Police officers use different terms to describe their working hours.
No single term is universally accepted, but every officer knows what it means to be assigned to patrol duties on a rotating basis. Officers also can attest to the challenges that the patrol shift schedule places on their professional and personal lives. At the same time, police supervisors face dilemmas when scheduling patrol officers. Weekends, peak crime hours, service demands, and availability of personnel all tax supervisors who must ensure that a sufficient work force is on the streets to enforce the law and to protect citizens. Unfortunately, no patrol shift schedule will work for every police department.