POLICE PATROL

OPERATIONS
 PATROL
“The heart of the police operation”

According to Hale, Patrol is the essence of police function while

Payton said; the Patrol division is the backbone of the police
department.
PRIMARY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
The primary goals and objective of police are, maintain peace and
order and protecting life and property. These are among the most basic
roles of government, and government hires the police to perform these
services.
Patrol may refer to the regular tour made by a guard in a place in order to
protect it or to maintain order.
Patrol- the action of going through or around a town, community,
neighbourhood, etc, at regular intervals for purposes of security,
inspection or observation.
PATROL FORCE is the “backbone” of any police
organization because of these reasons:
1. It is the only branch of police service that is
practically without limit in responsibility;
2. Patrol service is able to perform other police task
if there is a need for special units;
3. Patrol branch is indispensable and the unit which
carries this activity will continue to be the most
important single division of the police organization.
 Line & Staff Functions
Line Functions- those that are directly responsible
for accomplishing police goals and objectives.

Staff/ Auxiliary or Support Functions- designed

solely to support and enhance the operation of line
units.
Primary Line Units- concerned with the police operational task
1. Patrol
2. Investigation
3. Traffic
4. Vice & Juvenile Patrol

Secondary/ Auxiliary Units- concerned with the service task

1. Records
2. Property Custodian
3. Jails
4. Crime Laboratory Services
5. Transportation
6. Communication
Administrative or Managerial Units
1. Personnel intelligence
2. Planning
3. Budgeting
4. Training in community relations
 The History of Police Patrol
The term POLICE came from the Greek word POLITEIA (government
of a city), which was used to describe the group of civil officers
governing the city and not necessarily the armed men guarding/
policing the city. When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they
changed the word slightly to POLITIA (civil administration) which itself
derives from the Ancient Greek word POLIS (city). The French changed
the word to POLICE and used it to those authorized people who actually
enforce the law. The English and the Americans borrowed the word from
the French and used it to describe a law enforcement officer.
 Police officers are often referred to as COP/ CONSTABLE which is
commonly referred to as a police officer. COP is European term meaning to
catch or seize. Not only did we get the word Constable from French, but
the word patrol as well. Patrol is from the French “Patrouiller” (Patrouller)
meaning to go on puddles. (to walk through mud in a military camp)

The term LAW ENFORCER originated in Rome, during the time of the
Roman Empire. The city limits are guarded by Roman soldiers carefully
selected by the commander of the city garrison under the authority of
Caesar from the Roman legions called “Centurions” whose main task is to
maintain internal peace and order, to arrest all violators of law, and to
defend and protect the city of Rome.
POLICE is the agency of
a community or
government that is
responsible for enforcing
the law, maintaining
public order, and
preventing and detecting
crime.
 The concept of Crime Prevention and Crime
Suppression

Crime Prevention- the suppression of the desire of

potential criminals to commit crimes.

Crime Suppression- elimination of the opportunity of

criminals to perform acts against the law.
 Police Omnipresence
It is a crime suppression activity of the police which is
accomplished by making their presence known in a such a way
that even if they are no longer present in a certain location, would
be criminals would still have the impression that they are still
around and would therefore refrain from committing an offense.
 Police Personnel Distribution
Police Activity Percentage

1. Patrol Functions 50 %

2. Criminal Investigation 15 %

3. Traffic Functions 10 %

4. Vice & Juvenile Related Fuctions 10 %

5. Administrative Functions 10 %

6. Auxilliary Functions 5%
 Manning level of Patrol Force
“The rule of thumb”

1: 500- The standard manning level of the police

1:1000- the maximum level of police
 Classifications of Police Patrol

1. Reactive Patrol
This is a patrol activity which consists of driving around the district,
waiting for something to happen.

