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My department had been on 10 hour and is now on 8 hour shifts, but our patrol officers are wanting something better. Anyone out there on 12 hour shifts. I would welcome pros and cons. Thanks

So many variables; Don't know what 'better' means nor do  know the o/t agreements but here goes some considerations.

What is most important to you ?

Time with your family, overtime pay, compensatory time off, weekends off, what shift , shift differential and o/t rate adds up.. Do you get the o/t 5 days / week or do you work 32 hrs, get paid for 48 and have the rest of the time off, What are your spouses days and hours? What about the kids schedule? MONEY, MONEY, MONEY ?? Time OFF time OFF TIME OFF ?? Fishing , boating, skiing, golf, shooting .What are the kids activities ? When does that occur ? ALL up to the wife ?!

 Then we look at the  health issues, fatigue, alertness on the job, relations with friends and family, charity work suffers, work out schedule, entertainment, dietary issues( on midnights I ate only breakfast type meals) if you are on midnights you really shouldn't change your schedule during off time, when to play with the kids and especially the wife ! Sleep is always a problem. Are you trading daily o/t  for weekends off ?

Well I admit , I offered no answers , but I think you have enough info to make a more  INFORMED decision

I work 12's.  I have also worked 11's and 10's. I work 4 on 4 off right now.  I have also worked a 4 on, 4 off, 4 on, 2 off pattern.

Current shift pattern is one set 6-6, next set 7-7.  On an eight day set, 1st 2 shifts are days, next 2 shifts are nights, then 4  off.

My body prefers the 10's.  My family and I prefer the 12's.  With a 4 on 4 off schedule it's brilliant for time off.  Take 4 days off and get 12 with your regular days off!  Plus there is built in overtime as over a year, you are working more than 40 hrs per week.  My dept. gives the overtime in the form of days off only which is fine by me! 

2 days off never seemed like enough to catch up on anything.  I also like the 2 days followed by 2  nights.  You get to sleep in after 2 day shifts and essentially get a day off between as you dont hafta go in to work until 1800.  Also good for my body, I never get used to nights because I only get 2 of them in an 8 day shift pattern.

The one negative is you get off work at 0600/0700 on your first day off and sleep most of it.  Some guys can do it on 3 hours sleep and do something useful with their 1st day off.

The second negetive for 12's is the long days.  By the time you get changed and travel home, there isnt much time except to eat and sleep.

I think it's nearly impossible to determine what the perfect shift pattern is.  Different squads have different needs and different people can handle (or not) certain shift patterns.

I have worked 12's almost all my LE career and I find it is a good way to work alot of time off. What is more of a question is the rotation of days on to days off. I have worked 3 on 3 off I think I liked the best. we currently work 2 on 2 off 3 on 2 off 2 on three off repeat. and its ok except swaping days to nights every two weeks. we use to swap every time comming to work nights off days off nights off days ect..when i breafly worked 8's i really missed the days off you can take 7 days of vacation and be off two weeks. i hope this helps.

I DO THREE 12S AND A 6.  IT ISN'T THAT BAD, DEPENDING ON YOUR SHIFT AND WHAT TIME FRAME YOUR 6 FALLS IN.  IS SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF TIME OFF BUT FOR US OLDER GUYS, WE STILL HAVE TO SPEND A DAY OR TWO RECUPERATING.