When did officers start going out solo as opposed to with partners or has it not changed?

Our dept. uses single officer or "adam" units, "baker" units are not cost effective due to staffing shortages and budget cuts. In addition, as some have already said, adam units allow more patrol units in the field which gives the appearance of more police officers on duty at any given time.

I'm from Buffalo and we had a change of thinking here. It really was necessary to get more cars on the street as a deterrent and it was not in the budget to put two men in each car. No single car goes to any call. Even in the instance of a traffic stop the officers respond to an inquiry regarding assistance. As drugs, shootings, B&Es and smash and grab crimes increased the need to have higher visability became the dominant theme. It is also very reasuring to see four or five cars coming from numerous directions in a response situation. This level of activity is also very confusing for the perpetrator when trying to evade the police. The other side of the coin was in many instances when there were two man cars if an officer didn't have a partner for any reason he/she sat in the station house and the patrol didn't role that shift.

There was a change in philosophy in law enforcement. The actual goal of law enforcement agencies is to prevent crime not to react after the fact. So higher visibility became a priority. Officers were put in separate cars to get more marked units on the street and to create the illusion of more officers patrolling.

In my area they are alone.

In nearby large metro cities, they have partners.

I think it depends on the ability of the city to pay enough officers to be on shift at the same time to have enough cars on patrol with partners rather than not partners.

Just my guess though.

I wish they had to have partners though, it would be much safer for the officer.

I live in Iowa, and in my area, I almost never see two officers riding together. Obviously if they go to a call and need a second officer one will respond. Only having one officer in a car allows you to cover more area with less officers.

I can't speak for all agencies, but my department, as long as you're working graveyard, you need a partner( because after an incident one of our officer encountered)

No money. Most police forces are totally strapped for cash and can barely afford one guy.

Budget cuts.