Guest posts from Keith Bettinger and other street veterans. Also, miscellaneous but important things in the cop world–training, forensics, stress management, etc.
It was my understanding that the faculty was in the process of revamping the physical fitness training, though what my class was presented with I found to be less than challenging. Unlike virtually all the other subject areas, such as criminal law, criminalistics, and firearms, our class did not have an instructor dedicated to physical conditioning. To be sure, we had someone to teach weaponless or hand to hand tactics but no one was assigned for every day physical training (PT) something which I had practically lived by over the prior four years in the Army. More often than not, our PT consisted of volleyball or disorganized workouts in the weight room. We did do some running, usually no more than two miles and generally less, during which time nearly everyone complained. For me at that time, a mile run was a warm up as I had been used to running up to five miles in full combat gear in under 40 minutes. I cannot recall if we had to pass a PT test to graduate beyond completing an obstacle course within a specified time frame. I thought then as I do now that we rendered a disservice with such lackadaisical physical conditioning. Aside from the obvious health benefits, maintaining a high state of physical conditioning is essential in surviving street encounters from fist fights to foot pursuits to the use of deadly force. I do know this all eventually changed for the better.
Academics: Codes
Police Cadets
Contrary to Zed’s bit of wisdom my academy class spent a great deal of time in the classroom receiving instruction on subjects ranging from the obvious like criminal law to the not so obvious such as report writing. However, looking back, the first place to which my Field Training Officer took me when I was with the Sheriff’s Office was a Winchell’s Donut shop. I guess there was a bit of truth to what Zed had to say. Be that as it may, with my education, I came to the academy with a pretty thorough knowledge of most of the subject areas we upon which we were to receive training. However, unlike the laid back university setting where I earned that degree over four years of study, I was going to receive much of that same information, updated of course, and more distilled and concentrated into a 12 week time frame. Hours were spent on learning the fundamentals of California Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Things that now still seem so basic were new to many of us back then such as the differences between statutory and case law–both of which we needed to know. What were felony, misdemeanor and infraction type of crimes? We committed to memory the elements of the more commonly used sections of the Penal Code, such as 211 P.C. which is robbery or 459 P.C. which is burglary. We had to know the applicable sections of the Business and Professions Code, particularly those parts dealing with Alcoholic Beverages. There were the parts of the Health and Safety Code about drugs, legal and illicit. We had to know the sections of the Welfare and Institutions Code some of which dealt with children and psychiatric cases. Then there was the California Vehicle Code, which covered everything from Driving Under the Influence to what color the front turn signals on a particular year car have to be.
All those various codes and laws were just really a foundation and a starting point. Knowing what constituted a violation of a particular law was just part of the process. There followed training on complex the laws governing arrest, probable to detain versus probable cause to arrest. We had to know the most up to date court decisions and laws governing Search and Seizure. Then there were the courts; traffic, municipal and superior. As a peace officer, you had to know the differences between them and what type of case went to what court. Beyond that we had to have a working knowledge of how the criminal justice system functioned from the filing of a criminal complaint to an arraignment to a court or jury trial. If that wasn’t complex enough, there were separate systems for adult and juveniles.
Weapons: Firearms Training
Witchita, Kansas Police Recruit shooting training
I was not the only one with a college background in Criminal Justice. Though we were familiar with much of the material, some of it was new and it was coming at us fast and furious. Fortunately, there was plenty of practical, hands-on training that got us out of the classroom. Naturally, we all looked forward to firearms training. Levels of experience with firearms varied greatly among us. Many grew up around guns through hunting and other sporting activities. As a result of my Army training, I had a familiarity with a very wide assortment of firearms, though it seemed highly unlikely I would have need of an anti-tank missile system as a deputy sheriff. The duty weapon I was to carry as a deputy was a .357 magnum revolver, which took some getting used to as my sidearm while in the Military Police was the classic military .45 semi-automatic pistol. In the late seventies and early eighties, firearm training was on the cusp of a revolution, both in technology and theory. While I hate to keep beating the proverbial dead cavalry horse about my Army experience, I had been exposed to some of this new training. While in the Army, I experienced interactive training with lasers giving immediate feedback under simulated combat conditions; automated targets made to look like human silhouettes; and shooting in a variety of conditions both in lighting and weather. Our firearms instructors were some of the best, most knowledgeable people in the world.
Gone were the days of simply plinking away at a stationary target.
Check in Sunday for part 3 and conclusion of Gerry Goldshine’s incisive and vivid glimpse into 1980’s police academy.
“Cadets, I’d now like to discuss something that’ll be vital for you to know when your, like, out here, on the job, as a police officer. And, that’s the correct way on how to eat a doughnut.”
—Zed McGlunk, “Police Academy 2”
Police Academy
Part 1 of 3
For most people, those words immediately bring to mind a series of allegedly comedic and increasingly farcical films that first surfaced in the eighties. While far-fetched, one of the few aspects of police work those movies got right was that first critical training virtually every police officer, deputy sheriff, highway patrol officer, constable or even FBI agent has to accomplish is to complete some type of basic training course otherwise known as “The Academy”. Most all law enforcement academies generally have a two-fold purpose. The first is most obviously to prepare a cadet or recruit both academically and physically for the demands that will be place upon them upon graduation. The second function of the academy is to identify and screen out those unsuitable for a career in law enforcement because of academic deficiencies, inability to meet the physical demands or psychological issues. How both are accomplished varies widely usually due to state training mandates, departmental training philosophies or a combination of both. Some are near-military in their training approach with high stress and intense discipline as one might find in a “boot” camp. Others take a more relaxed, college campus type approach to training. Upon graduation, if they are hired, most “rookies” will face additional training and screening through some type of field training program. Despite the plethora of books, movies or television shows of the police genre, few if any ever touch upon this essential basic training experience in anyway other than in a cursory manner. As every recruit is an individual, they bring to this formative training, differing levels of life experience, work experience, academics, physical capabilities and emotional maturity. Consequently, while there are common training goals each recruit must meet, each one comes away with a differing perspective of their overall academy experience.
