# Cop shift times **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817 "2023-11-08T12:48:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/21 "2023-11-11T18:00:15Z")
In some departments, each officer has their own car. Which they drive home at the end of the shift. It cause more of a passive visible police presence when police-labeled cars are sitting in ordinary driveways in ordinary neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/22 "2023-11-11T21:10:10Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But meanwhile, the incoming shift is stuck at the station, waiting for the cop car to return, so they can start working. Do they just twiddle their thumbs for an hour? Lots of paperwork, always. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/23 "2023-11-12T07:27:15Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > > [@thevolleyballer](#): > > > > obviously if cops are in the middle of something near the end of their shift they don’t look at their watches …’ & stop what they’re doing. > > > [@thevolleyballer](#): > > > > Another point is the cars - each team of 2 partners doesn’t get its own car - each car is brought back to the precinct for shift change > > So how does this work? > If at the end of a shift, a cop is taking care of a complex situation. Say, a traffic accident, with three injured people, 2 wrecked cars, a drunk driver arrested, a small child in the car. So the cop needs to arrange and make sure that: two ambulances arrive, 2 tow trucks remove the vehicles, a social worker takes the baby, etc. This will take an hour. > > But meanwhile, the incoming shift is stuck at the station, waiting for the cop car to return, so they can start working. Do they just twiddle their thumbs for an hour? We had enough cars for each shift to have their own cars. Not enough for each officer to have their own take home car. On occasion because of maintenance, accidents or cars being switched over for new cars some shifts would be temporarily short on cars. Yes on some occasions someone would have to wait at the station for their car to become available. Planning kept that down to a minimum. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/24 "2023-11-12T17:03:26Z")
First many/most depts have more cars than what is needed for a shift to patrol, this includes extra cars to allow for routine maint/repairs, extra cops during the shift transition, cops not on patrol to take a car somewhere (gun range, class, etc.) The cop handling the MVA is going to have to process the arrestee & do lots of paperwork; the processing will be done back at the station & the paperwork can be done anywhere. They could head back to the station as soon as the scene was cleared. In fact he might head back _before_ the scene is cleared, turning the traffic control component over to a fellow officer while he processes the drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/25 "2023-11-12T17:17:15Z")
All that is true. As noted above we had more than enough cars to go around under normal circumstances. Every now and then Murphy’s Law comes into play and a bunch of cars all go down at once. ---
**Author:** ![Jackson99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@Jackson99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackson99)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/26 "2023-11-12T17:45:47Z")
Most cops in the US and Canada seem to work 8 hour shifts or 10 hour shifts with some even 12 hour shifts but most seem mostly be 8 or 10 hour shift. I don’t think you will find any department working 5 hours or 6 hour shift in the US or Canada may be some where in Europe. And it seems to be work three on and than off than three on again. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/27 "2023-11-12T18:15:50Z")
We worked 10.75 hours, 4 days on 4 days off. Many departments work a Pitman schedule or a modified Pitman. - Two working days. - Two days off. - Three working days. - Two days off. - Two working days. - Three days off. There isn’t one schedule that will work for everyone. It greatly depends on what coverage is needed and how big the department is. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/28 "2023-11-12T22:38:38Z")
> [@Snipe70e](#): > > Could you imagine what it would be like if there was no overlap of shifts. Before end of shift all the cops out on patrol head into the station, get there and check out. The next shift clocks in and goes to roll call and pick up all their equipment and cars then head out on patrol. There would be a period of time with no out on patrol. What the heck are you talking about? This is exactly how it is in the majority of the United States. For every large major agency there are thousands of smaller municipalities that do not have the staff nor budget for swing shifts or crossover shifts. There are indeed times during the day when nobody is on the street. It doesn’t just happen in small towns, either. During my first career I was a Deputy for Milwaukee County. The Patrol Bureau schedule at the time was 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm, 10pm-6am. There was a mandatory roll call. The county had a contract with the state to patrol the freeways in Milwaukee County. So State Patrol did not actively patrol the interstate in the county and neither did the municipalities. So from approximately 530am-630am/130pm-230pm/930pm-1030pm Your chances of running into a snag (radar speed trap) were practically zero. There wasn’t anyone on the road. I retired from there in 2007 so if this has changed I am unaware of it. My current agency does have swing shifts but we are a larger department with a city population over 60K. But in a lot of cities, big and small, there are times daily when nobody is out on patrol. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817/29 "2023-11-12T22:46:50Z")
Boding mine: > [@chappachula](#): > > If at the end of a shift, a cop is taking care of a complex situation. Say, a traffic accident, with three injured people, 2 wrecked cars, a drunk driver arrested, a small child in the car. So the cop needs to arrange and make sure that: two ambulances arrive, 2 tow trucks remove the vehicles, a social worker takes the baby, etc. **This will take an hour**. Your kidding. A hot mess like that will take several hours. Just processing a DUI alone can be 3 hours. DUI and domestic violence are among the biggest pains in the ass arrests there are. Talk about paperwork. And the rigmarole of everything involved is insane. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shift-times/992817.md?page=1)