Patrol Division

The patrol division is the most visible component of police services and the backbone of the police department. These are the uniformed officers we see patrolling their districts day and night, weekends and holidays, responding to calls for service, arresting suspects, documenting all their activities, and most of all, preventing crime. The division operates under the direction of a Captain, who reports directly to the Chief of Police. Different methods of patrol accomplish different tasks: automobile patrol, the primary method of patrol, allows officer to cover large areas and respond to calls more quickly, whereas being on foot patrol allow police to work more closely with the community, developing relationships and gathering important information from community members about crime, which will allow departments to be more proactive. All the information cops gather from crime reports, calls for services, and arrests, is sent to the Analysis Unit to be carefully reviewed and analyzed. Having updated technology in your officer’s vehicle allows them to get crucial information in seconds, and makes it easier for them to perform all their paperwork. As the adage goes, 80 percent of a cop’s job is paperwork, so the easier it is for them to complete in an efficient and standardized way, the better it is for you to use the data in the future and for them to improve their policing methods in general.