warpedskydiver 0 #26 August 24, 2009 That and they would bleed you for every bit of information they could glean, then sell it to their employer as their own research and info for higher pay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #27 September 24, 2009 Tuesday night, the CPA went to the Atlanta 911 call center. Most surprising was how *few* 911 operators there were. For an area over 132 sq miles with over 500,000 people, there were three 911 operators on duty. There were additional 6 or 7 dispatchers (at least one for each of Atlanta’s zones). Atlanta's 911 Call Center has gotten a great deal of local attention over the last year or so, and not for its efficiency. The Director of the 911 Center was fired in August and there have been significant problems with delayed responses and misdirected first responders. The representatives with whom I spoke asserted that it was a combination of retention and hiring problems rather than a lack of funding to hire. The most interesting 911 call we heard, which is appropriate for Speakers Corner was a domestic disturbance call. As the 911 operator was getting information from the caller, one of the questions asked was an attempt to get information regarding any potential weapons that might be in the residence, i.e., does he have any knives, guns, or other weapons of which the police might want to be aware. The caller responded, “He’s got a cooler full of guns.” Oh my! /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #28 October 12, 2009 Friday night and early Saturday morning, I did my first ride along. Rode along with an officer from Zone 6, the east side of Atlanta, on the ‘morning watch,’ i.e., 11PM to 6:30AM. Frankly, it was pretty cool. There were times of boredom, while the officer was filling out reports or waiting for GA Power. There were times I felt like I was in an episode of Cops. And cruising along at 80mph, weaving around traffic, with the lights and sirens going was just cool. The APD officer with whom I rode was what I would suggest as the epitome of a good cop. If I had to call the APD at 3AM, he’s the officer who I would want responding. He has 3 years on the APD and 12 years prior on the police force of a midsize midwestern city. At one point, I asked if he did all the civilian ride alongs because I speculated the Sgt intentionally chose the officer who would be seen as the best representative of the APD. Not so according to him. In seven & half hours, I saw a lot. I had to wear a bullet proof vest, altho’ there was no time during the ride along that anyone pulled a gun. It said “Atlanta Police” so folks assumed I was APD. I got offered free food/drink (soda/coffee) three times. (And for the cynics out there – no donuts were offered or consumed.) We responded to ten calls over the night. In between generally patrolled the north area of Zone 6. The officer indicated that it was a slow night: one noise complaint, one stolen vehicle with gun inside, one hit-n-run that included knocking over a city light pole, suspected burglary (more on this one later), report of shots fired, unruly customers at a Chinese restaurant, prostitutes at the Quik Mart, officer assist on trespassing at the Peek-A-Boo (& that’s not a children’s book store) that turned into indecent exposure, and 2 remote burglar alarms calls. No reports of ‘felony Hibachery’ tho’. The evening started pretty slow. About 2:30AM, a call of officer needing assistance was received. Upon arriving at the parking garage of an apt/condo complex, what I saw looked like guy in black t-shirt slamming a guy in white button-down shirt into the side of a white car; I couldn’t see what was going on behind the car. Turns out the guy in the black t-shirt is off-duty APD. The guy in the white shirt is drunk and was rummaging through his friend’s car looking for a cd. To the off-duty APD officer, it looked like a break-in. Things apparently escalated. When the off-duty officer identified himself, the drunk guy was uncooperative/uncompliant. This seems to be about when we showed up. There was another patrol car and officer already there too. Drunk guy, in handcuffs, gets put in the back of ‘our’ car. Initially he’s compliant. ‘My’ cop is talking with him trying to get the guy to calm down. The guy’s drunk-dumb and not happy. Off-duty APD officer starts getting back into it with him. Other two uniformed officers intercede. Ego over-riding sense was my intepretation. We end up taking the drunk guy down to city jail. We had been talking about over-zealousness and aggression, especially among younger/newer officers, earlier in the night. The officer who I was with brought it up w/r/t the incident with the off-duty officer. There also was a fair bit that we didn’t see. What I did observe and the discussions/comments of the officer with whom I rode do stand out for me. Next ride along will be morning watch in Zone 5, i.e., downtown ATL. It definitely was a neat experience, as I subjectively define ‘neat.’ Highly recommend anyone pursue it within their own community. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #29 October 12, 2009 Thank you for writing about your experience so far. So would you say that the police work you have been exposed to thus far is what you expected or is different then you expected prior to the CPA?--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #30 October 12, 2009 Quote So would you say that the police work you have been exposed to thus far is what you expected or is different then you expected prior to the CPA? What has been most unexpected is the level of frustration and institutional impediments that the APD officers face. I'm not sure how much it is a function of local politics (outgoing mayor and chief are seen as less than supportive of the patrol-level APD to put it diplomatically), current economics/recession, and issues with county court system or shared across local PDs. The brutal honesty by some of the officers, expecially the guys from narcotics, regarding competance (or lack thereof) of other APD officers was also unexpected. I'm doing a lot of mental comparisons with federal LEO and other groups with whom I interact. The officer in charge of the CPA dubbed me "the one & only" about week 4 because I ask tough questions, questions that can't be answered, or things that are 'above his (or whomever we are meeting) pay grade.' One week, he & I spent about an hour after class going through DOJ data and APD data on crime incidents comparatively w/r/t fidelity and definitions as far as ability to extrapolate meaningful trends. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #31 October 12, 2009 Well, you are in a unique position to be able to help, with some letters and phone calls to your city council representative. I guess you could say that no matter where you go and no matter what you do, there is always politics and other internal stressors that effect the job.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skycop 0 #32 October 13, 2009 The APD officer with whom I rode was what I would suggest as the epitome of a good cop. If I had to call the APD at 3AM, he’s the officer who I would want responding. He has 3 years on the APD and 12 years prior on the police force of a midsize midwestern city. At one point, I asked if he did all the civilian ride alongs because I speculated the Sgt intentionally chose the officer who would be seen as the best representative of the APD. Not so according to him. *** Most of our guys didn't like having ride-along's, but they acted professionally because that's what they do. Some guys enjoyed ride-alongs, I did and would take them often. I would recommend writing a short note/card to the officers supervisor commending the officers professionalism and candor. Also request that a copy of the note be put in his personnel file. Glad to see your enjoying the CPA, I used to enjoy instructing at ours. "Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #33 October 14, 2009 Quote I would recommend writing a short note/card to the officers supervisor commending the officers professionalism and candor. Also request that a copy of the note be put in his personnel file. Great suggestion! I will do that. QuoteGlad to see your enjoying the CPA, I used to enjoy instructing at ours. Last night we went over basic officer survival, used simunition, and went through some simulations, including active shooter school scenarios, using the IES police training simulator. That was edifying ... and pretty cool too. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
