Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

The Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department is one of the biggest agencies in California.

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year? What has made it a positive experience for you?
• Some things that have worked well for me regarding my senior project this year is finding more mentors that specialize in certain fields within the law enforcement career and being able to go on as many ride along as I wish to. One part that I want to incorporate in my senior project is the different perspectives from Sherriff's and Police Department. Every agency has their own way of handling calls for service therefore, joining another explorer post would benefit my project a lot more.
• My mentors are always supportive and helpful in many different ways. Going on ride alongs has taught me a lot about becoming a police officer. One must be able to perform under pressure, be able to make quick decisions and always keep "Officer Safety" in mind.
2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project? How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you? How might the senior team help?
• What I find difficult concerning my senior project is the scheduling that I have between my mentors and I. It tends to get very difficult at times to go on ride alongs because my mentor will cancel last minute due to having a busy work schedule or an emergency that must be taken care of. There are several ways I can adapt to the problem and that is go on ride alongs with other officers even though they are not my mentor. Like I've stated before, every agency has their own way of handling calls for service and within that agency officers tend to have their own way of handling a call. Riding with Officers who are not my mentors will teach me several ways of handling  calls for service or different techniques when it comes to police reports. Another thing that I find somewhat difficult is being able to go on ride alongs with other agencies. Some agencies have an age limit which is 18 years of age and other agencies you must be a participating Explorer. I may have found the solution to the previous concern and that is joining another explorer post but instead of being the Police Department it would be the Sherriff's Department. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way possible that the senior team may be able to help.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

The picture above was taken long before my interviewee who is on the right side, Jeffrey Cox, retired.

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview? Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?
• There are several things that I learned throughout the interview but something that stood out the most was the change in Law Enforcement back then to now and the way it's viewed by the outside world. Mr. Cox stated that people now have a tendency of using their cellphones to either take picture or record the scene when officer are responding to a call for service. The action that those people take are making the life of an officer much more difficult due to being viewed in various ways. One common error that is done by citizens is that if a police officer is seen going hands on a suspect it is right away determined as "Police Brutality" therefore laws and regulations are being changed and enforced. Today's technology is much more advanced than technology from 20 years ago and that is mainly because the world we live in is constantly innovating everything. It does make communication much more easier, but it also makes the internet a much more useful tool which in some cases is not needed when used in the wrong way.
• I would ask more questions and try to have better communication with the person I'm interviewing. I would also relax a bit more so that the interview flow much more smoothly.
2. Did I get additional resources and contacts? What is the most useful? Why?
• In the interview itself I did not get any additional contacts that would benefit me but I did receive a recommendation of people who I should interview next for further information about Law Enforcement. Mr. Cox informed me about retired or active police officers that write books, one being Joseph Wambaugh who wrote "The Onion Field" based on a true story. Before starting the interview Mr. Cox had informed me of several connections he has who are retired Officers, FBI Agents, detectives, Captains, etc. that would benefit me in my Senior Project.
3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?
• My interviewee is a retired officer who worked for two different Police Departments in his short career time. Mr. Cox has experience with K9, detective work, patrol officer, Explorer Advisor, and performing the task of a Corporal as well as Sergeant. Due to Mr. Cox's background affiliation with Law Enforcement and the countless hours he put in work for his career it can be said that he was successful in that field of choice. Although he retired at an early age he shows knowledge of effective techniques that are implemented in his daily life and has also helped him become the person who he is today. 
   

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep

 

1. Write a short explanation of what you are hoping to accomplish through your senior project topic. You will be sharing out on what you've written here with your house advisory and classmates on Friday, 9/11.
• Throughout the course of my Senior Project which is, Law Enforcement, I am hoping to accomplish many things with it. First of all, the main reason why Law Enforcement is my Senior Project Topic is due to the fact that in today's society Law Enforcement Officers are viewed matter, criticized and looked down upon. Many believe that Law Enforcement Officers abuse of the power that is given to them and don't do what's right for the community. A goal would be to prove all the people with those types of mentality wrong. In the 3 years that I've been in the Explorers Program I've had the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with many Police Officers as well as retired ones. I've learned so much about them and I've also had the chance of riding with some. While on patrol I get to see the many things that others don't such as the stress that they undergo and the critical decisions they make in a blink of an eye. It is their duty to keep the community safe and help anyone who needs it. Law Enforcement Officers out their lives on the line for citizens whom they don't even know. They take their job seriously; even though, there are some Officers who do abuse the power they have it does not necessarily mean that all of them fall under that same category. In today's society everyone receives a label no matter of their so called "ranking in life". It's all about how you act in life or your physical appearance which is how one is judged by others. Officers receive the label of "pigs" which does go back to many years. This is an example that everyone is given labels and the amount of authority or their profession would not matter. One last thing that I plan to accomplish through my Senior Project Topic is to give other individuals the basic knowledge about the way Law Enforcement truly works and the different divisions a department may offer. For those who are interest but don't know where to begin their research, my topic will give them the necessary tools to understand a lot better what Law Enforcement is about. Many believe that once you go into the Law Enforcement career you will always be a Patrol Officer which is not true. There are opportunities throughout your career that will allow you to rank up which is the same thing as receiving a promotion. Another way to become something "greater" is to specialize in something specific such as Narcotics, Undercover, Gangs, etc. In order to become an Officer who is qualified and ready to be an expert in a specific division they must be a Patrol Officer for a certain amount of years. It is important that one knows exactly what they are getting themselves into when pursuing a career as dangerous as Law Enforcement.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview? Why?
• The person who I plan to interview is my mentor, Officer Rodriguez. The reason being would be the experience he's had while being in patrol as well as being part of the rigorous SWAT Tactics Force team. Like I've stated in my previous blog, Officer Rodriguez has been exposed to all sorts of call for service which makes him the best person to be interviewed.
2. Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask. What additional questions do you plan to ask? Ask open-ended questions.
• How did you prepare yourself for this type of career?
• What are somethings that has helped you the most while being on patrol?
• Why did you choose to follow this pathway as your career?

