Police Discretion Discretion in policing, in the broadest sense, refers to decisions police make involving the arrests. Order maintenance is also called the officer s peacemaking function. Older police tend to invoke the law less than younger officers. Service Function Police are also expected to be available to provide important services. The patrol function is termed the backbone of policing.
Patrol officers perform each of the primary policing functions.
Proactive patrol is also the central component aspect of community policing. Patrol is usually conducted by car, but with the growth of community policing more police patrol is conducted on foot, bike, horseback, etc. Preventive Patrol Response time is the elapsed time between the report of a criminal incident and when the police arrived to investigate. Community Policing Arresting suspects Detectives possess greater professional status than uniform police and tend to be happier with their work.