Patrol Division

Mission
The mission of the Patrol Division is to protect life and property, prevent crime, apprehend criminals, conduct preliminary investigations, enforce traffic laws and respond to 911 calls for service for the citizens of Lynnwood in order to protect the community and enhance the quality of life of our residents.

Personnel

Patrol Officer Assisting a Citizen

One commander, five sergeants, twenty-eight uniformed officers, three canine teams and fifteen reserve officers were authorized staffing for the Patrol Division.

Activity
Thirty-seven of the Lynnwood Police Department’s 80 sworn personnel are assigned to patrol. Their primary goal is to provide enhanced service to the Lynnwood community. These officers are committed to the prevention of crime and the apprehension of violators and criminals. The Patrol Division was able to effectively meet the needs of the community in 2009. Below are the 2009 activity levels for the division.

Division Activity	2008	2009	% Change
Patrol Drug Arrests	696	798	15%
Notices of Infraction	4,511	4,070	-10%
Criminal Traffic Citations	2,290	2,338	2%
Criminal Non-traffic Citations	1,161	1,545	33%
Arrests/Charges	5,578	5,981	7%
Number of Reports	8,314	8,884	7%
DUI's	474	284	-40%
Calls for Service	38,546	38,824	0.7%

Accomplishments

• In 2009 the Patrol Division reduced call response times by 27 seconds on priority 1 calls and 30 seconds on priority 2 calls as compared to 2008.
• During 2009, patrol officers responded to 38,824 calls for service. Arrests for 2009 increased 7.2%. Drug arrests in 2009 increased by 14.7%. Officers continued to engage in numerous criminal enforcement and traffic safety initiatives to make the community a safer place in which to live and work.
• Service of arrest warrants remained a high priority during 2009. Particular attention was paid to domestic violence and DUI warrants. 3,221 warrants were served in 2009.
• Officers served 236 subpoenas and 158 court orders in 2009. This was a dramatic increase over 2008 service levels. Officers emphasized the service of domestic violence related court orders and subpoenas, a critical component to the prevention of domestic violence related crimes.
• The Police Department has continued its emphasis on the enforcement of impaired driving laws through enhanced enforcement efforts, officer training and education. As a result, The Lynnwood Police Department has five certified Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), two of whom are instructors, which is more than any other agency within Snohomish County. During 2008, Lynnwood patrol officers arrested 284 drivers for DUI related violations. This represents a decrease from 2008 due to one of the DUI officers being transferred to the Traffic Division. Lynnwood leads all other Snohomish County law enforcement agencies in DUI enforcement, which is a considerable feat given some of the much larger competing agencies. The patrol division’s DUI enforcement efforts included collaborative enforcement campaigns with both state and local law enforcement agencies and community entities throughout the State of Washington.
• Patrol supervisors conducted 268 field audits that provided immediate feedback on patrol officer performance. Through this process, outstanding performance was noted and performance deficiencies were corrected in a timely manner.
• Patrol squad training remained a critical component in officer development in 2009. Supervisors trained their subordinates in subjects related to Use of Force, defensive tactics, legal updates, departmental policies and procedures, active shooter situations, firearms, and a variety of other topics designed to increase their knowledge and improve performance. Commissioned officers received an average of 139 hours of training per officer in 2009, and as a result can respond more quickly and competently to all police-related calls for service and critical incidents.