Usage
In some areas of the world, the police car has become more widely used than police officers "walking the beat". This is because there has been a shift in the focus of policing away from high visibility with "an officer on every street corner" to more focused services, sending officers out in response to incidents, and also allowing patrols to cover a much greater area in less time. Placing officers in vehicles also allows them to carry more equipment, such as automated external defibrillators for people in cardiac arrest or road cones for traffic obstructions, and allows for more immediate transport of suspects to holding facilities. Vehicles also allow for the transport of larger numbers of personnel, such as a SWAT team.
Advocates of community policing often cite this shift into vehicles, and away from face to face contact, as a reason for breakdowns in relations with the community. As such, these organizations often ask police departments to encourage officers to spend less time in their vehicles and more time walking the streets and interacting with the community. This has led to some countries and forces, such as those in the United Kingdom, introducing more walking patrols, using either fully sworn Police Officers or Police Community Support Officers.
Read more about this topic: Police Car
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