PlanIt Police Blog

Thinking about switching to a 10 hour shift schedule for 24/7 coverage? Or maybe you're just curious how other departments schedule with 10 hour shifts. 

This article will cover 3 specific examples we have seen multiple police departments or law enforcement agencies use. 

There is not only one way to handle any rotation. Depending on a few different variables, like the size of your department, you will need to adjust each example.

The 3 rotations covered in this article are:

1. [4 on 3 off]
2. [5 on 3 off] x3 [5 on 4 off] [4 on 4 off] x2
3. [4 on 4 off]

[4 on 3 off]

The [4 on 3 off] templates only run 1 week. You will need 3 shifts or squads to cover 24x7.

 What is a template?

From our study, departments sized anywhere from 15 people to 150 people used this rotation.

Here is what this 10-hour shift schedule template will look like:

You do not have to use all these templates. You can use a few of them. However, you will need to create 2 more squads; one for night shift and one for swing shift.

[5 on 3 off] x3 [5 on 4 off] [4 on 4 off] x2

This rotation is a little more complex but can easily be duplicated by following the templates below.

The rotation will require 7, 7-week templates with 3 squads to cover round the clock.

Below we only show templates 1-4 because they're so big but you can download the PDF for full template examples. 

Check it out:

 Create 2 more squads to cover night shift and swing shift for 24x7 coverage.

[4 on 4 off]

The [4 on 4 off] rotation commonly lasts 8 weeks as shown below. It can have 10 hour shifts or 10.5 hour shifts.

It will total approximately 35 hours a week with just 10 hour shifts.

For this rotation, 2 templates are required with 3 different squads.

See the first squad 10-hour shift schedule templates below:

 Copy these 2 templates for the other 2 squads to cover swing shift and night shift.

If you're having trouble managing these schedules or finding that it is taking up too much time, check out scheduling software options!

A lot of companies will set it up for you for free and you will just have to keep up with day to day things like time off and overtime approvals.

Check out all of the features included in PlanIt Police Scheduling Software here!

 To see all these 10 hour shift schedule examples and more, download the full PDF below! Share with your department to make scheduling easier and more efficient.

Read More:

• Top 3 Schedule Examples for 24x7 Coverage with 8 Hour Shifts
• Idaho Schedule: 12 Hour Shifts for 24x7 Coverage
• What You Need to Know About The Pitman Schedule