Patrol Division

The Patrol Section follows the Department's Community Oriented Policing philosophy. Patrol Officers are assigned to zones which patrol specific areas of the City. This strategy provides the Officers with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with their particular neighborhood's problems, as well as allowing the residents or business owners of a neighborhood to get to know the Officers who work the area. The Officers take pride in the neighborhoods they are responsible for and enjoy meeting residents and business owners.

The Patrol Section is the backbone of the Police Department, with all other Divisions and Units acting as a support structure for the Patrol Officers. The Patrol Section handles the majority of the 140,000 police service calls which occur in the City each year. In addition to responding to calls for service, Officers self-initiate police action by actively searching for and arresting individuals involved with drugs, prostitution, burglary, robbery, theft, gang activity, and other miscellaneous criminal activities. The Patrol Units are also the first to arrive on scene at all critical incidents. Patrol Units who initially arrive at critical incidents handle the incidents directly or, if additional support is necessary, will stabilize the situation until support services, such as the Special Operations Section, the Criminal Investigations Division, the S.W.A.T. Team, or the Crime Scene Unit arrive to continue the investigation.