Budget limitations are an issue that every department, regardless of size, must operate within. Larger departments by necessity have larger budgets but this does not always mean that they are more successful in completing their goals. The larger a budget the more patrol officers the department can put on the road. Each officer on the road must be paid their salary, trained properly, provided a vehicle capable of accomplishing their tasks, and provided the tools and equipment needed for their safety. Each vehicle on the road must be purchases, maintained, fueled, and replaced when worn out.
Response time is an important consideration among departments because many measure their levels of preparedness by their response time. The average citizen making an emergency call is likely to need immediate assistance and may file a grievance if the responding officer does not arrive in a reasonable amount of time. To ensure the quickest response times many departments separate their officers into geographic locations. These officers remain in their sections during their shift and respond to calls that fall within their zone. This ensures that units are dispersed and response times can be kept to a minimum. Crime density is another important aspect when considering patrol distribution. As previously stated departments may divide their jurisdiction into zones. Each zone may traditionally be patrolled by a single unit but areas featuring high crime may need to be patrolled by more than one unit or additional officers may ride in each vehicle for safety and response capabilities. High crime zones may also be smaller than other zones to ensure that emergency calls are answered in a time even faster than the average response time. Larger Departments in Urban Areas A larger overall budget is typically enjoyed by urban departments because of the economic prosperity associated with cities and the higher population density. This fact translates into more officers and more equipment but does not necessarily mean that larger departments are better suited for their missions because although their budgets are larger they may not be large enough to …show more content…
This lower budget means that small departments can put less officers and less vehicles on the roads. Having less officers means that the departments must break its jurisdiction into larger zones and may not be able to place more than one unit in each zone. This means that officers are further away from back up and response times may be longer than those experienced in the city.
Rural departments are unlikely to afford specialized units meaning that bomb disposal, drug cases, and special victims crimes must be handled by either regular units or an outside element. This trend of requiring outside assistance is common in rural departments and may be seen anytime the department encounters any out of the ordinary calls for assistance.
Commonalities
Both large and small departments must face limited funds and the resulting limited man power (McRae, 1973, p. 1). Having a limited amount of money might mean that a department must increase the size of its patrol zones and units may be deployed more sparsely. Patrol allocation may be greatly changed if the department’s budget is increased or decreased. Maximizing the use of personnel and funds is a challenge that ever department must manage and here lies the true measures of
Response time is an important consideration among departments because many measure their levels of preparedness by their response time. The average citizen making an emergency call is likely to need immediate assistance and may file a grievance if the responding officer does not arrive in a reasonable amount of time. To ensure the quickest response times many departments separate their officers into geographic locations. These officers remain in their sections during their shift and respond to calls that fall within their zone. This ensures that units are dispersed and response times can be kept to a minimum. Crime density is another important aspect when considering patrol distribution. As previously stated departments may divide their jurisdiction into zones. Each zone may traditionally be patrolled by a single unit but areas featuring high crime may need to be patrolled by more than one unit or additional officers may ride in each vehicle for safety and response capabilities. High crime zones may also be smaller than other zones to ensure that emergency calls are answered in a time even faster than the average response time. Larger Departments in Urban Areas A larger overall budget is typically enjoyed by urban departments because of the economic prosperity associated with cities and the higher population density. This fact translates into more officers and more equipment but does not necessarily mean that larger departments are better suited for their missions because although their budgets are larger they may not be large enough to …show more content…
This lower budget means that small departments can put less officers and less vehicles on the roads. Having less officers means that the departments must break its jurisdiction into larger zones and may not be able to place more than one unit in each zone. This means that officers are further away from back up and response times may be longer than those experienced in the city.
Rural departments are unlikely to afford specialized units meaning that bomb disposal, drug cases, and special victims crimes must be handled by either regular units or an outside element. This trend of requiring outside assistance is common in rural departments and may be seen anytime the department encounters any out of the ordinary calls for assistance.
Commonalities
Both large and small departments must face limited funds and the resulting limited man power (McRae, 1973, p. 1). Having a limited amount of money might mean that a department must increase the size of its patrol zones and units may be deployed more sparsely. Patrol allocation may be greatly changed if the department’s budget is increased or decreased. Maximizing the use of personnel and funds is a challenge that ever department must manage and here lies the true measures of