At the heart of any police agency is the Patrol Division. Typically, these are the uniformed officers with whom the public is most likely to come in contact. They respond to emergencies, alarms, reports of crime and miscellaneous calls for services 24-hours a day, 7-days-a-week. The current shift configuration is built around a three-watch/six team strategy:  graveyard, day and swing shifts.     

All patrol services are based on geographical areas called Beats. There are three beats representing the north section (Beat 1),  central (Beat 2), and the southern (Beat 3) parts of the city.

Patrol officers are committed to the to the philosophy of community-oriented policing through partnerships with other offices of the Police Department, other City departments, outside agency resources and the citizens of West Sacramento. Officers are trained not only to apprehend criminals, but also to assess neighborhood problems from the root cause point of view and to structure long-term solutions that involve residents as well as allied agencies, as appropriate  Officers establish communication and trust by increasing their accessibility within the community, attending neighborhood meetings and getting out of the patrol car to talk with residents or business owners about issues and problems that are important to them.  These communications help establish personal and familiar relationships, and give officers a sense of ownership within their beat areas.   

Canine Unit 

Currently the police department has two canine teams.   The primary function of the Canine Unit is to reduce the opportunity for injury or death to officers engaged in the normal or dangerous scope of their duties. The Canine Unit operates as a specialized team; responsible for providing effective canine service whenever necessary.  A Canine Team is dispatched to calls involving suspects wanted for serious crimes or that are likely to be armed with deadly weapons. In those cases, canines used to apprehend a suspect is certainly preferable to the use of deadly force in taking a person into custody.  Visit the K9 Assocation's web page for news and information about our dogs and their handlers.