Week 2: In the Field
Hello again everyone!
This week at Prescott Valley Police Department, I was able to go on a Ride Along with one of the patrol officers on Tuesday. It was quite interesting to be able to participate in a part of police life that many of us only see on the outside! Fortunately for the officer (and a bit unfortunate for my project), it was a fairly slow day, and so we only had to deal with speeding tickets and other minor traffic violations. Still, it was very informative to witness the process of the officer doing their work, and to be able to ask questions and know what the officer was doing and why. Seeing the inside of the patrol car was also great, since I was able to get a seat at the front and thus see the officer’s work firsthand. That includes getting to see the car’s police scanner, which tells an officer where an incident is occurring and who is assigned to it. However, the most fascinating part of the Ride Along was being able to talk one-on-one with an officer, and ask them for clarification or questions. While not a full interview, as I was mainly just asking questions as they came to me, it was still very interesting to hear some of the stories or anecdotes they had of the job, and for them to explain some of the parts of their job that I did not understand or know about.
At Prescott Police Department, much of what I was doing this week was the same as last week. That is, I would work in the Records section and help print out old Initial Incident reports. I did, however, receive a keycard for the police department, allowing me easier access to certain areas. Those are mainly the aforementioned Records and some entrances, since I am not an officer and so do not need to be in the more restrictive areas. During the process of getting this keycard, though, I was able to see more the department, mainly the downstairs area. Down there, the department has Evidence, which is where evidence is stored and analyzed, and security, which shows footage from cameras at the Department and other buildings, as well as controls employee access.
Finally for my project, I have begun my research into police media by starting to watch my first show: Law and Order. I chose this as my first show mainly due to its popularity, as when someone thinks about a police procedural, they think of Law and Order or its spinoff. The show is about a police department in New York City (mainly two detectives and the Police Chief) who investigate crimes, and how the trial plays out afterward. In terms of quality, I find the show very enjoyable. The mysteries are interesting (and based off of actual cases), and the characters are very likeable, making you, or at least me, want to see them win. However, it might be unsuitable for my project. As mentioned in my quick summary, half of the show is about the court side of the law, something which I am not focusing on. On top of that, the law enforcement side is focused on detectives, who I have not yet been able to work with, and is mostly done outside of the department, which defeats the point of me wanting to see how media portrays the internal work of the police. So, for now, I will probably have to skip out on Law and Order, and find a different show that is more focused on regular police work.
I hope you all found this interesting! I do not yet know what next week’s work at Prescott Valley PD will be, so I guess it will be a surprise for us all! So you all then!
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