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which is the number of Moving Traffic Violations divided by the number of injury <br />accidents. For Paris that index is 28.4, (7,520/265). Research conducted at the <br />Northwest Traffic Institute shows that accident reduction is most effected with <br />Traffic Enforcement Indexes between 30 and 40. Paris is very close to the <br />numbers needed to effectively reduce traffic accidents. Given the staffing over <br />the study period, the current citation rate is approximately 1.9 per officer per shift. <br />In conversations with field officers and through personal observations when <br />riding patrol, officers could issue more citations if they had more proactive patrol <br />time. <br />Texas law prohibits police departments and chiefs from setting quotas for <br />traffic citations issued. While the department cannot set a quota, they can make <br />increased traffic enforcement a high priority for officers. If time permits, most <br />officers will do what is necessary to increase their traffic enforcement efforts <br />when clearly directed at reducing injuries to citizens. <br />Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF PATROL OPERATIONS AND STAFFING <br />The department patrol function operates 24 hours a day on four <br />alternating twelve hour shifts. Two shifts are assigned to days from 6 AM to 6 <br />PM and two shifts are assigned to nights from 6 PM to 6 AM. Several officers on <br />each shift are assigned to come in thirty minutes early (and leave thirty minutes <br />early) in order to provide overlapping coverage and provide field service during <br />the shift change. The finro shifts assigned to days and nights have alternating <br />days off allowing all officers to have a three day weekend every other week. This <br />schedule is very popular in policing today and is sought after by younger officers <br />who would have to wait many years to gain seniority enough for a weekend day <br />off under traditional eight hour shifting patterns. While twelve hour shifts do <br />require an additional shift supervisor, these twelve hour shifting patterns have <br />become a major incentive in recruiting and retaining personnel. Police agencies <br />throughout Texas have transitioned to the twelve hour shift programs to keep <br />Page 21 <br />