Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Exploration 2
My second observation was very brief. I was able to visit with Officers Evans and Shifty and ask them a few questions. I asked them each the same question at the same time and their question were the same but differ at the same time. It was fun to watch them interact while in public but not in uniform. They still watched people. It was quite impressive as they answered every question and never missed a beat but at the same time I could tell that they were observing the people around. They would nudge each other if they saw someone “suspicious”. They didn’t do anything besides have a quick laugh over it. It was a short meeting but a fun one.
It wasn’t as easy for me. I didn’t tell them that I was observing them and interviewing them at the same time. I found it difficult to write two different things at the same time and get everything in. I ended up throwing away my observation notes half way through and just tried to commit what I could to memory. But those 2 were never missed a beat they watched people and answered every question that I asked. In my first observation I went to a fast food place with Officer Evans and it was fun to watch every one and how they acted around him we laughed a bit about it later. When they are in uniform regardless of the place, everyone is on pins and needles. But when they are not in uniform and look like a regular Joe no one thinks twice about them.
My second observation was very brief. I was able to visit with Officers Evans and Shifty and ask them a few questions. I asked them each the same question at the same time and their question were the same but differ at the same time. It was fun to watch them interact while in public but not in uniform. They still watched people. It was quite impressive as they answered every question and never missed a beat but at the same time I could tell that they were observing the people around. They would nudge each other if they saw someone “suspicious”. They didn’t do anything besides have a quick laugh over it. It was a short meeting but a fun one.
It wasn’t as easy for me. I didn’t tell them that I was observing them and interviewing them at the same time. I found it difficult to write two different things at the same time and get everything in. I ended up throwing away my observation notes half way through and just tried to commit what I could to memory. But those 2 were never missed a beat they watched people and answered every question that I asked. In my first observation I went to a fast food place with Officer Evans and it was fun to watch every one and how they acted around him we laughed a bit about it later. When they are in uniform regardless of the place, everyone is on pins and needles. But when they are not in uniform and look like a regular Joe no one thinks twice about them.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Exploration 2 - Interview.
I spent 3 hours Thursday evening (04 March, 2010) with “the other side” of the DUI STEP Task Force Community. I spent it in the Canyon County Jail, with Sergeant Chuck Davlin. He has been employed in the Jail for 18 years and is shift supervisor. His is also the area Intox machine (breathalyzer) calibration and repair expert. With this position he is also responsible for training and certifying area police departments and their officers in the use of the staged and portable breathalyzers and the laws that govern them and their operation.
While the DUI patrol was exciting and action packed, the jail is quite the opposite. By the time the DUI offender has gotten to the jail, they have gone through the entire emotional process and stages are most often indignant. They are now a “victim” and are either, extremely sad about their arrest and sure they are not guilty or they are extremely angry and are sure they are not guilty. There are few exceptions, much like the fact that the majority of people pulled over for DUI only report having two drinks, when asked.
The jail itself is well lit and very clean. The smell is of industrial cleaners, which from my time in the U.S. Navy, is a sign of lots of people living in very close proximity to each other. The walls are painted a brownish off white, which I am sure is meant for a calming effect on the inmates. The entry into the jail is a single room with padding, head height, on the walls. This is where the new arrivals, get strip searched and change into their jail uniform. Two heavily locked doors lead from this room, one into the Breathalyzer room, the other into the jail booking area. On this night, a 26 year old, illegal alien was in the Intox (breathalyzer) room on his 3rd DUI arrest. He was pleading his case that he had not been drinking and was being harassed. Officer Poore from the Nampa Police DUI STEP Task Force was called in to evaluate him. He was found to have been driving under the influence of Methamphetamine. During his strip search they found a large bag of methamphetamine hidden in his crotch between his testicles and anus. At this point he was absolutely positive, those weren’t his drugs and he had no idea who they belonged to or how they got there. Which was funny because in the booking area was a gal who had just been strip searched and the officers had found a paper cup folded around 23 pills of Norco Hydrocodone, which had been found under her right breast in her bra. She too, had no idea where they had come from and was positive the officer had put them in there to set her up.
