Good Example Of Patrol Allocation Decisions. Essay

Introduction

Patrol is one of the most crucial roles of the police force that cannot get ignored. It is the backbone of the department of police. Most of the money in that department’s operating budget is set for salaries, and the greatest number of police officers are assigned to the patrol division. Consequently, most of the funds in the budget is used to maintain the patrol division (Thatcher, 7). One of the very crucial points about the patrol unit is its effectiveness influence the effectiveness of every other line units, including investigations together with traffic. The reason for this is that the police officers on patrol act as the ears and eyes for those other units. So if the effectiveness of the patrol division decreases, so does the effectiveness of all the other line departments.In this paper being the assistant chief in the Centervale Police Department (CPD), there are a number of strategies that I would recommend so as to serve the needs of Centervale best.

Reported Crimes

Some units have tested with altering the forces allocated to distinct beats in accordance to call for assistance and reported offenses. It is unusual for a department to hold accurate and long-term records on the influence of congestion patrol in one or more community. Sufficient knowledge is not all that would be required for a rational distribution of police forces protection. Even if the perfect administrator had complete knowledge of the outcome of various police deployment strategies, he would have to make a decision rule that would tell which outcome to prefer. In the case of Centervale, we should consider that 80 percent of the crime occurs north of the railroad tracks, and 20 percent occurs south of the tracks (Barret., et al, 154).We, however, have to make some distinction between more serious offenses, misdemeanors, and violations. We can also examine the state of life violations, such as robbery, molestation, rape, theft, incendiarism and burglary.
The problem of marginal dissimilarities in patrol power is less primary than the issue of at which instant and in what place patrols are performed. The effectiveness cost of random patrol across an entire city cannot be compared directly to an alternative patrol allocation, such as concentrating in high crime rate locations. For this reason, the evidence on policing selective kinds of location such as crime hot spots is paramount. Having 80 percent of crime occurring in the north of the railroad tracks in Centervale calls for a high allocation of patrol officers than the south that has a 20 percent crime rate (Barret., et al, 163). There have been no experiments comparing one hundred police beats with random patrol to one hundred police beats with patrols limited to hotspots, Until such evidence examines entire police areas with random versus focused patrol allocation, there remains a reasonable argument to be made for either strategy. Using a very expensive approach may not be reasonable without generating the evidence needed to test that hypothesis. The times and places where numerous arrests are made, consequently, demand distribution of extra patrol officers.

Population Density

Super inner towns are unknown neighborhoods where persons fade into sections or magnificent buildings. Major cities support complicated social structures that extend over hundreds of square miles of streets and buildings. Their measurement gives suitable hiding spots for anyone seeking a low profile. The number of officers per one thousand increases as population increases.Major cities tend to allocate their patrol hours to two-man car patrols rather than one-man patrols. In the towns with populations of above one million, more than 44 percent of the patrols should include two men in a patrol car.We should put into consideration the fact that 50 percent of the population in Centervale live in the north of the rail and 50 percent in the south while allocating the patrol officers and patrol cars in this area.
It is essential to have police officers ready on patrol who can quickly react to an emergency. Since priority one calls are conceivably life-threatening dangers, the rate for this purpose is typically quite high. It is paramount to determine the number of officers needed to provide an immediate response to priority calls (Thatcher, 14). It takes ten minutes on average for a police lfficer to appear at a call when sent from the north of the town to the south and vice-versa at Centervale. Nevertheless, it takes five minutes on average to come to a call when the officer in on the correct side. We should therefore carefully consider this for optimum patrol officers allocation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Patrol allocation is a critical responsibility for the police administration. The patrol unit should be allocated corresponding to confirmed equivalent requirements. The division should reflect in what place the police officers will serve and at what intervals they should operate. Most departments base their patrol allocation on the basis of a formula that accounts for the main factors that should be considered so as to achieve efficient distribution. This method can be difficult and time-consuming, but it's necessary. The stations that administer their labor by allocating equal number of administrators to any of the shifts do a disservice to themselves and their society.

Works Cited

Barrett, Michael, Elizabeth Davidson, Jaideep Prabhu, and Stephed L. Vargo. "Service Innovation In The Digital Age : Key Contributions And Future Directions." MIS Quarterly 39 (2015): 135-54. Print..
Thatcher. D Equity and Community Policing : A New View of Community Partnerships.” Equity and Community Policing .(2001). Print