My Academy
My academy training took place in late 1979. While what I encountered was unique to me given my background, it does provide a framework for what someone going into the profession and attending a smaller, regional police academy in the early 1980’s might encounter. I was hired by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office who sent me to the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) Police Academy in Santa Rosa, California. I had a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Los Angeles and had just spent almost four years on active duty as a commissioned officer in the Army. I had been through some of the most stressful, physically demanding and mentally challenging training that the military offered at that time. I had in fact actually begun my law enforcement career almost two years earlier when I received a transfer from the Infantry to the Military Police. Still, I savvy enough to know I had much to learn as there are vast differences between the missions of military law enforcement and civilian. Then, what were my overall expectations and goals as I embarked upon this training? I knew that I was not going to be one of those insufferable people who boasted that I was going to finish at the head of my class leaving all others in the dust. I had my fill of those types in the Army. I set out to learn all the tools I would need to build a foundation for my law enforcement career. There was also a much simpler, straightforward objective; gain the knowledge necessary to make it through the Field Training program back at the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Personalities aside…
Beside myself, there were two other recruits from the Sheriff’s Office. The largest contingent of recruits was from a Silicon Valley Department of Public Safety. I found it a bit startling when I learned that there were several people in the class who had not been hired by any particular department; in essence, they were “civilians” putting themselves through the training in the hopes that successful completion would make them a more attractive employment prospect. I was also surprised at how small our class was; while I don’t recall the exact number of people who started training, I do know that 24 of us graduated and there was not an especially high attrition rate. I say this because at that time, SRJC ran a low stress, college-like training program that was twelve weeks long. Having a small class was not necessarily a bad thing because it meant much more one and one interaction with the various instructors. For me, the relaxed training atmosphere took some getting used to and as I was the only recruit with any military training, I often found the lack of discipline disconcerting.
Police Academy 3
As it was still the dawn of women moving from administrative and non-sworn positions to becoming street officers and though they numbered less than a half dozen at the start–one of whom was a fellow SCSO recruit. I did not find it particularly upsetting to have women among my class mates; they had been moving into “non-traditional” occupational specialties in the Army for some time, so I was quite used to training alongside and working with women. Some of the less enlightened male recruits felt differently and made no effort to hide their opinion that women did not belong, behaving like stereotypical misogynists. One of these “gentlemen” almost a perfect match to the “Police Academy” character “Mahoney” but with all the negative traits and none of the positive. Like Mahoney, somehow this person managed to make it all the way through training and graduated with the other recruits from his department.
There were other members of the class that could also have come straight out of that movie, though many of the personality types seemed endemic to every training course I had been through, both in the military and then law enforcement. There always seemed to be a “Tackleberry” type; the guy who carried a virtual arsenal in the trunk of his car, always wore camouflage fatigues, often reckless and always overeager. With the co-ed integration of women into training classes in the military and then the academy, there was usually some variation of the character “Hooks”; a female trainee soft of voice, uncertain of her abilities, and often deferring to men. Invariably there was someone like “Hightower”, the huge muscular guy who was smarter that he appeared, gentler than he seemed and loyal as a puppy dog to his friends. Finally there invariably seemed to be someone like the characters “Sweetchuck” and “Fackler”; this was the guy who tripped over his own feet, walked into closed doors, had a voice that cracked when under stress, lacked a scintilla of common sense and invariably either shot himself in the foot or a fellow classmate in the arse.
Looking back, each in their own way made the training far more “interesting” though at the time I’m sure many of us considered them with less kindly thoughts.
Part 2 is coming soon.
Petaluma Police T-36 Gerry Goldshine 1987 photo by Mike Kerns
Gerry Goldshine is the author of this guest post.Born in Providence, Rhode Island but raised in Southern California. Upon graduating California State University, Los Angeles, Gerry enlisted in the Army and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. After leaving active duty in 1979, he worked for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. From 1980 until his retirement in 1996, he was a patrol officer, traffic officer, gang officer, field training officer and criminal resource officer at Petaluma Police Department. He has received training from Northwestern University Traffic Institute, California Highway Patrol, Institute of Police Technology and Management, Texas A&M Engineering Extension, College of the Redwoods and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Operation Safe Streets. He’s been married to his wife Linda for 33 years, has a daughter and lives in Sonoma County, California.
About 100 members of Session 251 went to New York City last weekend on the class trip that is arranged for each session by the students from NYPD. We loaded the buses on Friday afternoon and drove up to our Hotel a few blocks from Times Square. The 5 hour bus ride went relatively quickly, and we were able to explore Times Square late Friday night. This was my first time there, and it was an incredible place. I kept thinking of the song lyrics about the city that never sleeps. That is absolutely correct. The place was packed late into the night. The big screens all over the place lit up the streets and many were in costume, hopefully for Halloween.
Real Time Crime Center
NYPD’s Real Time Crime Center
The group got tours of the NYPD Museum, NYPD Headquarters at One Police Plaza, and the NYPD Special Operations Division at Floyd Bennett Field. One of the NYPD students in our class is a Sergeant assigned to the Real Time Crime Center at headquarters and the other was just accepted into the NYPD Aviation Unit to be trained as a helicopter pilot. The Real Time Crime Center is a great concept. It is staffed 24/7 and has giant screens along one wall with numerous feeds available, from NYPD and private surveillance cameras to cable tv. Their detectives and analysts provide real-time data to officers and detectives working cases on the street. For example, when a major crime occurs, the RTCC can instantly access the 911 call and push it out to the officers on the scene. They can run records checks from numerous sources on names, license plates, etc., find links and get that information out right away to help the cop on the street. It is a great capability. We also saw the Joint Operations Center at headquarters. This is an even bigger operation with screens along all four walls, seats and computers for people from numerous departments. The JOC serves as New York’s EOC, and is manned right now for Hurricane Sandy. The amount of information available in the RTC and JOC is incredible, with much of it focused on NYPD’s mission of counter terrorism.
NYPD Joint Operations Center at One Police Plaza
Special Operations Division
The Special Operations Division put on an air-sea rescue demonstration. They co-locate their aviation and scuba assets, so that they are able to rapidly respond to emergencies in the waters around New York. They also have an impressive boat capability. For the demonstration, they dropped two divers from one of their Bell helicopters (looks like an updated Huey) into the water to rescue a “victim”, and then picked them all up with a Zodiac. The NYPD helicopters, and many of the officers, carry radiation detection devices that are so sensitive they have alarmed for people who recently underwent radiation treatment for cancer.
