The Patrol Bureau is responsible for uniform patrol, responding as first responders to calls for service. These are the officers who have initial contact with the public and who handle the various citizen complaints, including motor vehicle accidents, burglary and theft investigations, response to ambulance requests, and any other such activity. Patrol officers are what the public commonly associates with police officers; they wear a department uniform and drive marked police cars.

Patrol officers initiate field contacts, including conducting motor vehicle stops or detaining suspicious persons. They are assigned to posts within the City and routinely patrol these areas, performing the well-known function of protecting and serving the community. Within the Patrol Bureau are the Housing Patrol and Communications.

Housing Patrol is responsible for the security of City Housing property and meets regularly with the Housing Committee in order to address the concerns of the residents residing in the Hackensack Housing Authority buildings. These officers are commonly the first responders to calls for service within these areas. They also maintain the Community Resource Center located at 230 Central Avenue. Here, an assigned officer provides activities for the many children of the Housing residents. These activities provide a safe place for children to go when school lets out, and keeps them otherwise occupied, preventing them from engaging in inappropriate behavior that children are often exposed to. It also provides a safe place for children to gather and socialize or do homework where they would otherwise be going home alone while their parents are at work.

Communications is the unit responsible for dispatching and maintaining the safety of police officers in the field. Their various responsibilities include answering emergency and non-emergency calls to the police department from the public. This includes 9-1-1 calls to Hackensack, as well as Moonachie and North Arlington, and cellular calls within the vicinity. Our communications operators also maintain various law enforcement computer systems, providing officers with such things as Motor Vehicle Services information and checking subjects for wants and warrants or other alerts. Our Communications unit consists of both civilian operators and sworn police officers who have received specialized training in 9-1-1 call-taking and Criminal Justice Information System technology.