The patrol division provides the fundamental base for all law enforcement services. Officers meet crime face to face in a wide range of situations. Approximately 60 uniformed officers and 10 supervisors work around the clock, seven days a week. A lieutenant watch commander heads each shift.

Officers are typically assigned to be by themselves in a police car but occasionally there will be two officers working together in a vehicle. Officers are assigned to patrol a specific geographic area called a “beat”. The city is divided into five beats. The officers work throughout the city but are responsible for handling all crimes within their beat. The officer’s work a particular beat for a period of time in order to become familiar with the area and any concerns specific to the beat.

Patrol officers perform a variety of duties that include but are not limited to:

• Taking crime reports,
• Conducting traffic enforcement,
• Responding to calls for service,
• Making arrests,
• Resolving disputes,
• As well as any efforts to prevent crime.

A patrol officer’s workday can be routine and filled with a great deal of paperwork, but in an instant, can become exciting. The variety of activity from routine reports to life threatening, dangerous situations is part of the challenge that officers face each day.

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.