Reducing Police Officer Burnout with Patrol Optimization

Police retention is strained by the daily realities of patrol, including smaller shifts covering the same call load, frequent overtime, and limited control over how time is used. Competitive hiring practices, often accompanied by large bonuses, reduced work hours, or other benefits for lateral moves, exacerbate the problem as officers with one to two years of experience with an agency move on to another agency as a lateral hire, seeking those bonuses and benefits.

At the same time, many departures reflect burnout pressures that build up on patrol, including stacked calls, cyclical reactive work, and mandated overtime when vacancies persist. The research links these strains to the well-being of officers, especially patrol officers. The day-to-day workload of patrol officers and other units has been linked to poorer well-being, increased burnout, and stronger intentions to leave their current agency.

Causes of Burnout in Policing

A study published in 2024 links police burnout to worsened mental health outcomes and shows how operational and organizational stressors accumulate over time. The study indicates that fewer staff with the same call load means longer queues, more overtime, and less control over the day. The high demand, combined with thin staffing and unclear priorities, creates a combination that can drive exhaustion and cynicism.

The research points to two facets of policing that leadership can influence:

• Operational stressors: constant call stacks, pinballing between beats, and unclear priorities between calls. These erode energy and a sense of progress.
• Organizational stressors: limited input from officers over deployments, broken communication, and little visibility into the overall impact. These are associated with lower job satisfaction and a higher intent to leave.

Fixes begin with clearer direction for patrol, improved context in the field, and routine feedback on what works.

How ResourceRouter Can Help Alleviate Burnout

ResourceRouter™ plans and delivers high-risk focus areas by shift and beat using location-based crime data and risk-terrain inputs. It provides simple, actionable plans, ad-hoc deployments for special assignments and sudden crime spikes, and post-shift reporting on activity and impact. Patrol officers start their shifts with clear priorities and a clear understanding of the “why” behind them, friction drops because the context is built into the plan, and officers see a fairer distribution of workload across the jurisdiction and transparent results.

Short, periodic presence at micro-locations outperforms long, continuous sits. The Koper Curve suggests that 10–15 minutes in designated areas, based on crime data, has a higher return in crime reduction and reduced calls for service. ResourceRouter not only provides the structure, but officers can clearly see the boxes and know what their patrol goals are throughout their shift.

Why This Matters for Burnout

Burnout decreases when officers can connect their efforts to outcomes. ResourceRouter makes that link visible:

• On-shift clarity: patrol areas based on data and intel for their beat, let officers know they are patrolling the areas that need their presence the most.
• After-action visibility: activity and impact reports show where patrol time led to fewer incidents or less 911 demand in targeted areas. That visibility supports confidence and builds a sense of efficacy.
• Proactive narrative: agencies can share positive activity and community engagement, not just calls and arrests. And when the community asks how much time patrol officers spend in their neighborhood, ResourceRouter helps answer that question quickly and clearly.
• Seeing their impact: unspecified patrols, with the goal of going out and stopping crime, can encourage time spent lingering in specific areas for long periods or revisiting the same areas repeatedly. Clear guidance, based on data, helps officers feel that their presence is valued and matters. Less wheel-spinning, more purpose.
• Fairness, distribution, and accountability: another stressor is uneven workload. The same officers can get the same hot spots day after day. ResourceRouter helps spread assignments across patrol areas and time windows, making coverage more equitable and transparent.

Learn more about how ResourceRouter can be a strategic advantage for your agency.

ResourceRouter as a Strategic Advantage

ResourceRouter serves as both a strategic advantage and an equalizer in modern policing. It extends the reach of sometimes limited resources by routing patrol time to the places where it matters most. Automated focus-area generation and patrol insights help ensure balanced deployment, allowing agencies to maintain visibility and responsiveness even with fewer officers. This efficiency doesn’t just fill gaps; it helps make every minute on duty count.

At the same time, ResourceRouter can level the playing field. By giving every officer the same clear plan, shared context, and visible impact, it standardizes patrol expectations and fosters a more even distribution of workload. When results are transparent, officers begin to see progress rather than just pressure, which helps counter fatigue and burnout. Built-in platform guardrails also help prevent over-concentration in any one area, promoting community-minded coverage that benefits both officers and residents.

ResourceRouter Use Case: Rocky Mount, NC

The Rocky Mount Police Department uses data-driven strategies, leveraging ResourceRouter, to reduce crime and enhance public safety. Through detailed mapping, analysis of incident patterns, and targeted deployment of resources, officers can proactively address crime before it escalates. The case study highlights the effectiveness of integrating ResourceRouter technology, human insight, and strategic planning in policing to enhance community safety.

ResourceRouter Provides Patrol Purpose

Burnout thrives when demand overwhelms resources and officers cannot see the impact of their work. By planning short, evidence-based visits, packaging context with every assignment, distributing work evenly, and showing where patrol time correlates with fewer incidents or reduced calls, ResourceRouter helps officers feel effective and supported. The shift from reactive pressure to proactive patrol and visible progress is central to reducing burnout.

This approach does more than improve efficiency. It helps rebuild morale and trust within the department. When every officer receives the same plan, shares the same context, and can see their impact, burnout gives way to engagement. ResourceRouter’s automation and performance transparency make deployment more consistent, with outcomes more readily available. Together, these features reinforce the idea that every shift contributes to measurable progress, not just pressure. By combining the technology into both a support system and an operational clarity tool, ResourceRouter helps agencies protect their most valuable resource—the people behind the badge.

Learn more about ResourceRouter and discover how smarter deployment can help reduce police officer burnout and improve performance.