Huh... I guess I covered everything in the main question. Does anyone know this, or how to get this infomation? How much ground is a single patrol car supposed to cover? (PDs can't take specific inquiries from students or anything, so...). Or what should the ratio between police cars and total number of police officers in a department be? (Again, I mean ideally, regardless of crime rate or actual population) Thank you very much!
2006-12-23 05:55:46 · 8 answers · asked by chirp 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
It's the kind of question that really differs depending on the nature of the department, community and patrol area. In cities with community-oriented policing programmes and concentrated populations, you might have a percentage of officers doing foot patrols, thus not needing cars. For example, major US cities seem to have quite a few officers out on foot patrol. At least that was my perspective on my vacation this year. :P
In suburban cities, cars would be essential to all patrol, so you have to look at the division of the department. If they have different police precincts in areas, then the ideal range would be much less than in a city with one major police station. So, if they have to cover the whole city from one central location, then the area covered by each car is going to be a LOT greater than if they only have to cover a particular section of the city under that precinct. In Canadian terms, Halifax NS has four police precincts spread across the city, each one responsible to its own district. St. John's, Nfld. has one major central station from which all patrol is co-ordinated, and with the exception of a couple of 9-to-5 community stations in neighbouring towns, the entire metro area is patrolled by cars coming from downtown. So you can see the nature of the department's spread of resources makes a big difference.
Rural areas, well, a patrol car could be covering hundreds of kilometers a day. Again, Canadian terms: The Northwest Territories Highway Patrol (or even, say, the Alaska State Police) has to cover a massive amount of area with few resources and fewer cars.
So to simplify:
-City size and population matter. Concentrated populations don't need to rely as heavily on cars.
-Crime rate matters. The more you need officers on patrol, the more blocks an individual car will cover.
An ideal ratio of total number of officers to cars would probably be a little more than one car to every two patrol officers on at the busiest shift.
2006-12-23 07:10:14 · answer #1 · answered by Greg 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A police car should not cover the block. It should stay on the street like everyone else! It's supposed to cover as much ground at any given time as a car of its size is capable of. I don't think it matters how many officers are on the force, because you are still going to only get one or two in a car. -Or are you talking about clown cops in a circus car? In that case, the whole force could fit into a Volkswagen cop car.
2006-12-23 09:42:40 · answer #2 · answered by BuddyL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have too consider all the facts!Other wise a solid police vehicle patrol around the city would not be effective.Each officer is assigned his secter/area to patrol.The department puts a proper patrol rout together for the officers , that will be most effective, in keeping safty and protection for its citizens.
2006-12-23 08:45:54 · answer #3 · answered by sean h 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would think it would be a balance between budget, population, and crime rate. That would make the most sense. Why have 30 cops per square mile in a nice quiet suburban neighborhood?
2006-12-23 06:02:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
area covered depends on many factors such as population density, what each area is used for (i.e downtown bar district, vs residential area), how many officers and units a department has, city budget, etc. There is no standard answer for this.
2006-12-23 09:19:49 · answer #5 · answered by speedysundevil 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it really depends on force size and population density of the jurisdiction. agency discretion is the biggest deciding element. they divide the city/county into districts,or beats and assign officers.there is usually a minimum requirement to a shift,but one officer can cover many beats within a district.
2006-12-23 07:42:06 · answer #6 · answered by rwasham729 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it will be so different from area to area.
Our county police here where I live often have two officers on duty to cover 200 sq miles on some nights
Our city is about 5 miles by 2 miles and we often have only one officer on duty at one time.
2006-12-23 07:12:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Car "54" Where Are YOU!
Thanks, RR
2006-12-23 06:12:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