The jail staff are now the subject of ire by most everyone at this point. They put the offenders through finger printing, drug and alcohol screening, showers, pictures and allow their phone calls with ease and integrity. They are constantly cussed at, ridiculed and insulted by the inmates and offenders. They maintain control and for the most part laugh off the verbal abuse. One guy had gotten out of hand was strapped to metal chair, in a locked room, facing the wall. He was on a two hour (or so) “time out”. There are various rooms around the booking area that lead to the main jail, and various rooms for the infamous (drunk tank) and people who are on suicide watch.
This portion of the DUI STEP Team is in sharp contrast to the excitement I felt in the ride-along with the patrol officers. The officers act as emotional counselors to a degree for the new inmates. They offer them food from the galley, allow them to make phone calls and stay on the phone as long as possible. The night I was there, one gal had been on the phone for almost two hours. The officers talk these people through their mood swings. They listen to what the inmates have to say about what is going and calmly reassure them. They are part counselor, part jailer, part parent and part friend. I was not prepared for this, especially knowing my brother. This interview with my brother and the walk through at the jail opens the possibility of several areas of research one could follow. What do officers do to handle their jobs mentally and emotionally? What is put into place in case of an uprising within the jail? What efforts are in place to ensure the inmates and the jailers are have a good working environment? I had questions on the number of inmates the jail had? How long a person may stay at the county jail before being transferred to a state prison? What complaints do inmates have against their jailers? I found this interview opened my eyes and surprised me as to what goes on within the jail. I am amazed at what the average, law-abiding citizen does not get to see and realized how much goes on behind the scenes, by the entire police force in an effort to maintain law and order.
While the DUI patrol was exciting and action packed, the jail is quite the opposite. By the time the DUI offender has gotten to the jail, they have gone through the entire emotional process and stages are most often indignant. They are now a “victim” and are either, extremely sad about their arrest and sure they are not guilty or they are extremely angry and are sure they are not guilty. There are few exceptions, much like the fact that the majority of people pulled over for DUI only report having two drinks, when asked.
The jail itself is well lit and very clean. The smell is of industrial cleaners, which from my time in the U.S. Navy, is a sign of lots of people living in very close proximity to each other. The walls are painted a brownish off white, which I am sure is meant for a calming effect on the inmates. The entry into the jail is a single room with padding, head height, on the walls. This is where the new arrivals, get strip searched and change into their jail uniform. Two heavily locked doors lead from this room, one into the Breathalyzer room, the other into the jail booking area. On this night, a 26 year old, illegal alien was in the Intox (breathalyzer) room on his 3rd DUI arrest. He was pleading his case that he had not been drinking and was being harassed. Officer Poore from the Nampa Police DUI STEP Task Force was called in to evaluate him. He was found to have been driving under the influence of Methamphetamine. During his strip search they found a large bag of methamphetamine hidden in his crotch between his testicles and anus. At this point he was absolutely positive, those weren’t his drugs and he had no idea who they belonged to or how they got there. Which was funny because in the booking area was a gal who had just been strip searched and the officers had found a paper cup folded around 23 pills of Norco Hydrocodone, which had been found under her right breast in her bra. She too, had no idea where they had come from and was positive the officer had put them in there to set her up.
The jail staff are now the subject of ire by most everyone at this point. They put the offenders through finger printing, drug and alcohol screening, showers, pictures and allow their phone calls with ease and integrity. They are constantly cussed at, ridiculed and insulted by the inmates and offenders. They maintain control and for the most part laugh off the verbal abuse. One guy had gotten out of hand was strapped to metal chair, in a locked room, facing the wall. He was on a two hour (or so) “time out”. There are various rooms around the booking area that lead to the main jail, and various rooms for the infamous (drunk tank) and people who are on suicide watch.
