Citizen’s Police Academy – Week Six
Today was a pretty good day for those of us in the Citizen’s Police Academy. We had our official class picture taken with the chief and assistant chief of police in front of the famous Carmel fountain.
After that we walked over to the Mobile Command Vehicle which they had set-up behind the firehouse. It was pretty interesting to hear about, as it has some pretty nice capabilities. I guess the best way to describe it would be to call it a mobile office. This thing is decked out with mobile communications which allows them to get work done without being tethered to their office or patrol car.
Need to have a video conference? There’s a camera in the back part of the vehicle. Need internet access? Plug in your computer and you’re connected. Need to set up a separate radio dispatch channel for an emergency? There are radios and room for dispatch to work.
The city bought this vehicle as a shared resource between the Carmel Police Department and Carmel Fire Department. Other agencies in the area may also request the vehicle as well, but Carmel has priority. You can find it at big events such as CarmelFest, Rock the District, PGA Golf Tournament. But it is more intended for times when Carmel PD or Fire may need to remain on the scene for a few days: major accident, homicide scene, crisis negotiation, etc.
The vehicle is essentially divided up into four sections. The front is obviously for the driver, the second part is for radio communication (and coffee, ha ha!), the third part is a noise-isolated room, and the fourth section is a conference area. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:
The last half of the class was dedicated to the complaint process and special investigations/drug enforcement. The complaint process was pretty straight-forward, if you have a problem with an officer you can file a complaint and they will investigate. A lot of times the complaints are unfounded, for example, someone was mad they were pulled over. Of course, citizens can always file a complaint with the city attorney if they feel like the police department didn’t handle it appropriately. Basically, I learned that there are checks and balances within the system, but it’s important to know where to turn.
The special investigations division/drug enforcement was pretty fun to listen to, because when you’re listening to someone who has had years of undercover narcotics under his belt, he has some great stories. We learned a lot about the different types of drugs that are out there, their street names, effects, etc. He also passed around some of the different drugs so we’d know what they’d look like… and yes, we were careful and everything was accounted for.
Perhaps what I learned most from the officer telling us about narcotics is that it’s a problem, more in Indianapolis than Carmel. Indianapolis used to be a dot on the map for drug distribution, meaning that it would get to Indianapolis, but it wasn’t a big player. Indianapolis is now more of a hub, meaning it comes straight from Mexico to here… really makes you think.
Well friends, I had a lot of stuff thrown at me tonight and SO much information. If you want to learn more about drug enforcement and drug education, I’m sure you can search for it on the internet and come across some handy sites. As for me? I am off to bed. I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and a little bit of insight!
I will not be doing a post next week, since our class isn’t meeting due to spring break. But, stay tuned because our next class will cover Emergency Vehicle Operations and K-9 Demonstrations (I’ll try to take some video… we’ll see!). Take care!