What Is a Routine Incident Response?
A routine incident response is one of the five core operational strategies that comprise the basis for law enforcement. When officers respond to routine incidents, they collect all relevant information and produce a written report. In these situations, officers seek to document needed information and restore order if necessary.
One common example of a routine incident is a minor traffic accident or a traffic violation. The primary concern of the officers in these situations is to give the community service as quickly as possible while keeping matters harmonious and creating a paper trail of the requisite details.
The other four core strategies of law enforcement include preventive patrol, emergency response, criminal investigation and problem solving. Historically, problem solving was the strategy that police officers used least frequently, but its focus on cutting down on repeat offenders has become more popular in recent years. Criminal investigation only comprises a minuscule percentage of overall police work. Emergency responses happen with crimes in progress, traffic accidents involving severe injuries, endangered officers and other situations that imperil human life. Preventive patrol sends out random and scheduled patrols throughout the community to boost the sense of security while keeping criminal offenses from happening in the first place.