This portion of the DUI STEP Team is in sharp contrast to the excitement I felt in the ride-along with the patrol officers. The officers act as emotional counselors to a degree for the new inmates. They offer them food from the galley, allow them to make phone calls and stay on the phone as long as possible. The night I was there, one gal had been on the phone for almost two hours. The officers talk these people through their mood swings. They listen to what the inmates have to say about what is going and calmly reassure them. They are part counselor, part jailer, part parent and part friend. I was not prepared for this, especially knowing my brother. This interview with my brother and the walk through at the jail opens the possibility of several areas of research one could follow. What do officers do to handle their jobs mentally and emotionally? What is put into place in case of an uprising within the jail? What efforts are in place to ensure the inmates and the jailers are have a good working environment? I had questions on the number of inmates the jail had? How long a person may stay at the county jail before being transferred to a state prison? What complaints do inmates have against their jailers? I found this interview opened my eyes and surprised me as to what goes on within the jail. I am amazed at what the average, law-abiding citizen does not get to see and realized how much goes on behind the scenes, by the entire police force in an effort to maintain law and order.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Exploration 2
Now that I have my interviews done, I am able to see a difference in the different branches of military and time. My first interview was with my friend who has three young kids, and her husband was in the Army and is now in the Idaho National Guard as a Staff Sergeant. My second interview was with my aunt and she has been a military wife for nearly thirty years. Her husband has been in the Air Force since the beginning and is now a Lieutenant Colonel. Both of these women have had similar experiences but at the same time very different ones too. There are obvious differences between these branches. One that stuck out to me was that the Army does move a family more often than the Air Force. Army moves about every two years, while the Air Force moves around every four. I do think that up rooting a family would be one of the hardest trials to deal with.
I have found out that the main attribute with army wives is being independent, being able to stand on your own two feet with out having a husband around. Most women who can’t stand on their own do fall. That is what the Family Readiness Groups (FRG’s) are for. They help in pretty much every aspect of life that is needed when their husband is deployed. I also realized that there are many different types of support groups for the wives.
My aunt is one of the wives who made the decision together with her husband about him joining the military. Since they made that choice and he enlisted thirty years ago they have had eight children, and they have been fortunate enough to only move twice and he has only been deployed twice. Julianne did sound very humbled about the past few years, she is aware that she is one of the fortunate ones who haven’t had to move to different parts of the world. Her husband Matthew also made a bug effort to keep their family in the same area, only looking for the jobs in the area they have lived.
The communication has vastly improved throughout the years too. The soldiers maybe communicated once a month to their families and now can communicate everyday to their families. It is crazy to think that even a few years ago the soldiers weren’t able to text, or even have web camera to see their loved ones. As the technology improves in our country so does the communication for the soldiers.
Exploration 2
Since my last interview I have noticed some new observation in the probation community. I was observing probation officers in the state office and noticed probation officers greatly differ in attitude. I did my observation in the lobby of the state probation office. In the lobby I overheard offenders talking about a specific officer. They were talking about how nice she was. I was not really surprised by this, all of the officers I have met and interviewed so far have been nothing but nice. So when she opened the door and called for her offender I was expecting smiles and a warm welcome. What I saw was not a smile and far from a warm welcome. She was stern and cold. The officer came across as somewhat masculine when calling for her offender. After this encounter I noticed it was not just this officer who came across with a certain attitude. All female officers who came to call for their offender had a stern attitude. I noticed the male officers were smiling and not as stern when calling for their offenders.
This new bit of information has really altered what I wanted to focus on in my community. Are females in my community more harsh on there offenders? Is this attitude apart of the job? Do they teach women in probation to be more masculine? Is it just a front, or are they really as mean as they seem? How does this attitude affect offenders? Does the attitude change from state to federal probation officers? How often are female officers taken less serious because of their softer side? Does this tougher side really help? Does it give the officer more confidence when dealing with offenders? Why do males not have a similar attitude when dealing with offenders? Do women really act more masculine in traditional male roles? I never though about the attitudes of probation officers. What really interests me about this community is that they are nothing like what I thought. They are different in almost every aspect of what I was imagining.
