The Patrol Division is the largest detail in the department. Currently 30 sworn police officers are assigned to patrol the City streets. Officers are assigned to work twelve-hour shifts. Officers work on a three-week cycle of three days a week for two weeks and four days for one week, therefore the officers’ work a total of 120 hours in the three-week cycle. There are four patrol shifts, each comprised of a Lieutenant, a Sergeant and a minimum of four officers.

Patrol officers respond to all calls for service from the community. Some of the situations handled daily by patrol officers are: traffic collisions, disturbances, domestic violence incidents, crime reports and checking out suspicious persons and vehicles.

Between calls for service, patrol officers spend their time maintaining high visibility in the streets and enforcing traffic laws. Citing traffic violators reduces the chances of traffic collisions. Maintaining high visibility in the community scares away criminals who may wish to commit crimes in the city.

Overall patrol officers handled most of the 16,099 calls for service during 2006 and completed the vast majority of the 5,000 reports generated. There were 1,161 felony, 2,558 misdemeanor and 1,281 miscellaneous offenses reported. Officers made a total of 456 felony and 1,887 misdemeanor arrests.

Patrols officers are trained to not only respond to calls, but to do whatever is needed to solve problems and or issues that can continue or escalate. Officers have a wide array of resources within and outside the police department to deal with problem issues. Officers appreciate and want input from the community in order to address problems that arise before the problem escalates.

If you have any questions regarding the patrol division, you may call the Watch Commander at (909) 596-1913 any time.