To wonder why the Police patrol in pairs in broad daylight?

[ComposHat]

Okay where I live in Scotland isn't super swanky, but by no means a no-go area, just an everyday slightly scruffy street on the edge of the city.

So why on earth do they feel the need to patrol their beat in pairs? I could understand the need for this policy in extreme high risk areas or at night, but on a busy street in broad daylight?

Do the people who make these decisions really think a residential area is so dangerous that a trained officer equipped with a truncheon, CS gas, handcuffs and a radio to call for back up is unsafe to walk along alone? If so, heaven help the rest of us.

I am not having a pop at Police officers, but am genuinely intrigued why this is the case (and am happy to listen to reasons why this is the case from Police Officers) But it doesn't seem confined to where I live, I've seen it in other UK towns and cities.

From my (admittedly uninformed view) more patrols of one officer would be a better use of limited resources and would encourage the officers to engage with the public rather than talking amongst themselves.

I think as well as for safety, they go in pairs to corroborate each other if something happens. Police do most things in pairs - questioning people, taking witness statements etc for this reason.

maybe one is on probation or is a special constable?

lots of callouts also require 2 officers. you can get called to stuff whilst out patrolling

maybe they get lonley on the beat TBH i think it is to do with witnesses and back up so if something happens to one then there is another to contact to get a car or whatever

FWiw our community policeman wanders about on his own sometimes

What littlewhitebag says. It is so that, if there is an incident, there are witnesses. It also, in theory, prevents a police officer going all "bad cop" on a suspect.

and they are not allowed to question anybody without somebody else being there

Because unfortunately anyone in a uniform can be seen as a target (recent events are an excellent example of this), and two officers are far better equipped to deal with a 'challenging situation' than one I.e one to stay with victim one to chase/arrest fleeing criminal or even something as simple as bearing witness to events. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to express the above far more eloquently, but as a large number of my family work as police officers (albeit in the met and slightly more likely to encounter trouble), I sleep much better at night knowing they have support from another officer when they are out patrolling the streets for our safety with nothing much for protection except a uniform that should command a lot more respect than it does nowadays.
Also perhaps the reason your area is not a 'no-go' area is because pairs of patrolling officers are more of an effective deterrent than one?

Where I live you only see two PCs walking when one is still in training. They walk with their mentor.

They're not armed so probably for safety. They also will not be in the naice area for the whole shift, so it's easier to get all the personnel organized at the beginning of work. Some areas do single officer patrols.

YABU. It is not only for corroboration but also because if anything DOES happen, its tricky to use your radio to call for back- up if eg you're grappling with someone, are being assaulted or trying to detain someone!. It doesnt matter what the area is like, unexpected things can and do occur.

10storey Okay that's interesting, I was talking about foot patrols primarily.

Thanks for clearing that up re. questioning suspects alone, I was sure I had been stopped and questioned by a single officer in a car about ten years ago (I was stood outside a petrol station waiting for a lift with a mate, just after midnight)

A few forces patrol individually - City of London does, for example, but that's because the area covered is so small. I believe some Safer Neighbourhoods officers will also patrol individually. But it's for the safety not just of the officers but of the public too. Say someone's been mugged. If there's only one officer, they might be able to chase and stop the mugger - but once they are restrained, they're not going to be able to talk to the person who has been mugged. If the mugger is putting up a bit of a fight (likely) then the officer is going to struggle to even use their radio to call for assistance.

Also, police aren't supposed to just randomly use their truncheon (ASP) and definitely not their CS gas unless there is a massive cause to use it. I think even using the ASP can be argued as assault. So it's a bit disingenuous to say that an officer is equipped with these things that can help protect them. All hell would break loose if officers were regularly using their ASP's on a pissed off suspected burgler. Much better to have two officers to try and control the situation.

Round here we have a single PCSO only

Round here police patrol in pairs or with a CSO. If you're not rustling sheep or stealing farm machinery, Cumbria is definitely not a hot-bed of crime.

I think its for corroboration and/or safety & company.

Plenty of police patrol on their own. The police you see may not be just strolling about, they maybe on route to a job or a particular crime hot spot where they intend to conduct a number of stop/searches which are obviously safer in pairs. Or they may just be having a walk to buy their lunch.

I think it is to provide a witness to back up the other officer/constable, whatever happens, and at the same time this second officer can turn his back and not be a witness against the officer if that suits them too.

Having read a police officers lies in a witness statement about myself recently.

Corroboration/safety/company pretty much sums it up. And whilst not a necessity, two officers are possibly more effective than one and probably more proactive.

Bit of a silly Q I think. Clearly for back up and safety in general plus 1st aid like CPR is much easier with 2 people rather than 1.

Bit of a silly Q I think. Clearly for back up and safety in general plus 1st aid like CPR is much easier with 2 people rather than 1

Not a silly question as some forces/beats have one officer on them.

Obviously there are costs and benefits to both approaches, although I'd question whether a two officer patrol is needed in all circumstances.

In Scotland we have the unique rule of corroboration- all key evidence in a prosecution MUST have at least 2 witnesses so I imagine the police patrol in pairs to provide the Procurator Fiscal the evidence required

I have only ever seen two to three police officers walking. Tbf, we have a bad area though

Maybe for corroboration etc; and also if one person is restraining or chasing or whatever, the other can radio for back up or whatever. It also means that if they do a stop and search then it is a lot safer- back up and the appearance being less vulnerable. A police man was chased by a guy with a knife six months ago in our area, the other man was invaluable in that case. In calmer/safer areas, I guess there's less need?

Always in twos in Scotland for corroboration. I can remember a few years ago the G8 summit was in Scotland and extra officers were brought in from over the border. There was a lot of stuff in the press about the different rules the English officers would have to follow.

PSNI officers always go about in two's. And you never see two women officers alone (almost sure that's policy), although that's probably a safely issue due to the increased risk of someone taking an opportunistic pop.

Yes, Scottish Law and policing is different all round.