THIS STUDY SET IN THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT CONCLUDES THAT ONE OFFICER IN A PATROL CAR PERFORMS MORE SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY AND AS EFFECTIVELY AS TWO OFFICERS AND AT ALMOST HALF THE COST WITH FEWER PUBLIC COMPLAINTS.
THE YEAR-LONG STUDY COMPARED 44 ONE- AND TWO-OFFICER UNITS OPERATING IN SIMILAR, AND SOMETIMES HAZARDOUS, AREAS OF SAN DIEGO. THE CALIFORNIA CITY'S POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN FIELD 18 ONE-OFFICER UNITS FOR LESS THAN THE COST OF 10 TWO-OFFICER UNITS. THE STUDY DESIGN INCLUDED A NUMBER OF AREAS OF COMPARISON OF THE 22 ONE-OFFICER AND THE 22 TWO-OFFICER CARS. THESE AREAS WERE UNIT PERFORMANCE, WHICH MEANS THE TYPE, QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF POLICE PATROL SERVICES PERFORMED; UNIT EFFICIENCY, WHICH REFERS TO THE UNIT TIME AND COST ASSOCIATED WITH COMPARABLE LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE; OFFICER SAFETY, WHICH INVOLVES THE RATES OF ASSAULT ON OFFICERS, SITUATIONS INVOLVING CITIZENS RESISTING ARREST, VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, AND OFFICER INJURIES; AND FINALLY, OFFICER ATTITUDES, WHICH MEANS THE PREFERENCE AND OPINIONS OF ASSIGNED OFFICERS. THE AUTHORS OF THE REPORT INDICATE THAT THIS STUDY SHOULD PROVIDE A NEW POINT OF REFERENCE FOR CONSIDERING PATROL UNIT STAFFING FOR OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)