Solo patrol

[trooper]

Hi guys,

this question goes to all you fellow LEO's... and all you folks who are interested in police work... and to those of you who can't resist a little tactical "what if" game (uh, I guess that covers pretty much all THR members :))

Over here in Germany virtually all police work in pairs. Solo patrols are a very rare exception (I've never seen one). Our instructors at the academy really hammered the doctrine into our heads that you don't go anywhere without your partner while out on patrol.

Some time ago a large LE agency in Eastern Germany announced that some research would be conducted to decide whether one-man patrols could be dispatched to some less risky calls (such as simple traffic accidents). Apparently a lot of officers are going to retire in the next couple years and the department doesn't have the financial means to hire enough new personnel.

What do you think about this issue? Can financial problems justify the added risk for officers working alone? Would you personally want to work alone (with backup some 20 minutes away if you work for a rural department)?

My main problem with this idea is that you can never predict how a seemingly easy situation might turn out.

Let me know what you think...



Regards,

Trooper

[DMK]

I have never seen any state highway patrol, county sheriff, or city police here that wasn't alone. Maybe that's mostly a rural thing, but it was the same when I lived in the suburbs of NY too. I think solo patrols are the norm, not the exception in the U.S.

I give those highway patrol guys, working night time, on dark desolate roads, a lot of credit. I've been pulled over by these guys, even sat in the patrol car with one. Nobody even passed by during the entire stop and there wasn't a soul for miles.

[centac]

Ouside of the big metro areas running solo is the norm. If you really want definitive info review some of the statistics in the FBI Officers Killed and Injured summary, they will have it broken down by assignment. I also have a dim recollection of seeing some figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the National Institute of Justice. I realize that these may not apply directly to Germany but will give you some idea of generalities.......All are available on the web.

Frankly, I preferred working alone. I just felt "safer" 'cause I always had a plan for dealing with exigencies. I also believe from anecdotal cases that pairing up can lead to complacency. From the 1960s on with the Onion Field murders and the Newhall massacre there are indications that the idea of safety in numbers has some flaws.

[Imaginos]

I went through the police academy in Texas back in 1990. It was a normal expectation that as soon as the new officer completed his probationary period, he would be riding alone 90% of the time. There was no distinction between rural and big city cops in that belief.

I can guarantee you that an officer's well-being and survival are nowhere near the top of the priority list when budget time comes. The politicians will only do enough to be able to say that they "did everything they could to insure officer safety."

After that it is your problem.
Stay safe out there.

[iamhistory]

If the LEO's are trained properly to work on their own then single man patrols are obviously very feasible..........we've been doing them here in the US since the beginning of law enforcement.

It would be interesting if a valid and reliable comparison could be done that showed countries using single man patrols vs. two man only patrols and the number of "incidents" such as LEO on duty death, injury, etc. I've never heard about any stats like that being taken to support or detract from a department using a particular type of patrol policy.

[trooper]

Well, almost all the training over here revolves around the idea of a two-man team. Solo patrols were never really considered before but since state and federal budgets get tighter and tighter, they seem to be an option for some police administrators.

I would still go out on patrol if I had to do it on my own but I admit that I feel better having a partner who covers my six. Also, it's good to have someone testify on my behalf if my actions are reviewed in court someday (we don't have dashboard cams over here).

It would be interesting if a valid and reliable comparison could be done that showed countries using single man patrols vs. two man only patrols and the number of "incidents" such as LEO on duty death, injury, etc. I've never heard about any stats like that being taken to support or detract from a department using a particular type of patrol policy.

The problem would be to find two countries that have similar demographics, social structures, crime stats and legal systems...

I can guarantee you that an officer's well-being and survival are nowhere near the top of the priority list when budget time comes. The politicians will only do enough to be able to say that they "did everything they could to insure officer safety."

Yeah, I know that from my own (limited) experience... :uhoh:


Regards,

Trooper

[trooper]

This is really interesting... here's a report by an Australian police research unit about the advantages and disadvantages of single-officer patrols vs. teams. Just found it.

http://www.acpr.gov.au/pdf/ACPR108.pdf

[trooper]

Apparently some folks in the US seem to think that two-man patrols might not be such a bad idea...

http://www.news10.net/storyfull1.asp?id=10542



Regards,

Trooper

[WT]

I think most of the radio patrol cars in New York City have 2 officers. Other than that, I think it is very common for American officers to patrol on a solo basis. I know my town's officers patrol solo.

[akviper]

It's been a few years ago but one study showed no difference between one or two person cars with assaults or deaths. I haven't reviewed the stats for the last few years. Obviously you can cover a lot more ground with twice as many one man units on any given shift. Our department sends at least two one person units to any call with potential serious action (yes, I now, any call can go bad) and our officer as victim assaults are very low compared to other departments in our state that do not have that policy. Most alcohol or drug influenced people will think twice about trying to fight if facing two officers versus one officer. Compared to other cities our size, it saved us a ton of money and officer pain over the years with hardly any lawsuits or serious injuries.

