Patrol Procedures
Chapter 4
Traditional Methods
• There are three traditional methods of
uniformed patrol:
• Random Routine Patrol
• Rapid Response to Citizens’ 911 Calls
• Retroactive Investigation of Past Crimes by
Detectives
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 chose 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 during 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.”
Alternative Patrol Strategies
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Directed Patrol
Split Force
High intensity patrol
Differential Response to Calls for Service
Uniformed tactical operations
Decoy operations
Stake out and sting operations
Code enforcement teams
Directed Patrol
• Involves officers receiving specific instructions
on what duties to perform while not
responding to calls.
• Based on:
crime analysis
specific problems
complaints received from the community
Split Force
• One portion of the patrol force handling all
calls dispatched to patrol units, while the
other only performs directed patrol
assignments.
High Intensity Patrol
• A form of split force used by the Houston
Police Department, placed more officers in
different parts of the city during peak crime
hours.
• Problems HIP- directed not to answer 911 calls
and stay in designated areas, not enough
regular patrol officers, therefore 911 calls
would pile up.
Uniformed Tactical Operations
• Aggressive Patrol Tactics Involves stopping
numerous people and vehicles in an attempt to
find evidence that they may have committed a
crime or may be committing a crime.
• Studies have indicated that aggressive patrol
tactics such as in the field of interrogations could
• Reduce the crime rates
• Increase arrests rates
• Create problems with the community
New York City
• Stop and Frisk Policy
• 2011 = 685,724 stops
• 2012 = 533,042 stops (7100 weapons
recovered)
• Portions declared unconstitutional as of
February 2013
• 1. In 2011, NYC officers made 685,724 stops as part of
the “stop-and-frisk” policy. Of that group, 605,328
people were determined not to have engaged in any
unlawful behavior. [NYCLU]
• 2. Only 5.37% of all stops in a recent five-year period
resulted in an arrest. In short, many people stopped did
nothing wrong. [NYT, 5/17/12]
• 3. In 2009, 36% of the time officer failed to list an
acceptable “suspected crime.” Reasonable suspicion of a
crime is required to make a stop. [NYT, 5/17/12]
• 4. More than half of all stops last year were conducted
“because the individual displayed ‘furtive movement’ —
which is so vague as to be meaningless.” [NYT, 5/14/12]
• 5. Of those frisked in 2011, a weapon was found just
1.9% of the time. Frisks are supposed to be conducted
“only when an officer reasonably suspects the person has
a weapon.” [NYCLU]
• 6. 85% of those stopped were black or Hispanic even
though those groups make up about half of NYC’s
population. [NYT, 5/17/12]
• 7. Young black and Latino men account for 4.7% of NYC’s
population but 41.6% of the stops in 2011. [NYCLU]
• 8. The number of stops involving young black men in 2011
(168,124) exceed the city’s population of young black men
(158,406).[NYT, 5/15/12]
• 9. Even in overwhelmingly white neighborhoods, police
stopped more blacks than whites.[NYT, 5/15/12]
• 10. In 2012, police are on pace to make more than 800,000
stops, more than twice the population of Miami. [NYT,
5/15/12]
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
• Starbucks opening