What patrol type can target areas where problems are likely to occur by concentrating patrol activities on particular circumstance?

• A. Selective
• B. Random
• C. Preventative
• D. Proactive

Answer: (A)

Concentrating patrols where problems are most likely to occur uses targeting based on risk and patterns. This approach, called selective patrol, focuses resources on high-risk locations or specific circumstances that have a history of trouble. By analyzing crime data, complaints, and intelligence, officers patrol those hotspots and times more intensively, which helps deter activity, improve detection, and disrupt recurring patterns before incidents happen. For example, if a particular intersection sees frequent crashes or a neighborhood experiences more disturbances on weekend nights, patrols are increased there during those periods. This stands in contrast to random patrol, which spreads officers without a discernible pattern; preventative patrol, which aims for broad deterrence through visible presence; and proactive patrol, which emphasizes solving problems before they occur but not necessarily by concentrating on a single known circumstance.