NYC Time Square sensory overload
New York City-an amazing place to be
We were also able to see some of the New York attractions like Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial, and the Empire State Building. It was an interesting and worthwhile trip. The NYPD treated us well and even surprised us with a performance by a group from their Pipe and Drum Band at dinner on Saturday. One of the things that stuck with me from the trip was the tremendous scope of everything in the City, from the size and population of the city to the size of the NYPD and their capabilities. It was a great place to visit, but there are some real differences in organizational culture and attitudes between NYPD and what I am used to in Santa Rosa. It was a great place to see, but I’m glad I live and work where I do.
We’re back in Quantico now, and classes are cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. The storm hasn’t been anything special so far here, but they are predicting the worst winds to hit between 8 pm and 1 am tonight. Hopefully the effects won’t be too bad and people are staying indoors and safe. ‘till next time….
The following is a guest post from Craig Schwartz, a Lieutenant (for now) at Santa Rosa Police Department. He is posting on Facebook under the SRPD page. This is a copy of the first post. The intro is from the FBI website explaining the purpose of the academy.
I think you’ll agree–this kind of training only furthers the professionalism of all cops, through the ranks.
FBI National Academy seal
The National Academy
The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement leaders that serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide.
Its mission is “to support, promote, and enhance the personal and professional development of law enforcement leaders by preparing them for complex, dynamic, and contemporary challenges through innovative techniques, facilitating excellence in education and research, and forging partnerships throughout the world.”
Who attends.
Leaders and managers of state and local police, sheriffs’ departments, military police organizations, and federal law enforcement agencies. Participation is by invitation only, though a nomination process. Participants are drawn from every state in the union, from U.S. territories, and from over 150 international partner nations. See below for more details on graduates over the years.
The course of study.
For 10 classroom-hour weeks, four times a year, classes of some 250 officers take undergraduate and/or graduate college courses at our Quantico, Virginia, campus in the following areas: law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorism/terrorist mindsets, leadership development, communication, and health/fitness. Officers participate in a wide range of leadership and specialized training, and they share ideas, techniques, and experiences with each other, creating lifelong partnerships that span state and national lines.
Lt Craig Schwartz
Craig Schwartz
Hello everyone,
We have finished our first week here in Quantico, with 10 to go. This has been a tremendous experience so far, with great classes and instructors along with excellent opportunities to meet and learn from other law enforcement leaders from around the world. There are 262 students in session 251 of the FBI National Academy, representing 49 states and over 20 foreign countries. I have met students from Kurdistan in northern Iraq, France, Argentina, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Afghanistan, Antigua, Ukraine, and more. It is interesting to talk to leaders from agencies in other states to learn how they deal with the law enforcement and management issues we all face. My roommate is from a small department in Kansas, with 13 employees serving a population of 5,000 people. Despite the small size of his agency, he has been able to share experiences with programs that are worth evaluating for our department.
I have six classes here. The classes are both graduate and undergraduate level courses accredited through the University of Virginia. The two I will focus on in this update are: Intelligence Theory and Application for Law Enforcement Managers; and Solving Ethical Dilemmas in Law Enforcement. The intelligence class focuses on using data and intelligence to drive law enforcement operations, as well as methods for sharing that information between law enforcement agencies. We will have several guest speakers in the class, including Debra Piehl, a project manager for Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS). The class on ethics has already resulted in lively discussions about moral and ethical dilemmas from history and those we currently face. It is a class that challenges our ideas about ourselves and how we look at the world. Both classes should provide excellent learning points to bring home with me.
The Academy also focuses a great deal on fitness, with three fitness classes each week and two physical challenges for students. One, the Yellow Brick Road, culminates in a 6.1 mile run which includes a 3+ mile section over the Marine Corps endurance course. There are 26 obstacles on the course. We participate in a challenge each week, until we do the Yellow Brick Road Course in week 10. Students who complete the challenge are awarded a yellow brick with their class number stenciled on it. The other challenge is for the blue brick. To complete that challenge students must swim at least 34 miles during the program. I’m five miles in after week 1.
Each Wednesday is an enrichment day, with guest speakers and other events scheduled. More on that next time…
As with any para-military organization, there must be leadership. Although it is often portrayed with fair accuracy in the entertainment media, I still find lots of discrepancies in the roles played. For instance, a Hallmark Movie Channel series Mystery Woman, the lead character’s counterpoint is a police chief. Granted, this is a small town with a small department. However, a police chief should never do his own investigation. A chief’s job is administrative–glad-handing politicians to keep his budget intact and being the all-around nice guy in which the public can put their trust.
Chiefs or Sheriffs
Bishop Police Chief Chris Carter
Chiefs or Sheriffs will have a Bachelor of Science degree at the minimum with an emphasis on Criminal Justice or Business Management. State certificates including the POST Management Certificate, the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society Leadership Development Program help the career climber as well as the POST Executive Development Course, POST Command College and the FBI National Academy. A masters of science degree in the above subjects is typically encouraged at this level of management.
Deputy Chief, Undersheriff or Commander
Under the chief or sheriff is a deputy chief or undersheriff. In very small departments the deputy chief is often called a captain or commander. At this level, these administrators are involved in managing whole divisions such as patrol and administrative services. If you are writing a story that is set in a small town, troll the internet for a department of a similar size. Usually you can find the structure which will give you an idea of the hierarchy. It matters–this past year, Kyra Sedgwick ended her seven year tenure on the series called The Closer. As the Deputy Chief, she should have been writing reports and recommendations for the chief and city council, making decisions on personnel issues and obtaining grants instead of solving crimes. As much as I like watching Sedgwick, the show was so unrealistic that I couldn’t watch it.
Lieutenants
Santa Rosa Police Department, Ca, Lt Craig Schwartz
A lieutenant is assigned to a team, generally. Teams work the same days, thereby enhancing the team concept. A lieutenant is found at all shifts in large departments although in smaller agencies, usually only day shift and swing (afternoons). The night shift or graveyards are handled by “Watch Commanders” who are either lieutenants or acting lieutenants. This is a sergeant who is on the promotional list for lieutenant or has been assigned by an administrator.
