Chapter 7
Field Operations
Summary
Police field operations
consist of patrol and investigations. Patrol has been referred to as the
“backbone of policing” because the largest percentage of police
personnel is assigned to patrol.
The goals of patrol
include (1) crime prevention and deterrence, (2) apprehension of offenders,
(3) creation of a sense of security and satisfaction, (4) provision of
noncrime-related services, (5) traffic control, and (6) identifying and
solving community problems.
The police wanted to
create a visible presence that would deter would-be offenders. However, the
development of the radio and the telephone changed the police patrol tactics
from proactive to reactive. With the development of community policing, the
police are expected to be aware of what is going on in their patrol zones.
This includes a heightened awareness regarding terrorism and terrorist acts.
The police should become target oriented and utilize event analysis.
The Kansas City
Preventive Patrol Experiment was possibly the most influential early study
on police operations. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect
of random patrol. By altering the patrol assignments in the areas, it was
thought that the crime rates and citizen satisfaction in the areas would be
changed as well. The study, instead, determined that the changes in patrol
assignments did not change the crime rates or citizen satisfaction. The
conclusion drawn was that random patrol was not effective.
Not all calls for
police service require immediate attention. Police response times may be
important in emergency situations but meaningless in many other situations.
The police were able to develop differential police response (DPR) to help
reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and not affect the level of citizen
satisfaction.
Following the Kansas
City experiment, police began targeting hot spots of crime. These hot spots
were identified by analyzing crime data and discovering that a large
percentage of crime was occurring in selected parts of the city. Directed
patrol then targeted these hot spots. The police were proactive and focused
on the problems within the hot spots. This would involve crackdowns on drunk
driving, gang violence, and guns. Numerous programs were successful across
the country in targeting and attempting to deter these problems.
The issue of police
pursuits caused departments nationwide to reevaluate their policies. Some
jurisdictions limited pursuits to violent felonies only, which resulted in a
decrease of pursuits. Foot pursuits were also addressed and specific
training led to improved methods of apprehending suspects and decreased
officer injuries.
Investigation
is another function of the police operation. The police detective wears many
hats. The detective may be involved in undercover operations,
intelligence-gathering operations, and investigation of all types of crimes.
It is the investigator that will follow up on the initial reports and
attempt to put the puzzle pieces together. Recent developments in physical
evidence are available to assist the investigator in solving the puzzle. The
automated fingerprint identification system and DNA are available to help
the investigator track down suspects.