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

 

 

This is one of the many patrol units that Police Officers use when going on patrol.

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.
• Officer A. Rodriguez
• (909) 620- 2155
• Pomona Police Department
2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?
• Officer Rodriguez is one of the many police officer who work for the City of Pomona. What makes him stand out from others and what qualifies him as an expert in the field would be the many countless hours and dedication he puts into his career. Besides being a Police Officer he is part of the few group of Police Officers who volunteer their time to lead as example and teach teenagers from ages 14-21 the reality behind a Law Enforcement career.  The group of teenagers is known as the Pomona Police Explorers Post 160. Officer Rodriguez started off as a Pomona Police Explorer in his early teens, he then graduated from the Academy and began his career as a Pomona Police Officer with a degree on Psychology. He's been working in the department since 2008 and throughout his career he's experienced many things that other Police Officers from other agencies don't experience throughout their career. Officer Rodriguez has received training about patrol, narcotics, gangs, SWAT and has received several trainees who are graduates from the Academy. He's dealt with numerous foot and vehicle pursuits, high priority calls, life threatening situations and many more.  
3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.
• What are some ways to handle robbery, burglary, and petty theft incidents?
• What is the training to specialize in certain areas such as gangs or narcotics consist of?
• What is consider a threat and not a threat when handling priority one incidents? 
4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
• While being on patrol with my mentor I learned several things about my career. The thing that stood out the most was always having officer safety. Meaning, an officer must know at all times their current location when assisting a call, keeping a certain distance from civilians and searching an individual for any possible weapons or drugs. Officer safety can be said to be the number one thing that keeps an officer safe from possible danger. My mentor along with backing officers displayed that factor at all times because as many know there will always be people who dislike officers and will do anything to harm them. 
5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did mentorship help you make your decision? Please explain.
• My Senior project topic will be Law Enforcement and what influenced my decision was being part of the Explorers program since my freshman year of high school. I found a burning desire to learn more and explore what really means to be a police officer and the mental as well as the physical training one must undergo in order to be prepared for the real life problems especially in a city where no one ever knows what to expect. Mentorship for me consisted of many ride alongs with my mentor, Officer Rodriguez, which gave me the necessary tools to comprehend what a police officer does when being on patrol. Besides being an Explorer for Pomona, mentorship helped me in making my final decision about focusing in Law Enforcement to be my Senior Project. I found that it is unpredictable what a Police Officer may face when being on duty which means they always have to "expect the unexpected" and that is the main factor that influenced my decision. I have a passion for Law Enforcement and becoming a Police Officer who works for Pomona is a dream that will come true when the day comes.

The picture above is a clear example of Officer Safety put to the test.



Blog 1 - Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

 This career is not for everyone.

1. What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?
• The three lessons that were most helpful was: Criminal Profiling, U.S. Military Intelligence, and Negligence Law. Criminal Profiling by Justine Solorio was helpful because it somewhat ties into what I'm looking to do as my Senior project and it also gave me ideas on how to present the topic so that my audience will be able to understand it. U.S. Military Intelligence by Daniel Bustamante was another helpful presentation because of the way he explained his research as well as vocabulary words was neat and organized. Throughout his presentation he had appealing pictures that related to the slide and his activity tied in well with the whole project. The last presentation that I found helpful was Negligence Law by Nathan Guevara, he had such an interesting topic due to the way he presented it. His presentation was one of the best ones due to the way he communicated with his audience and the activities that he had throughout his presentation.
2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?
• When preparing for research checks that are every Friday, don't leave it to the last minute to do research. By that I mean, start early in the weekday to be able to finish before the deadline without stressing a lot.
3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?
• I'm considering to do Law Enforcement because I have a big interest in that field and from my previous experience I can tell that everyday it's something new that a police officer has to work with. Another topic that I'm considering to do is CSI, Crime Scene Investigation. In the past I've practiced different scenarios that involve CSI. I find it interesting that a case can be solved through the evidence left behind, it's like solving a long and difficult puzzle.  
4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest).
• How does a police officer determine how to deal with a threat?
5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?
• Well, I've been in the Explorer's Program since freshman year and I've had the chance to ask several police officers if they would be willing to mentor me throughout my senior project. So I'll be doing many ride alongs in my summer to obtain a greater knowledge and actually go in depth. If I were to choose CSI as my topic then in the department there is a special team who specialize in that field. Therefore, I would need to get in contact with them and ask if not all of them then one to mentor me.