Sergeants
Sergeants are the line commanders. As in the army, sergeants get most of the work done. A good patrol sergeant will listen to radio activity so he knows who is doing what. They should be available for back-up but not tied up on a lengthy report call. They need to be on hand for patrol or dispatcher direction. Administrative or detective sergeants has a different role in some ways but still are the “go to” person for line officers and civilians. They will also handle preliminaries of personnel problems, give direction and approve crime reports. Corporals are subordinate and have limited report-approving powers.
Detectives
Detectives are promoted patrol officers. In larger departments, a detective may be a sergeant rank. There are also levels of detective ranking depending on promotional testing, merit, and interviews.
Ft Bragg Police Department-California
Again, all these structures are varied by department. There are few hard and fast rules but there are some that are never violated. The chain of command is respected–or it should be–to maintain a successful resolution. “Jumping the chain” is a phrase that is often used to describe those employees who go directly to the power when they have a problem. A good leader will refer the employee to their immediate superior.
However, back in the day, it was common to jump the chain. Going to your brother in law to talk about a problem with your supervisor was normal. It led to accusations of “good old boy” systems from outsiders and can smack of favoritism, depending how the contact was handled.
If you aren’t sure how an issue would be handled, check for a “model” agency and call the appropriate ranking person. Most cops love to talk to writers about their job. Your problem may be how to shut your source up!
A female police officer makes an arrest in the 1980s. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Police Historical Society.
This is a re-post from John Wills’ blog written by Dean Scoville
It’s difficult to determine when the first American female police officer pinned on her badge and began her watch. Several departments say they swore in the first “police woman” sometime around the turn of the 20th century so the issue is contested. It’s easier, however, to pinpoint the dawn of the contemporary female officer, that one moment in time where law enforcement’s and the public’s attitude toward women with badges began to change and female officers began to be perceived as “real police.” That year was 1972.
Forty years ago women didn’t have much of a toehold in law enforcement. A mere 2% of all police officers and sheriff’s deputies nationwide were female. Yet there was a growing presence of female officers and a growing recognition that female officers could take on duties that were once thought only suited to men.
Of course, women who wore badges in the 1970s faced old school stereotypes and biases, both within their departments and from the public. They were also accorded little consideration in sartorial matters, as they were required to wear impractical skirts, high-heeled shoes, and unisex ballistic vests that ignored the natural contours of the female figure. It wasn’t even until the late ’70s that Sally Brownes—uniform belts designed for women—were widely used. Before that belt was available, female officers kept their weapons and handcuffs in their purses.
Assignments were also an issue for pioneering female officers. They were shuffled into female-only duties, given desk and clerical work, sent to women’s jail wards, or posted to juvenile investigations units. But in the 1970s some female officers fought for and won patrol positions that would serve as promotional stepping stones.
These early ’70s female officers fought for and won respect. They also paved the way for more and more women to become officers.
A generation later, female officers make up 14 percent of the Thin Blue Line, and their ranks are growing. Female officers have yet to reach parity with their overall representation in society, but women have successfully integrated themselves throughout the ranks of law enforcement, serving as integral members of SWAT teams, K-9 units, investigation divisions, training staffs, and special task forces. Many have even gone on to helm major police departments as chiefs.
To trace the arduous path that women have forged in law enforcement, POLICE contacted women who worked their way up the ranks starting in the 1970s. Their personal experiences tell the story of what it’s like to be a female pioneer in a male-dominated profession.
Hitting the Streets
Patty Fogerson retired in 1994 as a detective supervisor III with the Bunco Forgery Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. Her career was even the subject of a television movie of the week starring Linda Hamilton. She says initially there was much trepidation on both sides of the sexual fence.
“My first partner didn’t know whether he should open the door for me when we got in the car,” reflects Fogerson, who joined the department in 1969.
Also in Southern California that same year, Judith Lewis was starting her law enforcement career with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“When I joined the department,” Lewis says, “we were called ‘lady deputies.’ Our uniform was a skirt, high heels, and a blouse. We went through a 10-week academy vs. a 20-week academy for men. We got a 2-inch gun to carry in our purse. I was a deputy in an administrative job.”
Lewis went on to play an instrumental role in creating a program to usher women from working behind the desk to working the front line. In exploring this new territory, her task force encountered its share of hurdles on both sides of the gender line. And she wasn’t even sure that she wanted to hit the streets.
From the female perspective, Lewis explains, “I didn’t want to go to patrol at that time because I had three small kids. Patrol wasn’t what I joined the job for, and neither did most women. Opinion was mostly negative in the department to do that.”
As Lewis’ task force searched for positions for women on the department, a detective from the automotive division piped up, saying that women couldn’t or wouldn’t work there because they would have to crawl under cars to find VIN numbers. “I replied that I knew some obese male officers who couldn’t do that job,” recalls Lewis.
Retrained
Eventually, at Lewis’s request, the department asked for volunteers rather than implementing a draft. The first women on patrol were still required to wear high heels, a purse, and a skirt, but some women violated the rules and improvised their own uniforms for practical purposes.
And before they could become full-fledged patrol officers, women had to pass full academy training. For women like Fogerson, who had already completed a shortened training course designed for police women, a second round of academy training was required.
“In 1975, I experienced some double standards in the academy,” says Fogerson. “Physical training instructors in the academy didn’t want us there, and they made life as difficult as possible for us. One guy changed my time on the obstacle course. I had won medals in the Police Olympics, so I had done well. But he read off my time as being slower than the slowest person there.”
Fogerson’s response was to glare at the instructor who posted the bogus time. “He looked at me and asked, ‘Do you have a question about your time?’ I said, ‘No, sir.’ He said, ‘Good.’ I ended up having to do 10 pull-ups instead of four to pass the exam.”
Such harassment and hazing was commonly inflicted on early female recruits for patrol duties, but Fogerson and others are quick to note that many instructors and supervisors treated them fairly. While they could not excuse subtle or overt forms of discrimination that they experienced, they made the point that both men and women were subject to various acts that were largely dictated by their newness to the profession rather than their gender.
Trying Harder
Sexual harassment was also a common experience for these female pioneers, particularly in the early years. Unfortunately, there was not much that they could do about it.
“Phrases like ‘sexual harassment’ and ‘hostile work environment’ didn’t exist back then,” says Fogerson. “My attitude was, get the job done and you’ll be able to prove yourself. I was able to work robbery and detectives, background investigations, and was one of the first female drill instructors in the academy. I just got along and survived in the beginning, then things settled down.”
