Patrol
Duties
- Patrol Officers provide numerous public safety functions:
- Accident investigation
- Community service calls and complaints
- Crime prevention
- Criminal case investigation and follow-up
- Criminal law enforcement
- Interact with victims of crime
- Respond to all emergency calls
- School Liaison
- Traffic regulation
These are only some of the situations police officers respond to on a daily basis. Certainly the work of a police officer is varied and dynamic. Police often respond to potentially dangerous and complex situations. Threats of potential violence, crimes against persons, and the overall complex nature of serious crime in society today require that officers be well trained, articulate, and knowledgeable in all facets of policing.
Preparation
As society becomes ever more complex so to are the legal issues faced by police when dealing with often technical and complex situations, criminals and crime. It is a challenge for police officers to maintain the skills necessary for the prevention of crime as well as the apprehension of criminals in a mobile, technological laden society. Education and training are necessary to provide the best service possible, the best possible outcome of any given situation, and the prevention of action or inaction, which could result in liability.
This department is in a constant state of evaluation and reevaluation. Actions of officers must not only stand-up to legal challenge but must also meet the standards set forth in departmental policy. We must always be forthright and willing to undergo the scrutiny of the public, the media and various other organizations. We will be successful in policing only by holding ourselves to the highest of expectations and standards set forth. We always review, scrutinize, and critique our own work.