Tucson Citizen Police Academy, Dear Kindly Sgt. Beller.

    You gotta understand, it’s our bringing upkee, that gets us outta hand…

No, this is not West Side Story Tucson style.  In several situations, to split us into groups, we have had to count off.  This seems to be difficult, sometimes.

     I am imagining Sgts Beller and Hammarstrom wringing their hands.  This silliness is for them.

    Oh those civilians!

    No discipline!  We must get them on the same page!  But how?

    I know, make them go through the regular Academy. 

    Mess up sounding off?  Make ‘em get down on the floor and do twenty push ups!

     To paraphrase Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady.  Why can’t civilians be more like a cop?!

     Oh those civilians!  Need to learn some discipline.  (Except for classmate Evelyn Brantley who knows how to get the doctors she works for jump through the right hoops) LOL!

Tucson Citizen Police Academy Week Eight 10/28/08 911, What is Your Emergency?

     Yes, some of us volunteered to show up on Tuesday night instead.  It did throw my week off.  I kept thinking yesterday was Thursday. 

     We were going to visit the 911 Emergency Center.  No, I will not tell you where it is.  You cannot even find it on Mapquest.  Do you think they want every Mike, Mike and Mike going in there? 

     We were told to meet on the corner.  Almost fifty two years old and still hanging out on the corner, LOL!  It felt like Mad Magazine’s Spy vs. Spy.  We parked in the city lot next door and Sgt. Beller led us over to the facility, like a class trip (which it was.  I kept waiting for him to ask for the permission slips from my parents.  My parents would have said, “Keep him, he’s yours.” :)

     The 911 facility is a secure site.  Sgt. Hammarstrom opened the gate and let us in.  The gate closed behind us.  Of course, working for Chamberlain, I had to look at the Gate Operator.  It is all civilians working there, though. 

     We were led into a classroom and the basics of 911 (or 119 if you in the United Kingdom) were explained to us.  When you call 911, the first person you speak with determines whether you need Police, Fire, or Medical. 

     The reason for splitting the class up was the space in the areas we later toured.  You cannot get in the way of the 911 operators when they are on a call that can mean life or death for someone on the other end.  A citizen, who is in shock, scared, etc. has to know the person on the other end of the line can speak with them calmly and quickly get them the help they need. 

     The head of maintenance also showed us the back areas where the police cars are gassed up and the cell towers.  We also saw the giant batteries for powering the facility and the equipment to keep computers and radios going.  The radio equipment is thirty years old, but they keep it going.  I kept looking at the circuit boards, since I also deal with those on my job. 

     The dispatchers have to know their geography.  One call that came in was a traffic accident at Alvernon and Valencia.  Sounds standard, but that is the border of two different fire departments, so the dispatcher had to find out where in the intersection to know which fire department to send to the scene.  Another call, a domestic dispute. 

      They were not on calls constantly, so there was time for the staff to joke around and you could see the camraderie.  You would have to have such camraderie.  You are staring at three screens and listening to people who are scared.  You need to calm them down and help them.

     They also have a fair bit of leeway in handling certain calls.  Do I send a Medvac helicopter for example.

(For one of the people in the class, such a decision saved her daughters life).  You cannot just be an automoton, you have to think and pay attention. 

     Then we listened to two calls of the same incident.  A man holding a shotgun to his head, and his wife calling separately.  The wife’s call was handled by someone just out of training.  The husband’s by a twenty five year veteran, but both handled them firmly, but with compassion.

     My offer to Supt. Angela Spencer is sincere.  The Toastmaster in me is happy to help them with refining speaking situations.  No, I am not angling for a job, think of it as giving back.

     Ms. Spencer was definitely recruiting from the class though!;-)  Someone from a previous class is in training there at the moment.

 

     We were led into a classroom and taught the basics of

Tucson Citizens Police Academy Week Seven 10/22/08

     There were two speakers.  The first speaker was Kristin Kelly from the Pima County Attorney’s Special Victims Unit.  You see Law and Order SVU on TV and think of that.  Some of what she said was a part of that, but this was from the point of view of a prosecutor.  I had to tip my hat to her.  I cannot even imagine some of the stuff she deals with.  You know it is tough when her husband, Michael Kelly deals with gang murders and he does not want to hear about what she does.   It just goes to show you the myriad things human beings can do to each other!:-(

    The second speaker was Asst. Chief Sharon Allen.  She is the head of patrol, meaning she supervises the police officer on the beat.  She was very funny, especially with the theme song from Cops playing at the end.  That part had the laughter to make up for part one, where, there is no way any of what Ms. Kelly deals with is a laughing matter.

      The moral?  Human beings can do both very wonderful and very terrible things.   As with the firing range and the guns.  You have the control.  How will you use it?

Writers Boot Camp

This was done for us on Saturday, October 4th, by Phoenix writer Connie Flynn.

It was a great all day session to practice and work on your characters for your stories.  I highly recommend working with Connie.

Tucson Citizen Police Academy Week Six (2) The Firing Range and Self Defense.