Former Tucson, Ariz., officer Ruthanne Penn agrees that the females she knew tended to try harder. In part, because they had to. “Males wouldn’t be considered a screw-up until they made 10 mistakes,” she reflects. “A female could make only one mistake and be considered a screw-up.”
Standing Out
John Wills, a former Chicago police officer and FBI agent and the author of the forthcoming “Women Warriors: Stories from the Thin Blue Line,” is sympathetic to Penn’s observations.
“Women stand out a little quicker when they make mistakes than their male counterparts,” Wills notes. “They stand out to the public and to their male counterparts because of their numbers. Large departments with lots of women on the street don’t have that problem. But in a small department with only two women on a watch, if one makes a mistake it sticks out like a sore thumb.”
Penn cites a peer’s unfortunate experience as a prime example. While the error made was not demonstrably different than those made by male officers, it proved to be one that the woman had a particularly difficult time living down. For a time it also made Penn, who worked in law enforcement from 1976 to 2001, hyper vigilant against making errors. Eventually, she relaxed. Not because she became apathetic to the prospect of committing some transgression, but because she simply acquired faith in her own abilities.
“After I’d been working for a while, I felt good about what I did so I didn’t care what men thought of me,” Penn says. “In the beginning there was a lot of pressure, for about five or six years. After several assignments, particularly when I became a detective, I was more confident. We were all on the same playing field.”
Promotions and Legal Action
Unfortunately, hard work alone could not bridge the gender gap that existed in many department policies, particularly as they related to promotional opportunities for women.
Capt. Rebecca Meeks with the Waynesboro (Va.) Police Department recalls her promotional struggles. “When I tested for lieutenant, I outscored a man who was promoted before me. They said it was because he had a four-year degree and I had only a two-year degree. It was the chief’s call. I’d heard that he asked other captains who they wanted to be promoted, so I felt discouraged. But the man who was promoted was an excellent supervisor, so I didn’t hold it against him.”
Faced with similar discrimination, two Southern California female officers stood up on behalf of their peers and filed lawsuits against their departments.
In 1973, a sergeant with the LAPD, Fanchon Blake, sued after she and other female police sergeants were not allowed to take the lieutenant’s exam because they were women. She won. A similar lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department by Sue Bouman in 1980 was eventually settled in 1988.
Among the legacies of these landmark suits were decrees that required departments to make amends to women in law enforcement. These guidelines were designed to bolster the presence of women in the profession and to remove barriers for promotion and assignments to coveted positions. They served as precedents for departments across the country to implement similar policies.
“Promotional boards are much different in today’s environment when you’re trying to promote from patrol,” notes Wills. “The testing process has evolved in terms of being more academic, especially with more technology being involved in police work.”
Still, it has not been easy for women to stand up for their rights in their law enforcement careers.
Lewis recalls the hardships that Bouman and others experienced in the wake of taking their stands against their departments. “Back then there really was no place for women to go with sexual harassment or job discrimination complaints, and it would definitely negatively affect your career if you complained publicly. By the time I left, there were places for women to go and either talk to someone confidentially or to place a formal complaint. However, the one thing that still existed in a few cases, was a peer and career backlash for making such a complaint. Sue Bouman paid heavily for her lawsuit and was the subject of continuing hard feelings and backlash against her for the rest of her career.”
Few Role Models
To counter the chilling effects of harassment, discrimination, and negative stereotyping on the job, women officers have turned to one another for support.
But for those women who were part of the vanguard for women in law enforcement, mentors and role models were in short supply. It was not only up to many of these women to undergo a baptism by fire, but to ultimately become mentors and role models themselves.
“There were role models for the jobs that women had traditionally done,” Lewis recalls, “but there were no role models for women working patrol. The women who went out to patrol early became role models for those who came later.”
Some, like Lewis, tried to establish formal mentoring programs. As recently as 1998, the International Association of Chiefs of Police concluded that while the need continues to be great, there are very few mentoring programs for women officers. What support there was typically came from informal contacts.
“The support women sergeants gave us was mostly in the locker room, urging us on,” recalls Fogerson.
Wills notes the importance of formal organizations for women in law enforcement. “In some parts of the country, women are still a minority. They need women’s organizations for the smaller contingent on smaller departments to give them support and direction.”
To that end there is no shortage of organizations developed by and for women, including a growing cadre of instructional institutions that focus on providing women gender specific training in areas of promotional and officer survival.
Wills sums up the progress made by women in law enforcement over the past four decades. “Back in the day, in the 1970s and 1980s, women wanted to be involved in law enforcement and it was something to prove—to society and themselves—that they can do the same job. In today’s environment, this is a sought after job and it’s highly competitive.”
Wills believes that women officers have earned respect from their colleagues and from the public because of the courage and dedication that other women have displayed on the job. “Some have paid the ultimate sacrifice and are listed on the memorial wall,” he says. “We saw a lot of heroics on their part and we still do. Now we look at them in a different light.”
A few months ago, the novel Low Country Bribe by C. Hope Clark was published on Amazon. I found the book fascinating mostly because the main character was a civil servant who coordinated federal loans for farmers in coastal low-country of South Carolina. Wow. I figure if an author could make a handsome pig farmer bribery story interesting (and it was), there is a lot of fertile territory out there. And in the State of California, our bureaucracy is undeniable.
With this premise in mind as the next installment l to the Jurisdiction blog I have been reporting on, I decided to do a little investigating of my own.
California has dozens of agencies regulating this, enforcing that and licensing much more. It took me two days to trawl through many websites to come up with some provocative organization. Here also, you see the umbrella that local and county law enforcement call upon in times of need.
Bureau of Firearms–Under the auspices of the Attorney General’s Office, provides enforcement actions regarding the manufacture, sales, ownership, safety training, and transfer of firearms. Bureau of Firearms staff will be leaders in providing firearms expertise and information to law enforcement, legislators, and the general public.
Bureau of Forensic Services–The Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS) is the scientific arm of the Attorney General’s Office whose mission is to assist the criminal justice system. Forensic scientists collect, analyze, and compare physical evidence from crime scenes or persons. They also provide criminalistics, blood alcohol, and related forensic science information services to state and local law enforcement agencies, district attorneys, and the courts. There is no enforcement duty.
