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 French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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, ''patrol officers'' are Police officer, police officers (or, for private entities, Security guard, security guards) 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, and are the government officials encountered most frequently by the public. Their duties include responding to Call for service, calls for service, making Arrest, arrests, resolving disputes, issuing Traffic ticket, tickets, taking Complaint, crime reports, conducting Traffic police, traffic enforcement, investigating Crime, crimes, and conducting crime prevention measures. A patrol officer is often the first responder 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, to improve relations between police and the public. Patrol officers may conduct patrols Beat (police), on foot, while Mounted police, mounted, riding a police motorcycle or Police bicycle, bicycle, driving a police car, crewing a police watercraft, or piloting a Police aviation, police aircraft, depending on the unit they are assigned to or their Law enforcement agency, agency's capabilities. They may or may not be armed or uniformed. A study conducted by Temple University and the Philadelphia Police Department in the mid-2000s has shown that foot patrols reduce crime more than other methods.

Non-law enforcement patrols

Schools

Some Primary school, elementary schools utilize the term ''patrol'' to refer to students who are selected to monitor safety in the classroom or to those students who assist crossing guards with safety of children crossing busy nearby streets. Another common term for this use of patrol is ''hall monitor''.

Scouting

In Scouting, a ''patrol'' is six to eight Scout (Scouting), Scouts (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. The ''Scout method#Patrol system, 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