I really need to find out why they have a specific attitude, And does it change in different situations. Through interviews and observations I plan to gain the information I need. I also plan to do research on women of authority. I really wish I would have noticed the differences between men and woman probation officers earlier in this project.It would have been nice to have more time to find new information.
This new bit of information has really altered what I wanted to focus on in my community. Are females in my community more harsh on there offenders? Is this attitude apart of the job? Do they teach women in probation to be more masculine? Is it just a front, or are they really as mean as they seem? How does this attitude affect offenders? Does the attitude change from state to federal probation officers? How often are female officers taken less serious because of their softer side? Does this tougher side really help? Does it give the officer more confidence when dealing with offenders? Why do males not have a similar attitude when dealing with offenders? Do women really act more masculine in traditional male roles? I never though about the attitudes of probation officers. What really interests me about this community is that they are nothing like what I thought. They are different in almost every aspect of what I was imagining.
I really need to find out why they have a specific attitude, And does it change in different situations. Through interviews and observations I plan to gain the information I need. I also plan to do research on women of authority. I really wish I would have noticed the differences between men and woman probation officers earlier in this project.It would have been nice to have more time to find new information.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Nampa Police STEP DUI Ride-along
I spent Saturday evening on February 27, 2009 in a ride-along with Nampa Police Officer Krohn. After briefing for his evening shift, Officer Krohn met me in the front lobby of the Nampa Police Station and gave me a tour of the Department. He explained the dispatch area, briefing and report areas, there are two areas for riot gear including a ballistic shield. He showed me the confinement area which had a couple of holding cells and a Breathalyzer machine. It also has a station set up for a blood draw, should the person in custody refuse to submit to a breathalyzer. He explained that a person can refuse to take the breathalyzer, but by law must then submit to a blood test.
After getting my background check done in dispatch and signing a waiver, we began our patrol. He drives an unmarked police unit. The interior of the car is comfortable but tight. Every possible spot in the car was outfitted and set up to hold gear, equipment and files. The car is equipped with forward and rear looking radars, a camera with DVD recording capability (used continuously), flashing lights, siren and light controls, a laptop, a driver license laser scanner, an e-ticket machine (install complete next week), a shotgun, a portable breathalyzer and various other items. Each item is stored neatly and conveniently for ease of access from the driver’s seat.
Officer Krohn took time to explain his background, his education, his job responsibilities and his feelings about various aspects of his job (i.e. DUI offenders and their punishments). We made a total of 10 stops or calls that night. Our first stop was a guy who seemed to speak very little English. He was pulled over for driving through town with his Hi-beams on, against oncoming traffic. He gave a false name to Officer Krohn, had no drivers license and no insurance. Officer Krohn had to spend extra time trying to figure out exactly who the guy was. He finally got his name and made the identification by running his plates and finding a picture in the database that resembled the driver. The driver was allowed to park his car and call someone to come pick him, his wife and their baby up. He was given citations for providing false information to an officer, no driver’s license and no insurance. Through the night we had only one stop where the individual had both, a driver’s license and insurance.