Bureau of Gambling Control Special Agents and Field Representatives monitor the 91 cardroom gambling establishments and 60 tribal casinos in California by:
Implementing routine inspections of gambling operations;
Targeting non-compliant gambling establishments;
Investigating suspected violations of the Gambling Control Act and other gambling laws;
Safeguarding against embezzlement of gambling establishment’s profits and money laundering;
Investigating complaints lodged against licensees or other persons;
Coordinating multi-jurisdictional criminal investigations involving gambling establishments with local, state, and federal agencies; and
Examining the integrity and legality of gaming devices and equipment.
CES conducts gaming related investigations involving bookmaking, loan sharking, burglary, robbery, counterfeiting, extortion, cheating scams, illegal gaming, embezzlement, narcotic distribution, and prostitution, to name a few. CES works with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as local, state, and federal prosecutors
The creation of the Bureau of Investigation (BI) began on February 17, 2012. They include the following programs. As this bureau bears most of the burden of enforcement, I’ve spent more time on their line up.
Special Investigations Team (SIT) Program–SIT units, eCrimes teams, and the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force teams.
Special Operations Unit (SOU)–The SOU provides statewide enforcement for combating intrastate drug trafficking and violent career criminals and gangs.
Task Force Program–This program continues partnering the Department to with local jurisdictions to coordinate and concentrate efforts against drug traffickers and major crimes, consisting of 27 task forces.
Recycle Fraud Program (Recycle Fraud)–The Recycle Fraud program’s primary objective is to detect and stop existing fraud by organized criminal groups against the recycling fund and to deter future fraud through the successful prosecution of criminal activity. (Does this include the homeless guy who rifles through neighborhood garbage? No? But think of the plot possibilities!!)
Foreign Prosecutions and Law Enforcement Unit (FPLEU)–The FPLEU assists state and local law enforcement agencies in the location and prosecution of suspects who are Mexican nationals accused of committing violent crimes in California and flee to Mexico to avoid arrest and prosecution in California.
Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP)–The CAMP program along with our local, state, and federal partner agencies continues to eradicate the large scale illegal marijuana cultivations from public and private lands that cause deforestation, damage to wildlife habitats, pose danger to our citizens, and hazardous-chemical pollutions.
Anti-Terrorism Program–The program works with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of detecting, investigating, prosecuting, dismantling, preventing and responding to domestic and international terrorist activities in a unified and coordinated manner.
Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance (Alliance)–This group’s purpose is to enhance and better coordinate investigations and prosecutions of money laundering in the Southwest Border Area which includes the area within 200 miles of the United States/Mexico border on either side of the border and all of Arizona.
Los Angeles Clearing House (LACLEAR)–Supports this unified effort and helps provide strategic investigative research and analysis, tactical case and special operations support, electronic surveillance services as well as real-time “officer safety” related operational intelligence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Western States Information Network (WSIN)–WSIN is one of six Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) projects funded by Congress through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
California Border Alliance Group (CBAG)/San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center (LECC)–The San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center SD-LECC, the CBAG’s intelligence center, provides responsive event de-confliction, case/subject de-confliction via pointer index, case support, intelligence fusion, and predictive analyses, Law Enforcement Coordination Center intelligence subsystems, and member agency intelligence units. (I gotta ask, “de-confliction”? )
Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU)–This program’s mission is to provide leadership and promote professionalism in the criminal intelligence community in order to protect public safety and constitutional rights.
Clandestine Laboratory Coordination Program (Clan Labs)–The Clan Lab Coordination program is a national strategy, intelligence sharing and training initiative addressing methamphetamine and pharmaceutical drug crimes in the United States.
Controlled Chemical Substance Program (CCSP)–This program monitors the use of meth-making products such as reagents, solvents, laboratory glass flasks and precursor chemicals that are needed for clan lab operations.
CA Alcoholic Beverage Control Purpose is administrate, licensing and compliance of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. ABC Agents are peace officers under Section 830.2 of the California Penal Code and are empowered to investigate and make arrests for violations of the Business and Professions Code that occur on or about licensed premises. Agents are further empowered to enforce any penal provisions of the law any place in the State. Licensees who violate State laws or local ordinances are subject to disciplinary action and may have their licenses suspended or revoked. Sonoma County agencies routinely worked with ABC agents.
CA Department of Developmental Services now Department of State Hospitals Law Enforcement Task Force (LETF) investigates but facilities have their own statewide Hospital Police. As of January 1, 2014, they will be permitted to carry firearms. Sheesh, what took so long?
The Enforcement Branch of the Department of Insurance is the investigative body for the department. This branch consists of the Fraud Division and the Investigation Division. Leading the nation in consumer protection continues to be the motivating force in providing all investigative and support services necessary for the fight against insurance fraud. The Enforcement Branch maintains its lead through the collaboration of other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors throughout the state.
Fraud Division The core mission of the Fraud Division is to protect the public and prevent economic loss through the detection, investigation, and arrest of insurance fraud offenders. The Fraud Division acts as the primary law enforcement agency in the State of California for investigating different types of suspected insurance fraud.
Investigation Division The mission of the Investigation Division is to protect California consumers by investigating suspected violations of laws and regulations pertaining to the business of insurance and seeking appropriate enforcement action against violators.
The Insurance Commissioner has established a case handling priority system for the Investigation Division which helps to categorize major cases and prioritize the Division’s resources.
Types of Violations Investigated Include:
Premium Theft
Life & Health Senior Citizen Abuse
Insurance Company Deceptive Fraudulent Acts
Bogus/Unauthorized Insurance Companies
Public Adjuster Violations
Title Company Rebate Activity
Bail Industry Misconduct
The Office of the Attorney General
Kamala Harris Official Attorney General Photo
The Attorney General represents the people of California in civil and criminal matters before trial courts, appellate courts and the supreme courts of California and the United States. The Attorney General also serves as legal counsel to state officers and, with few exceptions, to state agencies, boards and commissions. Exceptions to the centralized legal work done on behalf of the state are listed in Section 11041 of the Government Code.
