potential
presence of the police officer. Obviously, omnipresence does not work well. We have crime both
on our streets and in areas where ordinary police patrols cannot see crime developing, such as the
inside of a store or the hallway of a housing project.

Additionally, we have seen that retroactive, investigations of crimes with the intent to
identify and arrest perpetrators, is not very effective. Decoy operations take several forms. Among
them are blending and decoy. In blending, officers dressed in civilian clothes try to blend into an
area and patrol it on foot or in unmarked police cars in an attempt to catch a criminal in the act of
committing a crime.

Officers may target areas where a significant amount of crime occurs, or they may follow
particular people who appear to be potential victims or potential offenders. In order to blend
officers assume the roles and dress of ordinary citizens - - construction workers, shoppers, joggers,
bicyclists, physically disabled persons, and so onso that the officers without being observed as
officers, can be close enough to observe and intervene should a crime occur.

In decoy, officers dress as, and play the role of, potential victims drunks, nurses, business
people, tourists, prostitutes, blind people, or defenseless elderly people. The officers wait to be the
subject of a crime while a team of backup is ready to apprehend the violator in the act of
committing the crime.

STOP AND FRISK

To imprint in the mind of criminals the feeling of fear of arrest is the application of the
strategy of stop and frisk both by the foot patrol and the mobile crew. When patrol officers are
observed stopping persons on the streets whose behavior is suspicious, determining them briefly
by questioning and frisking them for concealed weapons, the action of the police heighten the
effect of high visibility patrol. The method of frisking is to pat down the outer clothing of the
suspect for any concealed weapon or contraband. Frisk is not a search because the officers do not
insert his hand inside the pocket of the suspect. Instead, it is the suspect himself who produce from
his pocket, as required by the officer the object or article in question.

AGGRESSIVE PATROL

When evaluating the usefulness of aggressive patrols we must delve deeply into
criminology. Schmalleger (2009) breaks the criminological theory into six different schools of

33
theory: classical theories, biological theories, psychiatric and psychological theories, social
structure approaches, social process theories, and social conflict theories. Where aggressive patrol
is particularly concerned is within the social process theories, particularly with social
disorganization approaches; in short, aggressive patrol is entirely concerned with the criminality
of locations (Schmalleger, 2009).

Under compstat, New York city ran aggressive patrols in areas of the Bronx with high rates
of success. Initially it appeared that increasing use of aggressive patrol led to increases in
complaints against police officers; however, upon further study Davis, Mateu-Gelabert, and Miller
(2005) were able to conclude that as some neighborhoods in the Bronx actually had decreasing
complaints with increased aggressive patrol that the two were unrelated.

Cordner and Scarborough (2007) also indicate the effectiveness of aggressive patrol as a
police tactic. I do not debate the short term effectiveness of aggressive patrol as it is unquestionably
effective while it is in place; however, as aggressive patrol is temporal it only addresses the
criminality of place in a highly transient fashion. There will not likely be a lasting change in the
community as the crime which was dispersed to other areas will eventually return to the
neighborhoods from which it was dispersed (Schmalleger, 2009).

I liken it to an individual who is brought to a hospital highly anemic; while the doctor may
give a transfusion and the patient will feel much better, the root causation of the anemia has not
been addressed. The patient may be suffering leukemia, renal failure, or any number of life
threatening conditions.

In much the same way that our doctor has not addressed the causation of the anemia,
aggressive patrol has not addressed the causation of crime; therefore, aggressive patrol is incapable
of preventing future crime once criminals are aware that patrol in an area has resumed normal
operation.

When crime becomes problematic in an area, it is essential that police partner with the
community as well as other organizations in order to reduce crime now via criminality of location
and prevent future crime by addressing other criminological theory such as anomie that hold far
more potential for crime prevention (Schmalleger, 2009).

That being said, some places such as Singapore address criminality of places by enforcing
maximum ethnic quotas in all housing developments such that Chinese, Malay, Indian, and other
ethnicities are always mixed. Such an approach has been highly effective for Singapore; however,
is not legally viable in the United States so we must address other causal factors of crime.

The question as to civil liberties further underscores the need for police to work with the
community in developing solutions to problems. Worrall (2007) underscores that there exists a
dichotomy between the two rights which the founding fathers alluded to: the right to privacy and

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to be generally free of government intrusion and the right to live free of the fear of harm. As the
United States is based on principles of self-governance for communities, it is all the more important
that citizens be included when deciding how intrusive a measure they are willing to accept in
exchange for safety.

Again, I would like to point out that aggressive patrol is a reactive measure to crime and
should be viewed as a drastic tool for use when all preventative tactics have failed and that it should
be implemented with the consent of the community.

PATROL TACTICS, STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

If the police organization are to continue to fulfill their basic responsibilities to detect and
deter crimes and to apprehend criminals, which are the primary goal of patrol force. They must
continue to search for new and more effective patrol effective patrol activities.

Orlando Wilson states that toward policing is that should be considered a patrol service
with specialized activities as aids. It is the patrol officer who, as a matter of routine operational
practice is charge with the performance of the full range of complex responsibilities inherent in
the police task.

The patrol officer in a very real sense represent the microcosm of the police organization
the uniform patrol officer represent all the powers and responsibilities of the police. In a very real
sense, the uniform patrol division is the police.

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