[duck_god827]

In Iowa I don't think I have ever seen a two man patrol. With the expection of training a new officer.

[Jeff White]

One man patrol is the norm around here. Years ago I read a report that said statistically one mand patrol was safer. IIRC their reasoning for this was a single officer didn't take as many chances as one who had backup right there with him.

Where I work now, I am almost always alone in town and backup can be anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes away. It's a lot different then working for a larger department (still one man cars, but backup was seldom more then 2 minutes away).

Are your two man tactics based on contact/cover, which is an old technique here, but still used.

Jeff

[trooper]

Yeah... one officer does all the interaction with the suspect while the other one provides security/cover for his partner. He usually moves to the side in a position from where he can take the other guy down or shoot him without endangering his partner. This has the additional advantage the the suspect's main attention usually is on the first officer while ignoring the second one. But I guess that's the same stuff that all PD's do who employ patrol teams.

Some other thing that got me thinking... how would you break up a fight between two or more parties (or simply prevent its outbreak) if you are on your own? A pair of officers has the ability to physically separate them and put some distance between them in order to calm them down. What options do you have (except macing both of them :))?

You know, I haven't really thought about this stuff until lately... mainly because solo patrols just never were an option for us. I'd be interested to hear what kind of tactical concepts for single-officer patrols are taught in the states. I'm not sure to what extent they might be applicable over here but it would be interesting to know anyway. If you don't want to discuss your academy training in public, please PM me...


Thanks,

Trooper

[thorn726]

here in the semi- city, the LE's ar eRARELY alone, and there are always lots of backup en route-

HA! here, it is very rare to even get pulled over witohut at least one extra car showing up. many officers ride alone, but another LE is nearby.

example- a guy passed out in the street 2 nights ago, i call police=
3 cars, 5 cops in a few minutes, another five and an ambulance shows up, 3 more FD guys.

in other words, they dont work alone around here.
in SF , it is almost always 2 per car.

[stevelyn]

I don't know of any agency here in Alaska that isn't solo. For the Troopers, VPSOs and single officer departments in the rural areas, back up is anywhere from an hour to a few days and an airplane ride away.
We make do the best we can until the cavalry arrives. Most of the time we are our own cavalry.

[Checkman]

Here in Idaho one man patrols are the norm. I've never felt like things were more dangerous just because I didn't have somebody backing me up at all times. If the call sounds like a high risk situation dispatch will send another unit - though usually another officer will just head to the call until we know what's going on. But you definitely have to be on your toes when you're on your own. Be very aware of your surroundings and listen to your instinct. If you little voice is telling you something isn't right listen to it. Be safe out there.

[Justice]

Maine here, and my department (as well as all around) is solo patrol.

Not as solo as the troopers in Northern Maine, who's backup can sometimes be 75-100 miles away!

At least mine is in the same town...lol

[Elmer]

Other than trainees, I worked alone 98% of the time. In a large city. The cities like it because you don't have two officers tied up on report calls, cites, and other routine stuff. Problem is, routine can change pretty quickly, as we all know.

You definitely learn to be very careful when you're on your own.

[enfield303]

The vast majority of LEOs around here ride solo. That being said, I live in a University Town and if somebody gets pulled over(especially by Campus Police) they will have two cruisers on hand. For some stupid reason they don't allow DPS(campus cops) to carry anthing other than OC spray and Tasers. I have a buddy who was a DPS officer for a while. They answer the same kind of calls that the city PD gets, domestic violence, Etc. Not a job I'd wanna do without a sidearm.

[hso]

One person patrol is the norm in East Tennessee.

[Hawkmoon]

All state police patrols in my home state are solo. I live in a suburb of a moderate sized city, and all our local patrols are also solo. As far as I know, all the surrounding towns also patrol solo. I don't know what the protocol is in the city. I know 20 years ago they patrolled solo by day and in pairs after dark, but that may have been changed by now.

[geekWithA.45]

The number of officers Killed in the line of Duty is actually quite low, on the order of 70 or so a year.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/leok.htm#leok

This is comparable to the average number of work related _drownings_ per year. (Be careful around those water coolers, folks!)

http://usgovinfo.about.com/6/ad/PointRollAds1.htm?ad=481U5620055419111&pub=about&size=728_90&code=no&targ=_new&redir=http://n479ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v5|3280|3|0|*|f%3B16324288%3B0-0%3B3%3B7596601%3B3454-728|90%3B10292622|10310518|1%3Bu=3h0ob0c10dj76m%3B~aopt=0|0|50%3B~sscs=%3F$CTURL$&bu=0.39563065487891436


Oddly enough, it's the civvies that are getting killed in droves by the bad guys, not the men & women in blue, and yet it's the civies they want to disarm, and yet every atrocious piece of gun bigotted legislation comes wrapped in the Holy Tincture of "Officer Safety".

Hmmm....let's see: armed & trained = live, unarmed and untrained = die.