Editor’s note: This article is part of Police1’s Patrol Week, which provides resources and strategies for the realities of patrol work — from mindset and preparation to in-vehicle decision-making and the daily habits that influence safety and performance. Thanks to our Patrol Week sponsor, Team GJ.
To people outside the job, a parked patrol car can look like downtime. Officers know that’s rarely the case.
For Wichita (Kan.) Police Department officer and field training officer Jennifer Zinkhon, the patrol vehicle is part office, part classroom and part decision-making hub. Between calls, it’s where reports get written, follow-up starts, radio traffic keeps flowing and officers work to stay aware of everything happening around them.
Zinkhon, who joined Wichita PD in 2020 after serving in the Army and has spent the last four years training new officers, knows how quickly those in-between moments can shape what happens next. From choosing where to park to managing the pull of the MDT, the radio and everything outside the windshield, she said the habits officers build in the car can directly affect their safety and performance on shift.
Below, Zinkhon shares what “downtime” on patrol really looks like, the most common in-vehicle mistakes she sees from new officers and how patrol awareness evolves with experience.
When someone hears there’s “downtime” in a patrol car, what are they getting wrong?
The downtime in the patrol car isn’t really downtime. It’s similar to downtime when you’re in an office environment, because the car is my office — it’s my desk, it’s my workspace. When I’m stationary, I’m working on something. I’m writing reports, doing follow-up, doing research, or making calls to fellow officers and supervisors who are trying to work through a problem or something that we need to take care of.
The reality of law enforcement is that it’s really busy out here, especially on patrol. So if I’m parked, it’s because I’m working. If I’m lucky, I’m trying to eat lunch too. But I’m sitting there working and preparing for that next call, taking any moment I can to catch up on paperwork and make sure things are appropriately documented and investigated.
When I have a probationary officer with me, it’s very much the same thing because we’re trying to build those good habits — using the time we have to actually be productive instead of falling behind.
It’s also time to teach. That’s when we’re teaching on the fly and talking about what just happened so it’s fresh, instead of trying to overwhelm them later at the end of the shift by going through everything all at once.
What tends to surprise new officers most once they hit patrol?
One of the most common things I hear from probationary officers is, “Wow, I didn’t realize we had this much paperwork.” They get a little bit of an understanding in the academy, but they don’t really grasp the full amount.
I’m also big on the details. Reports are very important — and I try to get that across to my new officers. It takes more time for them to learn what’s important, what’s relevant to the case and what needs to be documented.
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How do you balance the MDT, radio traffic and staying aware of what’s happening around you?
It all comes down to positioning yourself.
If you set yourself up in a good place where you can eliminate someone sneaking up behind you, then you only have to worry about what’s in your peripheral vision or what can be captured by your mirrors in the vehicle.
It’s about breaking the habit of zoning in too far on the computer. You have to make sure you’re listening to radio traffic, scanning your environment and then doing your work. It has to become a system — a pattern or habit that you build — because it’s really easy to get too focused on the computer or the task at hand.
I’ll quiz some of my new officers and ask, “What did dispatch just say?” to make sure they’re actually listening while they’re working and maintaining awareness. They might be hearing the radio, but that doesn’t always mean they’re comprehending it, especially when they’re overwhelmed.
If it’s not snowing or hailing or anything like that, the windows need to be down so we can hear what’s going on around us. We also need to make sure we’re maintaining a view of our environment and not hiding somewhere with only one way in and one way out, because that can be a problem too.
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What mistakes do you see new officers make most often in the car?
For new officers, it’s diving too much into reports.
They get hyper-focused on what they need to write or how they need to articulate something, or they’re trying to do research for the next call we’re preparing to go to, and they just get too focused on that computer. They’re not taking a minute to scan their surroundings.
Their brain is also getting overwhelmed with all the information they need to relay, so they might be hearing radio traffic, but they’re not comprehending it. That can be an issue as well.
I don’t see phones as much of a problem with new officers in my car. I expect that they don’t have their personal phones out — we’re in a learning environment. If there’s a family emergency, then obviously they can respond, but we need to be focused.
It’s really more about that hyper-focus on the computer and everything they’re trying to process.
Can you share a moment where that distraction became a safety concern?
I had one — she was my most recent new officer.
She was pulling into the middle of parking lots to do her paperwork, and I let her do it a couple of times. We had one person walk up to us and say, “Hey, I want to thank you guys for what you’re doing,” and she didn’t even notice him until he was at the door.
I was watching him the whole time, making sure there wasn’t anything suspicious going on, so I wasn’t putting her in a position to fail, but I let that moment happen because you need to learn.
