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A Horse patrol of the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations .

A patrol performed by United States Secret Service officers.

In military tactics, a patrol is a small tactical grouping sent out by land, sea or air to perform a specific task. A patrol may be a reconnaissance patrol, sent to investigate some feature of interest, or a fighting patrol (US combat patrol), sent to find and engage the enemy.

A patrol is also a small cavalry or armoured unit, subordinate to a troop or platoon. A patrol usually comprises a section or squad of mounted troopers, or two AFVs (often tanks).

In law enforcement, patrol officers are uniformed police officers assigned to patrol specified geographic areas. They are the officers most commonly encountered by the public, as their duties include responding to calls for service, making arrests, resolving disputes, taking crime reports, and conducting traffic enforcement, and other crime prevention measures. The patrol officer is the first on the scene to arrive. What they do or fail to do at the scene greatly influences the outcome of an investigation. The patrol officer, as the person daily in the field, is closest to potential crime and has probably developed contacts who can provide information.

Some elementary schools use the term patrol to refer to students who are selected to monitor safety in the classroom or to those students who assist crossing guards with safety of children crossing busy streets. Another common term for this use of patrol is hall monitor.

In Surf Lifesaving, volunteer patrol units monitor the beaches during the summer. In Australia and some other countries, the patrolled area is marked by red and yellow flags.

In Scouting, a patrol is six to eight children under the leadership of one of them, the basic unit of the Scout movement. The Patrol method is an essential characteristic of Scouting by which it differs from all other organizations, using the natural dynamics of the gang for an educational purpose.

The word "patrol" came from French patrouiller = "to patrol"; earlier it meant "to paddle in the mud", perhaps via men repeatedly patrolling along the same unpaved path until it turned to mud.

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