NCJ Number
176240
Date Published
1998
Length
464 pages
Annotation
This text emphasizes a community policing approach because police officers are the most visible representatives of the government to the community.
Abstract
The basic field unit of the police department is usually the patrol division. Objectives of police field operations are protection and defense of lives and property, participative law enforcement, prevention of criminal and delinquent behavior, apprehension and conviction of offenders, traffic flow and collision reduction, and maintenance of order and the public police. Activities of the patrol division include routine patrol and observation, benevolent and community services, business and property security, inspection services, responding to calls for service, animal control, information services, contact development, preliminary investigations, evidence collection and preservation, offender arrests, and report preparation. The text considers private police activities, police discretion, police ethics and integrity, and police civil and criminal liability. Chapters also detail basic field procedures, observations and perceptions, police communications, reporting and records, interviewing techniques, frequent patrol assignments, crimes in progress, preliminary investigations, unusual occurrences, traffic direction and enforcement, arrest, search and custody, stress survival and the use of force, and community policing and problem-solving. Exercises and study questions are included at the end of each chapter. References and figures