Law Enforcement

Operation, Planning
And Crime
Mapping
INTRODUCTION TO POLICE PATROL
 General Concept of Police Patrol
 Evolution of the Police in the Philippine setting
 Police general functions and obligations
 Police peace keeping roles
 Four major functions of the police
 Police exercise of discretion Control of
Discretion
 ORIGIN OF THE WORD PATROL

PATROL is derived from the French word PATROUILLER which

means to tramp about through the mud of a military camp or
roughly to travel on foot.

POLICE PATROL
• One or more police officer making round in order to guard or
inspect property and to protect lives within a designated area

• Heart of operation
• Backbone of Police Organization
 General Concept of Police Patrol

1. Patrol force as the ESSENCE of Police function

It is the soul or spirit of Police organization.

The patrol function is the most visible form of
police activity and directly attempts to eliminate the
opportunity to commit crime.
The Patrol force is the “ears and eyes” of the
Police Organization.
2. The Patrol force as the BACKBONE of the Police
Organization

It is the most important of all police functions.

It is the only division that cannot be eliminated.
They are considered as the PRIME MOVER of the
organization other units of Police Organization
participate only in a supportive capacity.
The actions taken by the Patrol officers are reflected to
the Police Organization
 3. Patrol force as the OPERATIONAL HEART of Police
Organization
Almost all police function had been vested to the
patrol division.
Patrol has the direct contact with the society, and is
responsible for its primary objectives.
The patrol division is often the only one to work on a
twenty-four hour basis.
The Patrol force incorporates all objectives inherent
in the police organization
SARA Problem-solving technique
Scanning – Identifying the problem
Analysis – Learning the problem causes,
scope and effects
Response – Acting to alleviate the action
Assessment – determining whether the
response worked
 Police Personnel Distribution
 
Police Activity Percentage
1. Patrol Function 50
2. Criminal Investigation 15
3. Traffic Function 10
4. Vice and Juvenile Function 10
5. Administrative Function 10
6. Auxiliary Function 5
Total 100%
 Evolution of the
Police in the
Philippine setting
Pre-Spanish – policing is tribal in nature
1712 – Carabineros de Seguridad Publico – the mounted
police
1836 – Guardrilleros – rural police
1852 – Guardia Civil – town police
1901 - Organic Act # 175 – Phil. Constabulary under Capt.
Henry T. Allen – first Chief
1917 – PC Filipinization – Brig. Gen. Rafael
Crame – First Filipino Chief of PC
1935 – PC Personnel were absorbed by the
Philippine Army
1936 – Commonwealth Act #88 created the State
Police
1938 – Commonwealth Act #343 – reconstituted the
Philippine Constabulary – PC became an independent
National Police Force
1939 - The Manila Police Department introduced the
bicycle patrol.
Japanese Occupation
1941 - The Japanese Military Police
(Kempetai) took over MPD.
Liberation Period
1945 - The MPD was reconstituted and placed
under American control. Col. Marcus Ellis
Jones became the Chief of Police of the MPD.
Aug. 1966 – RA 4864 – Police Act of 1966 – Creation of
the Police Commission - POLCOM
1975 – PD 765 – integration of the national police - the
PC/INP became the nucleus of a united police force in
the country
1990 – R.A. 6975 – Creation of the Philippine National
Police (PNP) that is civilian in character and national in
scope (Constitution)
1998 – RA 8551 – PNP Reform & Reorganization Act
dubbed as the “PNP Professionalization”.
Police general functions
and obligations
 FUNCTIONS / OBJECTIVES OF POLICE PATROL

1. Crime Prevention- It is the PRIMARY GOAL of

the Patrol officer since they are the one who has
direct contact with the community.

