Week 5, Day 2
Last week seemed to drag on forever. We started the week with first aid and CPR and that’s where the fun stopped. Not really. We had A LOT of law classes last week, which is the norm for this profession. The law classes are not only long, but there is so much information to remember. The big “Blue Book” we were issued at the beginning of this academy is well used at this point. I think I have used highlighters on almost every page and it still seems like I will never get it all down. I really want to do my best to remember as much as I can about the laws, but then again…that’s what the book is for, so we don’t have to memorize everything.
We had a class on the “Rules of Evidence”, which was somewhat interesting. It covered not only the types of evidence we can see and collect, but what is admissible in court trials. It’s a little scary to add all this information up and think about what we are responsible for. We not only have a responsibility to the citizen’s to protect and serve, but we are safeguarding their Constitutional rights by not violating them when we need to collect evidence, when we write affidavits, when we conduct search warrants. This job is not just about writing speeding tickets and catching the “Bad Guy”. There’s a lot to learn.
Another class we had last week covered how we observe people on the street, as well as how the memory works. This class not only covered how our memories, as Police Officers work, but how to get a victim or witness to recall things in their memories. The instructor who taught the class was with us for 4 hours and at the end we did an exercise to see how much we could remember. She had us write everything down that we could recall about her. She just stood in front of us for 4 hours, and it was amazing the little details I could not recall. It’s those little details that would be important to an investigation. Just an amazing exercise to show me once again, that paying close attention to detail is critical in this job.
That close attention to detail is what can make or break an investigation…it can mean the difference of a suspect getting released of charges…it can mean life or death. To some people attention to detail is someone (like a supervisor or instructor) constantly nagging about the little things. To other’s, especially those of us that are/were military and the type “A” personalities…attention to detail means a great deal. It is something that grows on you after awhile and it’s something that you have to do every day…not just for inspections or to look good for graduation or to look good on a written test. It becomes a way of life. The academy staff is really trying to instill that sense of “Attention to Detail” so it becomes for a lack of a better word, “Muscle Memory”. If we do it without thinking…”Why?, what’s this for?”…then we will be better off in the long run.
We ended last week on a really good note, then Monday came. We didn’t pay attention to those small details. We forgot as a team, to take out the trash and clean up the classroom. Again, it may seem trivial to some, but it’s the small things that will come back to bite us, and that’s exactly what happen. One of the instructors had to pick up the slack and take care of something that’s our responsibility. So, we had a couple moments of clarity today, which included 50 push-ups and more. But it’s not the physical “Re-Focusing” exercises we do that hurt…it’s the fact we let the academy staff down. They keep telling us we did a great job and we are really coming along…then we do something like this and we are basically back to day 1. Deputy Johnson even took away our Guidon. One of the most visible symbols we have…as a team and now it’s gone. We have to earn it back. We have to prove to the staff we are worthy of carrying the Guidon and that we not only respect it, we respect the staff, we respect ourselves and we respect each other. You would think as adults…that would be easy to do…but sometimes it’s not that easy. We are under a lot of stress and pressure and it’s during these times…that the little things slip through the cracks. I know we will get it together…it’s just takes time.
Last week seemed to drag on forever. We started the week with first aid and CPR and that’s where the fun stopped. Not really. We had A LOT of law classes last week, which is the norm for this profession. The law classes are not only long, but there is so much information to remember. The big “Blue Book” we were issued at the beginning of this academy is well used at this point. I think I have used highlighters on almost every page and it still seems like I will never get it all down. I really want to do my best to remember as much as I can about the laws, but then again…that’s what the book is for, so we don’t have to memorize everything.
We had a class on the “Rules of Evidence”, which was somewhat interesting. It covered not only the types of evidence we can see and collect, but what is admissible in court trials. It’s a little scary to add all this information up and think about what we are responsible for. We not only have a responsibility to the citizen’s to protect and serve, but we are safeguarding their Constitutional rights by not violating them when we need to collect evidence, when we write affidavits, when we conduct search warrants. This job is not just about writing speeding tickets and catching the “Bad Guy”. There’s a lot to learn.
Another class we had last week covered how we observe people on the street, as well as how the memory works. This class not only covered how our memories, as Police Officers work, but how to get a victim or witness to recall things in their memories. The instructor who taught the class was with us for 4 hours and at the end we did an exercise to see how much we could remember. She had us write everything down that we could recall about her. She just stood in front of us for 4 hours, and it was amazing the little details I could not recall. It’s those little details that would be important to an investigation. Just an amazing exercise to show me once again, that paying close attention to detail is critical in this job.
That close attention to detail is what can make or break an investigation…it can mean the difference of a suspect getting released of charges…it can mean life or death. To some people attention to detail is someone (like a supervisor or instructor) constantly nagging about the little things. To other’s, especially those of us that are/were military and the type “A” personalities…attention to detail means a great deal. It is something that grows on you after awhile and it’s something that you have to do every day…not just for inspections or to look good for graduation or to look good on a written test. It becomes a way of life. The academy staff is really trying to instill that sense of “Attention to Detail” so it becomes for a lack of a better word, “Muscle Memory”. If we do it without thinking…”Why?, what’s this for?”…then we will be better off in the long run.
We ended last week on a really good note, then Monday came. We didn’t pay attention to those small details. We forgot as a team, to take out the trash and clean up the classroom. Again, it may seem trivial to some, but it’s the small things that will come back to bite us, and that’s exactly what happen. One of the instructors had to pick up the slack and take care of something that’s our responsibility. So, we had a couple moments of clarity today, which included 50 push-ups and more. But it’s not the physical “Re-Focusing” exercises we do that hurt…it’s the fact we let the academy staff down. They keep telling us we did a great job and we are really coming along…then we do something like this and we are basically back to day 1. Deputy Johnson even took away our Guidon. One of the most visible symbols we have…as a team and now it’s gone. We have to earn it back. We have to prove to the staff we are worthy of carrying the Guidon and that we not only respect it, we respect the staff, we respect ourselves and we respect each other. You would think as adults…that would be easy to do…but sometimes it’s not that easy. We are under a lot of stress and pressure and it’s during these times…that the little things slip through the cracks. I know we will get it together…it’s just takes time.
A moment of silence for fallen officers
Formal uniform inspection
SGT Wygant conducts the inspection
Does anyone have a lint roller??