She was startled. She’s also very hard on herself, so I had to let her feel that moment of, “Oh my gosh,” without letting her sit in it too long. It was a really good teaching opportunity to explain, “This is why you see us backing up to a building. It might look strange, it might look silly, but this is why we do that.”
I think that’s happened to every officer at some point. I know it’s happened to me — I’ve been caught off guard before. Everything I see in new officers, I’ve done myself. We’re not perfect, but we have to find a way to build best practices to maintain safety.
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What does good vehicle positioning actually look like between calls?
The ideal setup is being able to mitigate what’s behind you.
We have an abandoned hospital on the west side of Wichita with some exterior structures that don’t have windows or doors on one side. That’s probably one of the best setups you could ask for if you’re trying to do paperwork, because you’re limiting what’s behind you.
At the same time, you don’t want to be completely closed in. You can’t have only one way in and one way out. You need options.
If you can mitigate the risk behind you and limit your area of concern to what’s in your peripheral vision or what you can capture in your mirrors, you’re setting yourself up in a good position to identify potential threats and respond — whether that means getting out and handling it or leaving the area and circling back.
It might look strange from the outside, but there’s a reason officers back up to buildings or choose certain spots. You’re trying to reduce your risk factors and control as much of the environment as you can.
We are vulnerable to attack in our patrol vehicles. And we spend a lot of time there. So, what can we do to help ensure our safety while we’re in the car? In the video below, risk management expert and Lexipol co-founder Gordon Graham shares some key officer safety tips.
How does that change between day shift and night shift?
I think there are more distractions during the day because of the number of people out and about.
There’s more foot traffic, more businesses open and more things happening that can pull your attention outside the car. But the primary issue I still see is officers losing themselves in their work and getting too focused on the computer.
At night, it’s a different level of intensity. There may not be as many distractions, but there’s more of the unknown because your visibility is limited.
No matter how low you adjust the brightness on your computer, your eyes are constantly adjusting when you look away. We also have lights in the car, so it just creates a different level of difficulty.
That’s something newer officers really have to experience. One of the last officers I trained didn’t realize he needed contacts or glasses until he started struggling more on night shift. Another has had to switch between contacts and glasses because her eyes get tired. It’s just a different environment, and it affects people differently.
How does decision-making in the car evolve as officers gain experience?
When they first come out, they’re overwhelmed by everything — the radio, the computer, the lights, all of it.
They’re just focused on getting to the call. Geography is a big struggle when you’re new, so they’re trying to figure out where they’re going.
One thing I always teach is that there’s nothing wrong with pulling over, figuring out where you are and figuring out where you need to go so you can do that safely.
As they get more comfortable with geography and the environment, their decision-making grows. They can start using the other tools in the car — looking up call history, checking the location, looking into the people involved, checking for warrants.
Their abilities grow once they get comfortable, but it takes time to make all of that your normal.
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How do you help officers build those habits over time?
I go over expectations from the start. Every FTO probably tweaks that a little bit based on their own style, but I talk about it as crawl, walk, run. We’re not trying to run on your first day. You have a lot you need to get adjusted to.
Our FTO program has four phases. In the first phase, they’re doing the initial contact, they’re the primary officer and they’re doing the reports, but I’m helping them at every step. If they’re getting overwhelmed, I step in and help with the workload. We’re really teaching every minute of every day.
By phase two, they’re expected to know a little bit more. By phase three, they should be almost there and relying not only on themselves, but on the resources and other officers around them. Then by phase four, I’m just a passenger. I’m observing them, and they have to use the resources around them to get the job done.
You have to let them make mistakes, but you have to do it safely.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give patrol officers about working between calls — and for those considering becoming FTOs?
My biggest thing is don’t use your patrol car as your break room.
We all do it at some point because we need mental breaks, but it’s really not the safest place to fully let your guard down. If you get to that point where you need a few minutes to decompress, go to the station, go to a safe location or have another officer come sit with you.
Have someone there while you let your guard down and take that break.
Use your car as your office. Be professional, do your work and don’t treat it as a place to relax.
It’s not about creating paranoia — it’s about building good habits so you can maintain situational awareness and be ready to go at any minute.
For officers who want to become FTOs, one of the hardest transitions is learning to let people make mistakes, but doing it in a way where they’re still safe. That’s a necessary part of the learning process.
I also think it’s important for newer officers to know it’s OK to ask for that support. If you need a minute, call somebody. Have a beat buddy come sit with you. Not every agency has the staffing for that, but if you do, use it. You don’t have to just sit there and push through everything alone.
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