2. Law Enforcement - Patrol force has the

UTMOST RESPONSIBILITY because of the nature
of their duties and responsibilities. The law must be
enforced neutrally and with full recognition of the
intent and purposes.
PREVENTIVE ENFORCEMENT - involves the
prevention of crime through the noticeable presence of
police vehicles and personnel.
SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT - It is proven to be a
very effective technique in the patrol procedure. If a
certain area is subject to a high crime rate, the patrol cars
spend a greater part of their patrolling time in that area.
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT - Large police
departments have traffic divisions, but the majorities of
the departments are small, and have only patrol division to
handle traffic enforcement.
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3. Preservation of peace and order- it is the
FUNDAMENTAL OBLIGATION of the Police and it is the
most important function performed by the patrol service, it
must be recognize as an alternative to law enforcement.
4. Crime Investigation- Most of the Patrol officers does not
possess necessary qualifications or skills to thoroughly
investigate crimes therefore they play only a MINOR ROLE
IN INVESTIGATION, nevertheless it is still one of its
objectives for the reason that they are the first responder.
They conduct only brief, report taking of investigations.
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4. Responding to Emergency call for Service
•One of the duties and purposes of patrol is the
handling of emergency calls for service.
•The police vehicle had been equipped as an
emergency vehicle, and special laws had been
passed exempting the police officer from the
normal rules of the road when responding to an
emergency.

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5. Routine Calls for Service – Responding to
complaint either through the phone, in person or in
writing or any other means.
Called for services – the patrol officer, whether on foot or
in a radio equipped car, respond to every conceivable call
from the public. Due to diverse range of interpersonal
problem the patrol office must mediate in his daily contact
with the public, it is important that he must be provided with
a background knowledge and understanding of both normal
and deviant behavior which he will encounter in the
community.

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6. Courtesy Calls – police agency is a service
agency. (Ex. Assisting blind person to cross street, or providing
escorts to VIPs.
7. General Information – Assisting a tourist in
locating a friend .
8. Preservation of Evidence – protecting crime
scene before formal investigation is d0ne.
9. Making Reports – gathering and reporting
information regarding criminal activities.
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CLASSES OF PATROL ACTIVITIES

•“CALLED – FOR” SERVICE – Incidents,

requiring immediate police action.
•INSPECTIONAL SERVICE – tending to reduce
criminal opportunity and accidents.
•ROUTINE PATROL – directed at less tangible
hazards, such as poor lighted areas, business
section etc.
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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Primary goals and objectives

• Maintaining peace and order, and
protecting life and property.
• The government hires police to perform
these activities.
Secondary goals and objectives:
1.  Preventing crimes – the police attempt to prevent crime by
trying to create a sense of omnipresence through routine
patrol; responding to calls by citizens with problems that may
cause crime; and establishing and participating in police-
citizens partnerships designed to prevent crime.
2. Arresting and prosecuting offenders – arresting offenders
and assisting prosecutors in bringing charges against
defendants is one of the primary methods used by the police
to maintain order and protect life and property.
3. Recovering stolen and missing property – when people find property on
the street, they generally bring it to a police officer or to a police station.
When people lose property, they generally go to the police station in the
hopes that someone has turned it in. Besides all of their other duties
then, the police serve as society’s foremost lost and found department.
4. Assisting the sick and injured – because they are available seven days a
week and 24 hours a day and because they are highly mobile, the police
generally are the closest government agency to any problem.
5. Enforcing non-criminal regulations – when government offices close, the
police become roving representative of the government who assist
people with problems no one else is available to handle. When lights go
off in an apartment building, the water main breaks, people call the
police.
6. Delivering services not available elsewhere in the community –
the police respond and take whatever actions they can to
ameliorate problems and deal with emergencies. They direct
traffic, evacuate residents, and decide whom to call for assistance.

Because of the diverse activities performed by the police

specifically the patrol officers in their daily contact with the public,
their responsibilities are categorized into two, namely:

a. Law Enforcement – this embraces crime prevention and crime

control role, including the customary police functions.
b. Order Maintenance – peace keeping on community service role
or social services.
 POLICE
DISCRETION
 Police exercise of discretion Control of Discretion

The Police Exercise of 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.
• Note: No law book, no lawyer, no judge can readily tell how the police
officer on the beat exercise his discretion perfectly in everyone of the
thousands of hour 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)
 
Main Problems arising from uncontrolled discretion are:
it 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”
Areas of Police Discretion
Domestic violence
Drunk Driving
Hate crime
Mental illness
Use of force
Vice crime