The Attorney General also assists district attorneys, local law enforcement, and federal and international criminal justice agencies in the administration of justice. To support California’s law enforcement community, the AG coordinates statewide narcotics enforcement efforts, participates in criminal investigations and provides forensic science services, identification and information services and telecommunication support.
In addition, the Attorney General establishes and operates projects and programs to protect Californians from fraudulent, unfair, and illegal activities that victimize consumers or threaten public safety. The Attorney General also enforces laws that safeguard the environment and natural resources. CA Department of Motor Vehiclesinvestigative division–The DMV Investigations Division protects the programs and interests of the department and public through active fraud/counterfeit detection, investigation, audit and enforcement services. The Investigations Division diligently enforces laws, rules, and regulations that apply to new and used vehicle dealers, brokers, dismantlers, registrations services, vehicle verifiers, driving schools or traffic violator schools, and other vehicle-related businesses.
CA Department of Parks and Recreation Park rangers and lifeguards. There are several mystery novels featuring park rangers. Think about it: a law enforcement officer solo in his/her beat-a remote area of a state park. Rescue calls? Drunk campers, there’s lots more here. CA Department of Social Services: varied depending on type of incident-if, Social Security fraud goes to Federal Office of Inspector General; Medical fraud is state and the Department of Health Services Audits and Investigation — Since 1999 a tremendous amount of resources have been put forth to combat Medi-Cal fraud. Fraud is a key issue to the State of California and a special group has been formed, the Governor’s Medi-Cal Fraud Task Force, which is chaired by the Director of Department of Health Care Services, to improve communication and cooperation among agencies that investigate and prosecute individuals suspected of Medi-Cal fraud. The group includes the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the State Department of Justice (DOJ), the State Controller’s Office (SCO), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Employment Development Department (EDD), Department of Consumer Affairs Medical Board, Health Authority Law Enforcement Team (HALT) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Talk about a frickin’ bureaucracy!
CA Department of Toxic Substances Control—Office of Criminal Investigations The mission of the Office of Criminal Investigations is to prevent and investigate violations of California’s Hazardous Waste Control Laws for the safety of the public and protection of the environment.
CA Franchise Tax Board–FTB’s audit program identifies and refers cases to the department’s criminal investigation program. FTB attacks the use of abusive tax shelters which cost California hundreds of millions in lost revenue. FTB’s criminal investigation program identifies and investigates cases of tax evasion and tax fraud to encourage compliance with California income tax laws and maintain the public trust. CA Secretary of State Office of Investigation— Many Californians are aware of the Secretary of State’s role in overseeing our elections, managing the filing of important business documents and preserving the state’s archives, but the office also administers several other important functions.
The Secretary of State’s Office also manages the “Safe at Home” confidential address program for victims of Domestic Violence, the publication of the California Roster, the Registry of Domestic Partners, and the Advance Health Care Directive Registry. Who knew? I surely didn’t! This is not a comprehensive list of agencies within the state, merely a selection that has enforcement powers of some type. Cops at all levels use the next higher step to build a case if needed. Any of the above could be used in partnership with your patrolman, detective or whoever your hero is.
Most of this info is culled from the internet. If you see or know of an error, please let me know. My goal is authenticity in fictional cop stories.
We’ve covered municipal, county, and some state law enforcement so far. How about departments that take a different spin on preserving public safety. The department from which I retired last year-Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety-is one of two in the state of California that combine police and fire resources and are called Departments of Public Safety.
Public Safety Agencies
Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety (RPDPS) offers this definition of their personnel:
Vehicles from Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety in Northern California
A Public Safety Officer (PSO) is a unique professional who is cross-trained in law enforcement and fire fighting. All PSOs work the team concept in an effort to identify problems and request resources to resolve particular issues while they are in the incipient stage. Because of the demands on a PSO, they receive, in average, 200 hours a year of “in service” training as well as state certified training at offsite facilities. The Public Safety Officer is committed to serving the community where they work and often live.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (SDPS) is run similarly. Sunnyvale DPS personnel work shifts are similar to RPDPS, offer the same services as every full-service police/fire agency.
Both agencies have comprehensive websites which will offer plenty of info on basic services, special programs, crime prevention and so on. Sunnyvale DPS is in Santa Clara County and Rohnert Park DPS is in Sonoma County.
If your story has an arson incident involved, a DPS character could offer a dimension to an investigation that a run-of-the-mill cop couldn’t duplicate. Bear in mind that, depending on the agency policy, an arson investigator must have state certification and 832 PC (arrest powers provided by the California Penal Code). If your agency is fictional, you can create the rules, but to be realistic, a thorough conversation with a PSO can give you a solid framework to work within.
District Attorney Investigators
Gun and badge from Mendocino, Ca. District Attorney’s Office
DA investigators are peace officers with arrest powers. They are usually culled from the ranks of law enforcement agencies–active duty and retired.
In Sonoma County, the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation consists of investigators (sworn peace officers), legal assistants and a secretary. The following is a description of the department’s function:
The Bureau’s mission is to provide professional, high-quality investigative and trial support services to the prosecutors. Bureau investigators average fifteen years of law enforcement experience, typically with a police or sheriff’s department, and at least 3 years as a detective before making the transition to this office. They are recruited from the most highly skilled men and women in the law enforcement field and they must have achieved an excellent reputation for integrity, team work, and competence in their profession. All Bureau staff members can assist prosecutors in preparing and organizing cases for court, which includes locating critical witnesses, organizing evidence for presentation at trial, and conducting pretrial investigations. In addition, they often assist other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in a variety of investigations. Bureau members provide prosecutors and the public with a wide variety of investigative expertise in criminal matters such as:
Homicides
Criminal Street Gangs
Witness Protection
Law Enforcement Employee-Involved Fatal Incidents
Computer and Identity Theft Crimes
Major Fraud
Consumer Fraud
Parental Child Abduction and Recovery
Environmental Protection
Domestic Violence
Elder Fraud and Abuse
Sexual Assault
Child Abuse
Next Sunday (uh, that would be tomorrow), we’ll look at State law enforcement agencies.
For writers, I have italicized common phrases used in cop culture conversation. Cops are like anyone else: they have their own vocabulary and lingo. Sprinkled throughout your manuscript, these carry the ring of authenticity. Also, for a not-quite complete but almost, list of California Law Enforcement Agencies search Wikipedia under that title. I only noted one agency missing-Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety!