2. Proactive Patrol
An alternative patrol system which means the fielding of the field
units in their respective area of responsibility with prescribed objectives
and verifiable tasks schedule of the day to augment the calls and other
on sight activities that makes up the patrol officers day.
 Attractive Nuisances & Patrol Hazards

1. Attractive Nuisances
It is known doctrine of law wherein an individual is said to be
maintaining on his premises, business or residential a condition,
instrumentality, machine, or other agency that is dangerous to
young children because of their inability to appreciate peril,
which may reasonably be expected to attract children to such
premises, and that one therefore has a duty to the children, and
the society in general, to exercise reasonable care to protect
against the dangers of such attraction.
2. Patrol Hazard
This term is frequently used to describe a specific condition or
place that requires the patrol officer’s special attention. The
hazard may be a bar where fights frequently occur. It may be an
abandoned digging filled with stagnant water and used as a
swimming hole by children or an abandoned building or a
haunted house used for illegal activities.
 Preparations During Patrol Operations

1. General Preparation
The patrol officer’s value system must be in harmony with the
objectives of law enforcement and sense of fair play. The first and foremost
in his preparation for patrol duty is attitude preparation. As much as
possible, his attitude must be positive since many things around him and
so many people are so negative, that he will most likely end up negative and
depress.
2. Pre-Patrol Preparation
Prior to going out on patrol, the patrol officer should have knowledge
about their tasks each day, there is usually a “fall-in” formation at the
police station or the police block as the case may be, which is devoted to
the giving of specific assignments, vehicle to be used and partner, if
any, break and mealtime and patrol assignment. Other matters include
new laws or court decisions affecting field activities, changes in
jurisdictional boundaries, general and special orders from higher offices or
the administration and new techniques for the improvement of field
personnel.
3. In-Field Preparation
Whenever possible, the police officer who is to go out on patrol should
have a “debriefing” conference with the officer who is being relieved and
who had just spent the previous tour of duty in the patrol district.

4. Orientation Tour
Once in the field, the patrol officer should take a general
familiarization and inspection tour of his assigned district in order to
orient himself of its patterns and characteristics.
 Objectives of Patrol Operations

1. Serve & Protect

Include the objectives of protecting lives and properties, and providing
all the other services which are required or expected from police officers.
This objective may be effectively established by maintaining open line of
communication between the people and the officers who serve them.
Included in this category are the functions of “police community
relations.”
2. Participative Law Enforcement
Locally referred to as Community Oriented Policing System (COPS), it
is now being widely applied by the law enforcement agency particularly in
Metro Manila area. Actually, the teamwork concept between the police
and the citizenry is not something new although it seems to be something
new although those are not aware of or have forgotten the “basic.”
Teamwork between the police and the citizens will always be necessary
in order that the law enforcement functions may be performed effectively.
3. Prevention of Criminal & Delinquency Behavior
This field objective is particularly aimed at ways and means of
reducing the desire to commit crimes. It is a police responsibility to be
able to identify the would-be offenders, delinquents and near-delinquents
before an arrest becomes necessary. This is more regularly carried out by
the field officer in contacts with juveniles whose behavior patterns are not
so indelibly impressed and who might be amenable to change. The police
officer should take steps to help the child to redirect energies into lawful
and socially accepted channels.
4. Repression of Criminal & Delinquent Behavior
Repressions of crimes are generally accomplished whether having
officers present at specific locations maintaining a highly visible profile or
by publicizing a highly active undercover operation. In both cases, the
objectives are to cause people to decide not to commit crimes for fear
of being caught in the act. The theory is based upon the assumption that
people will not commit crimes if they believe they are certain to be arrested.
This repressive police activity is accomplished by making their presence
know in such a way that even when they are not in a specific location a
would-be felon will refrain from misbehavior because of the likelihood that
they will suddenly appear from nowhere. This is actually refers to this
phenomenon as police “omni-presence.”
5. Identification & Apprehension of Offenders
Patrol officers are usually in a position to readily identify obvious or
suspected violation of the laws and to take enforcement action immediately
when possible. When a policeman is assigned to investigate a complaint of
a crime, it is his responsibility to know what crime is or what is not. He
must initiate the investigation immediately, locate and question victims
and witnesses, protect the crime scene and make every effort to locate and
apprehend the suspect.
6. Traffic Flow & Collision Reduction
Pedestrian and vehicle traffic must be free-flowing and
collision free so that people may move safely from one place or
another. The police objective is to determine the causes of
congestion and to relieve it, which involves investigation, and the
five (5) E’s of traffic management.