5C - Patrol Methodologies

Fundamental reminders for police officers while patrolling their beats

1. Patrol officers must always bear in mind that they are more than just police officers on the
street. Every patrol officer must always keep in mind that h/she is police department itself.
2. A police officer in the frontline must  remember that he does not represent only the  the police
department. The patrolman on his beat is the symbol of every existing government bureau.

PATROLLING TACTICS

Proactive and Reactive Patrol

 Proactive patrol: This is the more economical alternative patrol system, which has an
objective approach against criminally as much as practicable. It addresses crime at its very
root before it is able to develop into a felonious act. It focuses on the prevention of crime.
 Reactive Patrol: This is the old system of police patrol activity which consists of continuously
driving around the area of patrol waiting for something to happen and to react accordingly in
case something does happen. It usually focuses on apprehension of criminals.

Directed Patrol and POP

If a department’s goals are clear, and if the department has kept accurate records on calls for service and
on crimes committed in the community, then based on this data, patrol times should be effectively
structured to provide the best service and protection possible. This practice is most commonly referred to
as directed patrol.

Directed patrol use the police officer’s discretionary patrol time to focus on specific department goals.
These goals are often identified through problem-oriented policing (POP)– that is grouping calls for
service to identify specific goals.

High and Low Visibility Patrol

 High visibility – application of the theory of police omnipresence, marked patrol cars and
uniformed police personnel.
 Low visibility – application of the theory of low police profile, unmarked patrol cars and
sometimes non – uniformed personnel.

Team Policing
This is a grassroot approach undertaken to bring the people and the police together in a cooperative
situation.

Decoy Patrolling
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 on—so 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.

Split force Patrolling

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.

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.

PREPARATING FOR PATROL DUTY

A. Equipment check

1. Notebook with ample supply of blank leaf

2. Police uniform and badge, Weapons, Watch, Finances (including change for pay
telephones), Flashlight, spare battery and bulbs
3. Updated list of criminal incident reports
4. Current list of stolen and wanted vehicles
5. Portable radio
6. Other equipment as required

B. Information Check

1. Secure and review descriptions of missing and wanted persons.

2. Arrange any follow-up work from previous shifts.
 3. Check with the officer being relieved for any problems requiring your attention during the
shift.
4. Check patrol area log for problem areas requiring extra surveillance.

C. Vehicle Check

1. Check the interior of your patrol car. Pay particular attention to the rear seat. A prisoner may
have hidden a weapon or evidence in the vehicle during the previous shift.
2. During your own tour of duty, a prisoner might try the same maneuver. If you haven’t checked
the vehicle, any evidence you recover might be ruled inadmissible in court; you would be
unable to swear that the vehicle was empty before the suspect entered it.
3. Record the condition of your vehicle’s interior in your notebook for possible latter use as
evidence.
4. Check your vehicle’s siren, roof light, radio and other equipment to ensure that they are in
proper working order. Note any damage or mechanical problems.

FIELD TECHNIQUES IN PATROLLING

Attitude of Patrol Officer:

1. Always present an alert, businesslike, and disciplined appearance while on patrol.

2. Do not loiter on the street, in business places, or in parked areas. Do not engage in lengthy,
idle conversations.
3. Be flexible in patrolling your area.

Communication Procedures:

A. Using Radio:

1.
1. The primary method of maintaining communications between headquarters and
the officer on patrol, and between patrol units.
2. Because of the high volume of radio traffic and limited channels available to most
police departments, messages must be clear, brief and to the point.
3. Most police departments use the 10-code or similar code systems to ensure
brevity and confidentiality of transmission.
4. Speak into the microphone using a normal voice and rhythm. There is no need to
slow down your normal rate of speech or to raise your voice.
5. Every time you exit your vehicle, call in with your location and purpose in leaving.
6. When requesting a records check, provide only relevant information to the
dispatcher: names, dates of birth, vehicle license numbers, etc. General
descriptions of suspects or vehicles are of not that valuable in retrieving records
information.
7. If you suspect that license markers have been switched, or that a subject is using
false identification, have the dispatcher repeat the description or other
information on line.
8. If you receive no calls for a lengthy period of time, ask your dispatcher to do a
test.
9. Interrupt another officer’s transmission only in case of emergency.
 

