- What are some of the major findings of studies of the patrol function? (Include in your answer findings of the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment.)
- What are some of the occupational hazards that are inherent in beat patrol, and what does research seem to indicate should be done to prevent fatal ambushes?
- What does H.R. 218 permit?
- What is meant by discretionary use of police authority, and what are some of its advantages, disadvantages, and factors that enter into the officer’s decision-making process?
- Why is the traffic function important in patrol work, and how can it bring about bad citizen–police relations?
Lecture Notes
Studies of the Patrol Function: An Overview
• Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment
• Team policing
• Directed patrol
• Split-force patrol
• Foot patrol experiments
• Response time analyses
Patrol as Work: Culture of the Beat
Purposes and Nature of Patrol
• Patrol officer deployment needs to consider where/when crimes occur
• Patrol officers must be knowledgeable about their beat assignment
• Contrary to popular belief, much patrol time consists of gaps of inactivity
• Officers encounter a wide variety of concerns while engaged in routine patrol
• Most 911 calls (60–90 percent) are for non-emergencies
Patrol Work as a Function of Shift Assignment
• Day shift
• Swing/evening shift
• Night/graveyard shift
Influence of an Assigned Beat
• Beats vary in terms of structure and demographic character
• “Cops’ rules” of the beat culture
Where Danger Lurks: Occupational Hazards of Patrol
At Their Peril
• Many occupational hazards—accidental and felonious
• Recent spike in fatal ambushes of police officers
• Possibility of a “Ferguson effect”?
• Profile of officers killed in the line of duty
• Other dangers to officers, including accidental death