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4/10 vs 5-2 5-3
The two patterns most departments choose between when they are not going to twelves. One buys you a third day off every week; the other keeps a familiar working week.
4/10
Day shiftNight shift24-hour tourDay off
5-2 5-3
Day shiftNight shift24-hour tourDay off
| 4/10 | vs | 5-2 5-3 |
|---|---|---|
| The cycle | ||
| 10 hours | Shift length | 8 hours |
| 7 daysOften inside a longer rotation | Cycle length | 15 days |
| 40 hours | Average week | 37.3 hours |
| About 17 | Shifts a month | About 20 |
| 3 | Days off a week | 2 or 3 |
| Your week | ||
| Yes | Three days off every week | NoOnly at the end of the cycle |
| YesOn a pure 4/10 | Days off land on the same weekdays | No |
| No | Familiar five-day working week | Yes |
| Yes | A three-day break in the cycle | Yes |
| On duty | ||
| YesTwo hours a day, typically | Overlap between watches | No |
| Yes | Longer day on duty | No |
| No | More handovers and briefings | Yes |
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Whichever of the two your agency runs, save it once and the calendar keeps track of it for you.
The extra day off
4/10 gives three days off every week, permanently, for the same forty hours. That is the reason most agencies moved to it, and the reason officers defend it.
5-2 5-3 gives two days off, then two, then three, on a fifteen-day cycle that never lines up with the week. The three-day break at the end is what people plan their year around.
What the agency gets
The 4/10 overlap is the operational argument. Two watches sharing a couple of hours a day means more units on the street when call volume peaks, which is why chiefs like it even when it costs more.
Hours in your check
4/10 sits at forty hours. 5-2 5-3 comes in around thirty-seven, and the gap usually gets filled with overtime, court and training. Two patterns that look similar on paper can land in very different places on a pay statement.
Full detail on each pattern: 4/10 schedule · 5-2 5-3 schedule
The shift schedule you actually work
Save whichever one your agency runs and a police shift calendar built by an officer fills the rest of the year in. Everything stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
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