Colonel Patten has over twenty-six years of service with the Baltimore Police Department. As the Chief of the Research and Development Bureau, she commands the Planning and Research Division, Grant Compliance Division, and Special Projects Division. She also serves as the agency's domestic violence coordinator. She has developed an internationally recognized police-involved domestic violence policy. Her work in this area resulted in the Baltimore Police Department's designation as a national demonstration center by the U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Against Women Office, and the award of nearly one million dollars in a federal grant. She has lectured extensively on the subject of domestic violence and has received numerous awards for her work in the field. She directed the establishment of a domestic violence unit in each of Baltimore's nine police districts. She instituted a mandatory reporting requirement for all domestic-related calls for service, conceived and developed the domestic violence General Order, co-developed the Model Domestic Violence Policy for the Maryland Law Enforcement Community, and designed a strategy to reach more victims of domestic violence by using billboards, posters, and multi-lingual brochures.