Uniformed patrol operations are often referred to as being the backbone of any policing organization. This is no different at the Oxnard Police Department. Some 90 police officers regularly patrol the City’s streets across all hours and days of the week.
Patrol officers regularly work in marked “black and white” police cars and are assigned to one of nine patrol beats. Patrol officers work on a “3/12.5” plan, which consists of three 12.5 hour workdays, with one added 10-hour shift every 28 days. This “payback” shift is used to meet training requirements or backfill into the patrol officer rotation for supplemental intervention and enforcement efforts.
A 30-minute briefing starts their day, in which they review recent incidents and crimes, discuss safety matters, and exchange information that helps direct their efforts and attention.
Supervising 90 patrol officers are thirteen sergeants and four commanders. In order to ensure proper supervision, the Watch Commander’s Desk is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
Community Service Officers (“CSO’s”) supplement the patrol officer workforce. CSO’s assist police officers by taking reports, processing crime scene evidence, and also staffing the Department’s front desk during business hours.
The Oxnard Police Department runs a very busy operation. During the first 11 months of 2012, Oxnard police arrested 6,851 people and issued over 11,000 traffic citations. Officers also handled over 100,000 calls for service.
The Department continues to maintain a response time to “Priority 1+” service calls that averages under five minutes. This call category includes those calls that pose the greatest threat to life and safety, such as injury traffic collisions, aggravated assaults, and in-progress crimes.
