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Patrol Officer Problem Solving and Solutions

NCJ Number
202118
Editor(s)
John M. Memory, Randall Aragon
Date Published
2001
Length
591 pages
Annotation
This collection of scholarly articles focuses on the police patrol officers performing a wide variety of functions where an officer is called on to solve problems. The articles describe available, proven, important, non-obvious problem solutions and provide a detailed description of problem-solving techniques.
Abstract
In order to provide meaningful assistance to patrol officers in doing their job safely, effectively, lawfully, and ethically, this collection of articles, supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, presents problem solutions available to patrol officers doing preventive patrol, incident-based policing, proactive policing, law enforcement, order maintenance, crime prevention, traffic control and enforcement, investigations, community policing, and problem-oriented policing. The chapters are intended to address whether the work of a police patrol officer is at least potentially a high-skill, professional activity. It explores policing from a perspective of what it is today and what it could be. The book argues that patrol officers can be and should learn a high percentage of the existing important, non-obvious patrol-officer problem solutions and problem-solving skills in college and university courses, and not just in training or on-the-job. The 33 chapters are divided into 11 parts: (1) the importance of problem solutions; (2) sources of patrol officer methods; (3) the psychology and techniques of problem-solving; (4) laws patrol officers enforce; (5) exercise of enforcement discretion; (6) problems and solutions in reactive and proactive enforcement; (7) high risk problem-solving; (8) crime prevention approaches; (9) dealing with a diverse population; (10) cooperative problem-solving; and (11) ethical and professional patrol policing. Appendices