B. Using Telephone and Cellphone:

1. Use the telephone for lengthy, detailed or highly confidential exchanges of information.
2. Learn the locations of all the operative pay telephones in your patrol area.

Sources of Information:

1. Develop contact in your patrol area by adopting a friendly, approachable attitude.

2. Be helpful and grant reasonable requests whenever possible.
3. Don’t accept favors or take actions not appropriate to your role as a police officer.
4. Useful sources of information are:
Security guards and officers
Deliverymen
Newspaper distributors
Janitors and maintenance men
PUV drivers and dispatchers
Juveniles
Neighborhood gossips
5. Conduct yourself in a dignified manner, but never appear uninterested when people come to
you with their problems. This will discourage them from approaching you when they may
have important information.
6. Vary your approach to potential sources of information according to the circumstances.
7. Use names, preferably first names, unless you feel the person would like to be addressed
more formally. People like being addressed by name, and are more-co-operative if they fell
known and respected as individuals.
8. Maintain a reference file on all the persons you contact.
9. Your sources will judge you on your honesty and sensitivity in handling the information that
they reveal. Avoid violating that trust whenever possible.
10. Paid information can be a valuable resource, but use caution.
11. Your contacts can save your life.
12. Members of the criminal element who are not currently wanted, can sometimes be useful
informants. 
13. Daily newspapers and other publications can help you be updated of what is happening in
your patrol area.

Checking/Inspection of Business Premises

Pre-inspection Activities:

1. If your office does not have a store file or merchant index, create one for personal use.
2. Learn the interior layouts of all stores in your area which are likely burglary targets so that
you will know if something is out of place. A burglar may place a partition or a display counter
in front of a safe to shield him from the view of passersby.
3. Get to know the janitors and maintenance staff working on business premises in your area.

Precautions during night inspection:

 1. Approach the building quietly in your vehicle, ensuring that you do not squeal tires when
turning corners or coming to a stop.
2. When you leave the police vehicle to check premises, never travel more than two blocks on
foot.
3. Take advantage of the darkness, by waking close to the building and remaining in shadow.
4. Don’t allow your keys, flashlight, whistles or other equipment to dangle loosely.
5. Watch for unfamiliar vehicles.
6. Take short, light steps.
7. Check the rear doors and windows first.
8. Minimized the use of your flashlight. Hold it out at army’s length to present a false target to
armed burglars.
9. Check vacant buildings for missing children, vagrants, fugitive , etc.

Checking a Building:

1. Don’t check all the doors in any business district at one time. Cover a portion, move to
another area and return to the original district to surprise any offenders who may have moved
in behind you.
2. Always look for the unusual and out-of-place.
3. When checking doors, check the hinges carefully before grasping the handle. If the door is
partially latched and pulled in the wrong direction, it will lock; you will be unable to determine
if there has been an illegal entry.
4. When checking window, attempt to push them open and examine around the edges for tool
marks.
5. Check skylights if they are easily accessible
6. Check sidewalk elevators and gratings for signs of tampering removal or damage.
7. If the night or alley lights are not illuminated and appear to have been broken or tampered
with, call for assistance immediately before checking further.
8. If safe lights are not lit or appear to have been move, use craft often armed, experienced
criminals.
9. Inspect all possible points of entry, including roofs and any location where tunnels might have
been dug. Use your flashlight to check for fresh pry marks around locks.
10. Be alert for the absence of animals such as alley cats or dogs which you normally expect to
find in the area. they may have been scared off by a prowler.

Securing the Premises:

1. Call for assistance, both as a backup and as your witness in the event property is missing.
2. Conduct a thorough examination of the premises.
3. Lock the door upon leaving
4. If your department has an official notice of insecure premises card, leave it inside in a visible
place.
5. Do not hang it on the outside door handle or place it in a location where it can be seen from
outside.
6. If you cannot lock the door, contact the owner.
7. Note the date and time of your inspection in notebook and fill out any required departmental
form.
8. If the store has been burglarized, notify your dispatcher and the owner immediately
9. Avoid entering a room with a light source to your rear. You will present a silhouette in the
darkness that will make you an excellent target.