Police Academy Report - Class 2, part 1

What I'm Reading: The Circle of a Promise by Helen Rosburg

What I'm writing: Edits for chapter 1, scene 1; Chapter 27

Our second Civilian Police Academy class deviated from the schedule. For cops, life happens, although this wasn't a bad thing--the scheduled instructor was taking a group of kids to Washington DC for a convention. So, we had Community Relations for that portion of the session. I was surprised to see how the Office (Class 1 stressed if we learn NOTHING else, it's the Sheriff's OFFICE, not Department) uses people in volunteer capacities. Some things might be expected, like filing and being general go-fors, but they have a chaplain's program, as well as citizens on patrol. I think my husband's eyes lit up at that one--he'd love cruising the neighborhood in a cop car! I'm sure he's thinking about continuing to the next level, the Senior Academy: the brochure said there was an "extended firearms course."

The most surprising statistic was that there's a suicide of a law enforcement officer somewhere in the country every 17 hours. I knew the job was high-stress, and admire those who can do what they do for the meager salary they make, but that was a shocker.

One last tidbit for today - if you upgrade or get a new cell phone, consider donating your old one to some organization in your community that gives them to seniors who can't afford a cell phone, or to victims of domestic violence. The phones only dial 911, but it can be a lifeline for people who would otherwise be unable to get in touch with emergency services.

Next post will the the second half of the class: Uniform Patrol Division.

The only 'down side' to these classes is finding out how many questions I should have asked before writing my book. Of course, books are obsolete before they hit the shelves, due to how long the publication process is, but the advances in technology over the last few years, since I started writing the book, are amazing.