Looking for a better way to schedule your 50-75 person police department? Maybe this is the article for you. Maybe it's not. But throughout our blog, we have many different 8, 10, and 12 hour shift schedule examples.
The example in this post uses 10 hour shift schedules designed for law enforcement professionals. We have seen it used in 25-75 person departments. Each department used the [5 on 3 off] x3 [5 on 4 off] [4 on 4 off] x2 rotation in a different way.
Below you will see the example templates. One department used template 1-4, one used 5 & 7, and one used all 7. So, feel free to mix and match to create a schedule that is best for your department.
[5 on 3 off] x3 [5 on 4 off] [4 on 4 off] x2
This rotation uses 10 hour shifts and 7 templates. If you are not sure what a template really means, no worries: Click here to learn about templates. Each template will run 7 weeks long.
Since we are working with 10 hour shift schedules, you will need 3 squads:
- Day shift
- Swing shift
- Night shift
See below what the first 7 templates would look like for Day Squad:
The templates above will complete the first squad but to complete your patrol schedule you will need to create 2 more squads to cover round the clock.
Modification of these templates can definitely be made. As stated before, you can use all of the templates or just a few of them (as long as they cover every day).
This schedule, like any other, has some positives and negative traits.
Pros
- At least 3 days off each week
- Consistent day/swing/night shift
- Will have some weekends off
Cons
- 5 days on duty in a row (10 hour days)
- More weekends working than off
- Long days, especially if there are OT opportunities
PowerTime Scheduling Software can handle this schedule along with all other 24x7 schedules. Handle your regular schedules plus any time off, overtime, court appearances, and much more. Explore what PowerTime can do for your agency by clicking the button below!
