A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as

law enforcement officers A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, a ...

military personnel Military personnel or military service members are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, coast guard, air force, and space force), rank ( office ...

, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area.

Etymology

The word "patrol" is derived from the French word ''patrouiller'', itself derived from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

word ''patouiller'' meaning "to paddle, paw about, patrol", which is in turn from ''patte'', "a paw".

Military

In military tactics, a ''patrol'' is a sub-subunit or small tactical formation, sent out from a military organization by land, sea or air for the purpose of combat, reconnaissance, or a combination of both. The basic task of a patrol is to follow a known route with the purpose of investigating some feature of interest or, in the assignment of a ''fighting patrol'' (U.S. ''combat patrol''), to find and engage the enemy. A patrol can also mean a small

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

unit Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...

, subordinate to a

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

, usually comprising a

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

of mounted troops, or two

armoured fighting vehicles An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...

(often

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s).

Law enforcement

In non-military

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

, ''patrol officers'' are

police officers A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

(or, for private entities,

security guards A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...

) assigned to monitor specified geographic areas. In this instance, ''patrol'' refers to the action of ''patrolling''—that is, to move through their assigned areas at regular intervals to detect or prevent violations of the law or problems of any kind. Patrol officers are the most recognizable members of the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, and are the government officials encountered most frequently by the public. Their duties include responding to calls for service, making arrests, resolving disputes, issuing

tickets Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery, Lottery ticket * Parking violation, Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Ticket system, Toll ticket, a slip of paper use ...

, taking crime reports, conducting traffic enforcement, investigating

crimes In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

, and conducting

crime prevention Crime prevention refers to strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crime occurring by intervening before a crime has been committed. It encompasses many approaches, including developmental, situational, community-based and crimin ...

measures. A patrol officer is often the

first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include Law enforcement, law enforcement officers (co ...

on the scene of any incident, and their actions can greatly affect the outcome of the investigation, as well as the lives and safety of themselves and others. Patrols are often done with the intent of

community policing Community policing is a philosophy and organizational strategy whereby law enforcement cooperates with community groups and citizens in producing safety and security. The theory underlying community policing is that it makes citizens more likely t ...

, to improve relations between police and the public. Patrol officers may conduct patrols on foot, while

mounted Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

, riding a

police motorcycle A police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by police and law enforcement. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular use. Units that use motorcycles are often called motorcycle units or motor units, and police offi ...

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

, driving a

police car A police car is an emergency vehicle used by police for Police transport, transportation during Patrol, patrols and responses to Call for service, calls for service. Police cars are used by police officer, police officers to patrol a Beat (po ...

, crewing a

police watercraft Police watercraft are boats or other vessels that are used by police agencies to patrol bodies of water. They are usually employed on major rivers, in enclosed harbors near cities or in places where a stronger presence than that offered by the ...

, or piloting a police aircraft, depending on the unit they are assigned to or their agency's capabilities. They may or may not be armed or uniformed. A study conducted by

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and the

Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD, Philly PD, or Philly Police) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, f ...

in the mid-2000s has shown that foot patrols reduce crime more than other methods.

Non-law enforcement patrols

Schools

Some

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

utilize the term ''patrol'' to refer to students who are selected to monitor safety in the

classroom A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other place ...

or to those students who assist

crossing guard A crossing guard (North American English), lollipop man/lady/person (British, Irish, and Australian English), or school road patrol (New Zealand English) is a traffic management personnel who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedest ...

s with safety of children crossing busy nearby

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

s. Another common term for this use of patrol is ''

hall monitor In the United States, a hall monitor may be either a student volunteer who is charged with maintaining order in a school's corridors, or an adult paraprofessional staff member who carries out similar duties, sometimes in conjunction with other fu ...

''.

Scouting

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

, a ''patrol'' is six to eight

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

s (youth members) under the leadership of one of their number who is appointed Patrol Leader and supported by a Second or Assistant Patrol Leader. This is the basic unit of a

Scout troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted i ...

. The '' patrol method'' is an essential characteristic of Scouting by which it differs from all other organizations, using the natural dynamics of the ''gang'' for an educational purpose.Thurman, John (1950
''The Patrol Leader's Handbook''
The Boy Scouts Association, London (pp. 4-10)

References

External links

{{Commons category, Patrolling Reconnaissance Military units and formations by size Law enforcement