Nachos for Fifty and Cameras for a Million or so

When the mundane is mixed with the extraordinary, the only word that can be used to describe the situation is surreal. That is what today was like. As expected, I arrived at the storefront and thus proceeded to continue where we left off yesterday passing out fliers. From the get go, a kind, elderly woman walked out and had a conversation with us as we passed by her house. This is when I learned another valuable function of doing tasks like the one that was at hand. After introductions and a little small talk, she cut right to the chase. She suspected her neighbors to be dealing drugs out of their house. The idea began when she noticed how the house next door was always having lots of traffic after midnight and later. So, being fed up with the situation, she told us in the hopes of having them arrested. Apparently, it is information like this that is instrumental in learning of the location of dealers, making buys, and finally having them thrown in prison. The tiny tidbits given out here ad there start an avalanche of actions. While nothing like it was in the 80s and 90s, the neighborhood still has a handful of suspected drug houses and general trouble spots. The day wasn’t all narcotics though. There was a health mixture of theft in there too. Several Businesses in the area have had pipes, wiring, and ac units stolen from the outside of there properties this month. Plenty of business owners told us about this problem and were encouraged to take action by installing more lights, filing another police report, or even attending the crime watch meetings. Not everything that was stolen though was metal. Right outside the police storefront someone stole a sign that had the date and time for the next crime watch meeting. Little did the bold criminal know that there was a camera not 100 ft. from where the sign was. Thus began our adventure to dispatch and communications. Dispatch is the place where police get their assignments over the radio. It was also our first stop on our way to the video surveillance room. The sequence goes like this: Someone calls 911, the kind people at communications answer the call and reroutes the call to the police ( or fire it depends), a dispatcher then gives the assignment to the appropriate officer and rushes over to see what can be done. The amount of technology required to do this is ridiculous. At each cubical there was a minimum of four monitors- all of them running, all of them with different information. I though two was more than enough. four seems excessive to me, but hey, to each their own. It wasn’t until I saw the sergeant’s desk that I though things were really over the top. Her job was to monitor the dispatchers and make sure everything was running ok. To do this, she needed seven monitors running. In short, that job seems crazy complicated. After our little tour though, we found our way back on track in the video room. Things turned big brother after we started looking at the cameras. Spread out over Dallas, there are 120 plus cameras streaming live feed to the surveillance room and recording every second of it. The purpose is obvious. The police want to help stop more crimes. In all honesty, it has been helpful in that regard. We spent the next 20 or so minutes watching the horrible things that have been caught on camera. Traffic accidents, manslaughter, and a shameful mugging were the chosen highlights. One can only be happy that crimes like this are stopped thanks to this technology. But things did get a little creepy. We watched footage of Ms. Parris and I putting up signs by the side of the road. At the time, I had no idea I was being watched and was frankly a little unsettled at the notion that at any given time someone could be recording my every action. To add to my mild worries, I was informed that 300 cameras were to be installed very soon. It is my advice to avoid doing anything illegal on the road or near the intersection. To top off our informative escapade and end the day, we ordered nachos for the meeting tonight. I couldn’t help but notice the camera right on the corner watching my mundanity.     

Out of the Car and into the Community

                   There is a noticeable difference when one moves from the cold, concrete and steel jungle to the suburbs. At least, that’s what I learned today. There was no racing here and there in a squad car; today was about building up to community. I was sent down to a police storefront. For those who don’t know, a police storefront is essentially a local police station that has a larger part in the community. The area in I was in had a reputation for heavy drug affiliation in the 80’s. Built in 2009-2010, the hope was to turn the community around and change the lives of the locals of the 62 blocks it encompassed. There is more of a local out reach. So today I was sent out with Ms. Paris, a kind woman who is trying to beef up participation in the Neighborhood Watch, to hand out fliers for the upcoming meeting. Besides handing out hundreds of fliers and avoiding several dogs, we stayed and chatted with the locals for an extended period of time. To be honest it was more than pleasant. It was tranquil reminder of what life could be when the hustle and bustle melts away. I learned today that there is a common problem in the world of a police officer and the world of a teenage kid. In one there is a lack of motivation to get active, and in the other there is a lack of motivation to care. In both there is a looming sense of apathy. Thus, talking to people today may have been Ms. Paris and I’s most important function today. By talking, making friends, and sharing stories there is greater incentive to go to the meetings and trying to make a difference. The hope is to show the life and vibrancy to the outsiders who condemn the program as cold and dead. There was a particular gentleman who debated with us for a good while about almost everything under the sun. Before our conversation really took off, he stated that the Neighborhood Watch would fail. Several topics later as we were leaving, he said good bye to us like he’s known us for years after opening up to us and sharing some important stories in his life. I have no doubt that he will show up at 6:30 tomorrow night.

Day One on the Job

             If you’re at all like me, you flinch ever so slightly when you see a police car. You can imagine then how petrified I was when I saw the field of cop cars as I pulled into the downtown police station at 7 ‘o’ clock. It wasn’t until I remembered I was here voluntarily and I wasn’t actually in any trouble did I loosen my death vice on the steering wheel. This morning experience actually embodies the entirety of my day. Expectations and reality aren’t always the same thing. As I met Officer Roberts of the DPD (Dallas Police Department) he wasn’t a cold blue suit that begrudgingly dragged me through the station. In fact it was A pleasant experience with plenty of talking, laughing, and telling stories. Even as we got into the police car, I was greeted by the sound of a familiar tune. How outrageous! I had never thought before that something as serious as a cop car could even do such a thing. From the very beginning though, my silly thoughts were pushed aside as we got assigned our first call from the radio. For those who don’t know a call is just the things an officer does to respond to a 911 call. The range of tasks we preformed that day was pretty broad. From the simple things like expired inspection stickers (don’t worry, he got off with a warning) to more serious things like dealing with the aftermath of domestic violence. All of this on top of my endless questions about police rules, protocol, and life in general (which Mr. Roberts was nice enough to both tolerate and answer all of them). I don’t want to ruin everything. I need some stuff for my presentation, but I did learn a lot of things today that I wont soon forget. It was a pleasant experience that I look forward to doing again tomorrow.