This was a special Saturday session in two parts from 8 a.m.-Noon.  It was out at the police academy.  This time not as many attended, we went into our classroom and which session you attended first depended on which side of the room you were sitting on.  This prevented us messing up counts yet again LOL!  I know, all these civilians and their lack of discipline.;-)

We drove down to the firing range.  First we sat in the classroom and Sgt. McDole taught us about the different types of weapons the department uses and gun safety.  Most importantly:

• When you see a firearm just sitting there and you know nothing about it, it is ALWAYS loaded.
• You hand the tool (you will understand why I call it a tool shortly) with the business end away.
• Before you hand it over, you check to make sure the firearm is unloaded and the person receiving in should check as well.  Make this a ritual, almost like a Japanese tea ceremony.    We got to see different types of ammunition.

The next thing we did was go to the range and actually shoot.  We went two at a time.  Elaine was afraid, I was excited.  My biggest problem was getting the grip on the .40 caliber Glock right.  Once I did I was fine.

Elaine did extremely well.  I am going to be better behaved at home for now on.;-)

I mentioned calling the firearm a tool.  It is.  Would you hand another person a power saw by the blade?  This is very much a case of “knowledge is power;” or as Queen Elizabeth the First’s Spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham said “Knowledge is never too dear.”

Then we went back to the classroom and then to the gym.  This was the training area for self defense.  Because Monty Python has so thoroughly wrecked my life, all that came to mind was John Cleese’s Police training.  More of, “I have to teach you men how to defend yourselves against fresh fruit!”

One thing Ofc. Patterson taught us was “Use your intuition.”  As with other members of the animal kingdom, we have it, but we are taught to ignore it and reason things out.  Sometimes going with your gut is a better indicator.

There are statistics.  Violent crime is less than property crime but makes the news more.  With child molesters, everyone worries about the guy in the car waving the bag of candy at the child.  Most of those crimes, you know the attacker.  It is a major news story when it is the guy in the car.

If someone bothers you for money when you leave the supermarket, keep an eye on them, don’t just walk away.  It could be the prelude to a robbery.  Give yourself some time and space.  I tend not to think about this because I have the attitude of “I’m a big boy, I can handle myself.”

In the gym, Ofc. Patterson pretended he was the guy to be arrested who said he was not going anywhere.  This is where the John Cleese routine could have come in.  The show off and actor in me wanted to play the bad guy.

The first to be called was the shortest in the class.  Very tiny young pretty Mexican lady.  I would have played the role to the max, but I am a writer and sometimes need to tone it down.

What I would have done was taunted her.  “Darlin’ they sent YOU to arrest ME?  Let’s how you’re gonna do it.  You just walked in the room and there are four things I already hate about you.

Sort of like John Cleese’s “OK, Mr. Apricot, I mean Harrison, let’s see you attack me with that banana.”

I did this for a reason.  The police officer, like the firemen has to run TOWARD danger, not AWAY from it.  That does not mean you turn the thinking off.  Even with the adrenalin, you need to have the thought process going.  I laughed on the firing range when they said they do not shoot South because the firemen don’t like it.  They can run into burning buildings but are afraid of a few bullets.  Wimps! LOL!  The firing range has a giant berm so you can’t fire over it and hit a cow out on the range.  Then again, your cow, a half ton of pot roast, will just react to that as though he was stung by a bee.  Annoying, but not fatal.   At least he cannot see you do it.  That would not be good.   It is not like Alaska, where the Governor is a hunter and Bullwinkle the moose is very afraid.:-)

There are also the statistics about winding up in trouble.  Again, I pick on Dr. Ben Carson’s book Taking the Risk.  Certain risks are just dumb.  Keep something in mind.  Death is 1:1.  To quote the line in the movie Moonstruck when the family patriarch has the affair to try to relive his youth and his wife just says, “Cosmo, ya gonna die.”  Life, like anything else has risks.  You cannot be paralyzed by them, but you cannot take stupid ones either.

I will close about the guns.  I laugh about my control issues.  I felt the power of the firearm, enjoyed the control, but remember the operative word here, control.  You can never let control overcome you.  I liked the cards at each seat in the firearms classroom.  Think, will your action reflect on you, your family, etc.   The firearm is a man made tool, and one that needs to be used in the proper context and with the proper control.

The firearm is a tool to hunt, protect life and property, not just from criminals, but a tyrannical government.

Tucson Citizen Police Academy Week Five. Crime Lab and Records.

This time, we went downtown to Police HQ, which is on South Stone Avenue.  We got a parking space right in front of the building and we let in.  The tour was going to be divided into two groups, first the Crime Lab, then records.

The last time we were divided into two groups, two weeks earlier, Sgt. Hammarstrom tried to have us count off one two, one two.  I guess as untrained civilians, our lack of discipline caught up with us.  He wasn’t making that mistake again.  He just made us pay attention and counted off.   I kept wondering what would happen if we were given detention or demerits by police officers.  No, let’s not go there.;-)

Anyway, enough of such silliness.  Or as Graham Chapman of Monty Python, in uniform would have said, silly just silly.  (And a bit suspect).

