Fort Worth Police Department Strategic Plan
Beat Policing Concept
FWPD implemented the beat concept in January 2016; however, current staffing levels do not allow patrol officers to be assigned to each beat on all shifts each day. The beat policing concept supports the community policing philosophy by increasing accountability and ownership, as officers’ assignments become smaller, more manageable geographic areas. Police beats ensure the policing needs of local areas are met with customized service to each individual area. FWPD recommends that patrol officers dedicate on average 55 percent of their time to proactive activities. Proactive activities include community policing, patrolling areas, and self-initiated work. The other 45% of patrol officer time should be dedicated to answering calls for service. Ensuring that patrol officers spend on average 55 percent of their time on proactive activities enhances FWPD patrol officers’ abilities to actively engage the community, complete self-initiated activities, and provide additional visibility during the next five years. The following information is referenced in the 2014 PERF staffing study regarding a patrol officer’s time spent on reactive tasks versus proactive tasks. “ There are no national standards for howmuch patrol time should be consumed by calls for service. One department may set an informal target at 30% to 40%. Another department may determine that calls for service should not exceed an average of 60% of officers’ time. An old rule of thumb, recognized before community policing became prevalent, was that one-third of an officer’s time should be spent on calls for service, one-third on self-initiated activity, and one-third on uncommitted patrol time. A desire for some of an officer’s time to be devoted to community policing activities altered that old rule and led to many variations dependent on local considerations. Often how patrol officer time is spent is not closely tracked or subject to a formal target. PERF’s work in other cities has shown variation in targets for patrol time use. Kansas City, MO had a standard of 35% of an officer’s time being used to respond to calls for service. Chandler, AZ (a large Phoenix suburb) set a standard of 40%. In San Francisco, the time consumed by calls for service varied in each of the city’s ten police districts from a low of 30% to a high of just over 50%. Tallahassee, FL, with an actual figure of 67%, set a target to reduce call-for-service time to 50%. West PalmBeach, FL set a target of 45%. Memphis has an average of 42% of patrol officer time consumed by calls for service. Districts in Gwinnett County, GA, a large suburban Atlanta police force, averaged between 38% and 46%. Austin, TX ranged from 42% to 57% in its districts.” Proactive Activities
Span of Control
FWPD recommends a span of control of 7 officers to 1 sergeant. A patrol officer’s primary task requires a high level of discretionary judgement due to various types of calls often in stressful situations. A high level of complexity and unpredictability is part of a patrol officer’s job. This requires a narrow span of control to effectively manage the myriad of issues facing patrol officers. A narrower span of control allows sergeants to mentor officers
How Growth Affects the Fort Worth Police Department
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