Multi-jurisdictional Incidents
San Antonio Police set perimeter, keeping civilians away from potential danger
It should be noted in this post that overall responsibilities across jurisdictions (notwithin city limits) belongs to either the CHP or the local sheriff–depending on the event. The Highway Patrol takes the lead in incident related to traffic or hazardous materials on all state highways and unincorporated areas. They are often assisted by the California Highway Department, Department of Fish and Game, possibly a contract clean-up company and/or local fire district engines and personnel. Examples would be a pursuit on the highway (again, notwithin city limits), a natural disaster or a hazardous materials spill. As I said in previous blogs, city police handle municipalities and sheriff’s department handles crimes in all unincorporated areas. The exception is road rage incidents on highways (even within city limits).
Taking the Lead
Let’s say a bad guy decides to rob a convenience store in the city of San Rafael then crosses city limits to San Anselmo to hole up with a hostage. There could be a jurisdictional issue. The agency in which the event is currently occurring (hostage situation-San Anselmo) would probably take the lead on this call. However, there are variations because no two events are ever the same. What is to be determined is called primary investigatory authority. What if the bad guy robbed a bank–then the FBI would take the lead. Local police departments (PDs) would secure the scene. That starts with establishing a perimeter. No one wants soccer mom walking into a shoot-out so staffed barricades would be set up far enough away to keep the public safe. (Obviously, if needed evacuations would be done inside the perimeter as safety permits–sometimes it is safer to stay where one is.) But we will discuss the FBI in a later blog.
Washington State hostage negotiator
Back to our scenario: agency heads can hash out the “lead agency” and act accordingly. Why would San Rafael want the bad guy? What if he killed the convenience store clerk? Murder trumps everything–it is considered a capital crime and may be eligible for the death penalty. Clearly, the District Attorney would pursue a murder charge over false imprisonment (that is assuming the bad guy gives up without hurting his hostage.). Even so, all violations are charged by the agencies involved. The DA will sift through the reports, talk to witnesses and decide which are the most prosecutable (read: bad guy has a good chance of being convicted) crimes.
Another variation: San Anselmo is a small department–less than 20 sworn officers; San Rafael PD is much larger–with 65 sworn–and more resources. It is feasible that a chief may hand over control to another solely because the event outstrips the logistical ability of their department.
Once the lead agency is assigned, it is rarely changed. I have never seen that at a primary event. However, should an officer shoot or get shot, the game changes. The lead agency remains the same but only investigates the instigating occurrence. Third party detectives would be brought in to an officer involved shooting (OIC) to insure investigative impartiality.
Mutual Aid
If needed, the Incident Command System(ICS) under the Unified Command System will be instigated and will request mutual aid. This is just what it sounds like: asking for help (usually staffing but can also be specific equipment or team such as SWAT, Bomb Squad or K-9). Most counties have pre-planned mutual aid agreements so there are no surprises. ICS streamlines communications during a major event. The Incident Commander relays needs to department liaisons to move resources. Top tier personnel make sure details are handled.
SWAT K-9
Once again, I’ve used up my word allotment on information I had not quite planned to write about. It seems that these things need to be said. Although there isn’t great detail, just about every scenario has “qualifications”. This bears repeating: no two incidents are ever the same,ever.
There isn’t a cop, commander or dispatcher out there who doesn’t think what is the worst thing that can happen…then plans for it.
City cops patrol within the city limits, sheriffs handle the unincorporated areas of the county. Well, then: what’s left? The highways….
Oh, the highway. Say, when I had that accident last month on Highway 101, the California Highway Patrol responded. They took the report, gave me information on the other driver, arranged for tow trucks and directed traffic. Those two officers were virtual supermen!
They were doing their job.
How about another scenario? I’m driving along Highway 101 north of Willits, California-the country for which “boondocks” was named. In the twilight, I see a woman flagging me down from the shoulder of the road. Next to her is decade old Japanese import with the hood open. I can’t see much but she looks pretty desperate–jumping up and down, waving her arms like that.
So I pull over, get out of my car and ask, What’s the problem?”
“Car trouble. There’s something making a terrible noise from the engine compartment on the passenger side.”
Nodding, I say, “I’ll look around.” I marched around to the side near the trees. I hear a sound like a shoe scraping on the gravel. Then a fist makes my jaw feel like it imploded and I drop to my knees.
“Where’s the keys?” I hear a man’s voice say. Where did he come from?
I hear the woman answer. “I got ‘em. Let’s get outta here.”
The doors slam on my brand new Lexus SUV and the tires spit gravel into a rooster tail as they leave.
So, do I call the highway patrol? Short answer–yes. The correct answer–wait for them to transfer you to the local sheriff. Sheriff?
California Highway Patrol (CHP) handles all traffic collisions and incidents (including oversized load transports, livestock crossings and hazardous materials) on state highways. But, if you are the victim of a crime that occurs on a state highway, the local sheriff or city jurisdiction will handle the criminal case.
Because the CHP covers the state from border to border, there are a lot of rural lands to patrol. When I worked for Bishop Police Department (BPD) from 1994-2004, our department and the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department (ICSO) often called upon the CHP for back up. CHP officers were limited, though. While the BPD and ICSO were handling bar fights, domestic disputes, or whatever, CHP provided assistance for the safety of people at the scene. Because they had minimal criminal law in their academy and didn’t have consistent chances to exercise their knowledge, they were at a loss to help in the investigation. These days, the CHP has added much more criminal law to their curriculum possibly because of this issue, but certainly to better educate their officers.
I could spend a lot more time talking about the invaluable jobs the CHP performs: rescues, air operations, fraud and stolen vehicle investigations. There are many more. I’d sound like a recruiter if I kept it up, so I’ll move on.
The California State Police (CSP) was commissioned in 1887 and dissolved or merged into the CHP in 1995. Its responsibilities were dignitary protection for the governor and state officials, investigative services to elected officials through Threat Assessment Detail and criminal investigations through the Bureau of Investigative Services. They patrolled the State Water Project (also known as the California Aqueduct), state properties such as courts, fairgrounds, Veteran’s Buildings and were the state’s unofficial capitol police.
I mention the CSP only because many states in the US have State Police Departments that function as our CHP does.
California is fortunate to have the Highway Patrol.