Elaine and I spent several minutes speaking with our first tourguide.  Susan Shankles, the civilian head of the Crime Lab.  Moved out here from…New York.  She is to use the term, “my homey,” from the Woodhaven section of Queens and for college attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice (one of the schools in the City University System of New York.  I attended City College of New York, the original school in the system).

We started on her tour.  Both my parents are chemists, so I was ready to enjoy this.  A crime lab consists of just more than chemicals.  We started with fingerprints.  Assisting was Adele Hernandez (hope I have this right, if not, I will have to make corrections and will I get stuck with go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200).  We got to hold fingerprint cards, photos of fingerprints and other evidence in clear envelopes.  We learned about latent prints, (those removed from a crime scene) and the fingerprint cards taken from someone, who has been arrested or someone needing the prints to enter a certain profession.

Fingerprinting is an Ancient skill.  Every human being has unique fingerprints, because they are determined when you are formed in your mother’s womb.   So yes, they are unique.

Next was the gun room, with all sorts of firearms to match with crimes and bullets.  Then the laboratories with the machines for testing blood alcohol levels.  So don’t drink and drive.

Susan discussed DNA then.  I am fascinated by what is being done with DNA.  My goal for the holidays is to get my DNA done, so I can start tracing what ancestry I have.  I am just curious.

The Crime Lab has highly skilled scientists.  Forget CSI.  Susan laughed at the idea of Marg Helgenberger going to a crime scene in stiletto heels.  Would be a bit difficult to get around and keep the shoes clean for the Emmy Awards.

Next, we were handed over to the two night supervisors in Records.  You do not think of a records department as being a 24/7 operation.  I did not get cards from them, so I do not remember their names.  The work was explained to us.  You would think it was a basic clerks job.  If you think so, you are very wrong.  By law, files need to be kept a certain way and destroyed at certain times.  Starting this year, the files are all computerized.  Clerks are looking at two screens at once.  Requests come in from other jurisdictions.  Those need to be answered within ten minutes.  It is a difficult enough job, so you are tested all the time and the probation period is eighteen months.  You might have to work Christmas.  You never know what the job will bring.  Look at it this way.  You will NEVER be bored.

Then came Captain Johnson, Sgt. Lara and Property Crime.  People forget and I will bring this up in the next post that crimes against property are much more common than crimes against people.  They discussed car theft and burglary.  They have a London Bobbies hat as a souvenir.  I was able to try that on.

Then time for the class photo.  Police photographers were there to take it.  They arranged us by size, with some on the stairs above us.  That probably made the police officers roll their eyes.  I’d say it was like herding cats, although herding cats is really easy.  Throw some meat in there.;-)

Saturday, October 18th was an extra class and I will discuss that later.  Right now it is almost tomorrow and I should get some sleep.  I do want to be somewhat coherent.

Baseball Playoffs

A welcome respite from the Presidential Election.  Especially the Sox comeback!;-)

The Presidential Campaign Winding Down, Thank Goodness

     Our campaigns are too long.  There needs to be more control over the process.  It becomes a never ending up and down.  It is not going to matter this time.  With the economy the way it is, the agenda has been set for the President Elect.

Staying Positive

The song from the Civil Rights Movement is called “Eyes on the Prize.”  It means staying on message and keeping your eyes on the prize. 

     I learned the hard way.  Positive attracts positive.  Negative attracts negative.  Don’t attract the wrong moth to your flame.  I keep saying this.  Mistakes are teaching tools if you pay attention.

Tucson Citizen Police Academy Week Five

     We were rolling in the aisles with laughter.  The speakers were from public relations and Internal Affairs.  Did you ever think you could get a good laugh in a class with police officers?

      There were three speakers.  The first, is a retired TPD Sgt.  He is on the civilian review board.  They look over cases Internal Affairs has already worked on. 

     The second speaker is from the public relations office.  Need that for a couple of books we are working on.  I know how to lay out the P.R. person.

     The last speaker was just made the head of Internal Affairs Labor Day.  He came here from Chicago, and I cannot blame him.  Chicago winters are a scary thing.  (I am complaining about it being in the 40’s at the moment.  Crying like a big baby LOL!

     TPD has a great system in which officers can rotate.  You learn many different things and you don’t get stale.  Captain Richards, the head of Internal Affairs told us they want people who DON’T want to be in Internal Affairs.  I wondered about that, how would someone who had been in Internal Affairs be treated when s/he left it.  I grew up on police shows with Internal Affairs being known as the “Rat Squad.”

     The public relations officer, (I will check the spelling of his name when I get home, I am doing this from work.  We will not make this mistake again LOL), explained about keeping the public back at crime scenes and how much access reporters are allowed.  It is a balance, the public’s right and need to know vs, catching the bad guy.  I am simplifying this badly, and I will finish this later.  Some of us have to log in and go to work LOL!

Well I am back to finish this and get caught up.  Week Six will be coming up this weekend.  It is good that a civilian police force is accountable to the people they protect and serve.