Topic 3C presentation

C. THE PATROL ENVIRONMENT

IMPORTANCE OF THE PATROL FORCE

Obviously, the patrol unit is indispensable component of every police department. The following
statements give justification to the importance of police patrol:

1. Patrol is the essence of police operations.

2. The patrol force is the single largest unit within the police organization.
3. Actions of the patrol officers have the most direct impact on the citizen’s satisfaction and on the
accomplishment of police goals and objectives.
4. Patrol operation is the most visible form of police activity that enhances the welfare and security
of the community.
5. Individual patrol officers represent the police department in its contact with the community.
6. Individual patrol officers play a major role in determining the quality of justice in a given
community. Errors made by patrolmen have significant negative effect in the public’s perception and
on the other components of the CJS.
7. The patrol officer is the most important human element of the police organization since all police
field operations are supported by the patrol activity.

As emphasized by statements 3-6, patrol officers have a delicate role as members of the police
department.  Their attitude, decisions and action are the reflection of their organization.  Out of 100
personnel in one police department, if 1 or 2 patrol officers behaved badly, the whole police department
will be seen by the public as bad organization.  Hence, every patrol officer should exercise the so-called
"police discretion.

POLICE DISCRETION

 Discretion is the wise use of one’s 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 every one of the thousands of hours 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)

There are major problems/issues that can arise from uncontrolled discretion. These include, but not
limited to, the following.

 Police discretion 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” or "street justice".

FACTORS AFFECTING PATROL OPERATIONS

1. Factors affecting police performance

a. External factors:


o
 trust and confidence of the people
 participation of the public in patrol activities
 support of the barangay officials

b. Internal factors


o
 higher pay
 endorsement by higher authorities

2. Factors influencing decision making at an operational level

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.

a. 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, 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 community’s need.
b. 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.

c. Environmental factors


o
 personal values
 pressure of police supervisors and peers
 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.

c. 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.

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

Occupational hazards affecting members of the police organization are also known as LAW
ENFORCEMENT HAZARDS or POLICE 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 isolation, the potential dangers, and the unique life style all seem to work
together to affect adversely certain officer’s physical, mental, and social well-being.

Various occupational hazards encountered by police officers can be categorized into 5 types - physical,
psychological, physiological, social and economic.

  1. Physical Hazards
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.

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.

Contagious disease: During the later half of the twentieth century, police officers had relatively little to
fear from contagious diseases. Among the top  infectious diseases are chickenpox, flu
(influenza), herpes,  (Links to an external site.)HIV/AIDS, human papillomavirus (Links to an external
site.) (HPV), mumps (Links to an external site.), measles, viral hepatitis, viral meningitis, and viral
pneumonia. Covid-19 is a more recent form of viral infection that many similarities with pneumonia since it
attacks primarily the human respiratory system.

2. Psychological Hazards

Historically, many people believed that policing attracted persons with a propensity
towards 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 becomes 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. 

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.

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 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.

Suicide: Being a police officer also increases one’s 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.

Substance abuse that leads to 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.

  3. Physiological hazards

Substance abuse leading to physical 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.

Physical health deterioration: 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.  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.

 4. Social hazards

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.“

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.

5. Economic hazards

Salary limitations: If one’s 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.

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