Officer Krohn explained how he averages about 200 DUI arrests annually (he has been on the DUI STEP Team for 3 years) and has had only 6 cases that have gone to jury trial and been dismissed. Those were dismissed despite the large amount of information showing the guilt of the offender. The night before my ride-along they made 7 DUI arrests. On the night I rode along there were two. The one he stopped was a gal in her early 40s who sped up to a stop sign and almost ran through it. She parked in a parking lot and he parked and walked up to her to talk to her. It was apparent to me that she had been drinking, but Officer Krohn assumed nothing. He gave her a series of field sobriety tests which she overwhelmingly failed. She was then given the portable breathalyzer at which point she blew a 0.14, twice in a row (0.08 is legally drunk). It is probably a good thing she only drank the two margaritas she admitted to, any more than that and her driving may have been impaired! I am amazed by two things, almost everyone who gets stopped for suspicion of DUI “only had two drinks”, and they “don’t think their driving is impaired”. During this stop and each stop, Officer Krohn fully and kindly explained to the person their rights, what was expected of them and what they should expect as a result (from paying a fine to going to jail). At no point did he get agitated by the stream of lies and disrespect for the law most offenders displayed. He is professional, respectful, thoughtful, kind and intelligent. He knows his job and the laws without question. You can tell he holds the community and our rights with high regard and does his job dutifully and without prejudice. The other officers I met that night are equally dedicated. The all have a great sense of humor and make you feel at ease with their joking back and forth and friendly competition they have between each other. I spent 7 hours on patrol with Officer Krohn, it seemed more like one. The ride-along gave me a vast amount of information for my research, but more importantly, I walked away excited by what I had seen. I came away with a new found respect for the officers who serve in the City of Nampa, thankful for their service and dedication and a pride that we have such representatives within our community.
After getting my background check done in dispatch and signing a waiver, we began our patrol. He drives an unmarked police unit. The interior of the car is comfortable but tight. Every possible spot in the car was outfitted and set up to hold gear, equipment and files. The car is equipped with forward and rear looking radars, a camera with DVD recording capability (used continuously), flashing lights, siren and light controls, a laptop, a driver license laser scanner, an e-ticket machine (install complete next week), a shotgun, a portable breathalyzer and various other items. Each item is stored neatly and conveniently for ease of access from the driver’s seat.
Officer Krohn took time to explain his background, his education, his job responsibilities and his feelings about various aspects of his job (i.e. DUI offenders and their punishments). We made a total of 10 stops or calls that night. Our first stop was a guy who seemed to speak very little English. He was pulled over for driving through town with his Hi-beams on, against oncoming traffic. He gave a false name to Officer Krohn, had no drivers license and no insurance. Officer Krohn had to spend extra time trying to figure out exactly who the guy was. He finally got his name and made the identification by running his plates and finding a picture in the database that resembled the driver. The driver was allowed to park his car and call someone to come pick him, his wife and their baby up. He was given citations for providing false information to an officer, no driver’s license and no insurance. Through the night we had only one stop where the individual had both, a driver’s license and insurance.
Officer Krohn explained how he averages about 200 DUI arrests annually (he has been on the DUI STEP Team for 3 years) and has had only 6 cases that have gone to jury trial and been dismissed. Those were dismissed despite the large amount of information showing the guilt of the offender. The night before my ride-along they made 7 DUI arrests. On the night I rode along there were two. The one he stopped was a gal in her early 40s who sped up to a stop sign and almost ran through it. She parked in a parking lot and he parked and walked up to her to talk to her. It was apparent to me that she had been drinking, but Officer Krohn assumed nothing. He gave her a series of field sobriety tests which she overwhelmingly failed. She was then given the portable breathalyzer at which point she blew a 0.14, twice in a row (0.08 is legally drunk). It is probably a good thing she only drank the two margaritas she admitted to, any more than that and her driving may have been impaired! I am amazed by two things, almost everyone who gets stopped for suspicion of DUI “only had two drinks”, and they “don’t think their driving is impaired”. During this stop and each stop, Officer Krohn fully and kindly explained to the person their rights, what was expected of them and what they should expect as a result (from paying a fine to going to jail). At no point did he get agitated by the stream of lies and disrespect for the law most offenders displayed. He is professional, respectful, thoughtful, kind and intelligent. He knows his job and the laws without question. You can tell he holds the community and our rights with high regard and does his job dutifully and without prejudice. The other officers I met that night are equally dedicated. The all have a great sense of humor and make you feel at ease with their joking back and forth and friendly competition they have between each other. I spent 7 hours on patrol with Officer Krohn, it seemed more like one. The ride-along gave me a vast amount of information for my research, but more importantly, I walked away excited by what I had seen. I came away with a new found respect for the officers who serve in the City of Nampa, thankful for their service and dedication and a pride that we have such representatives within our community.
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