So Long, Farewell

As the semester comes to a close, so does my time in the class Writing in the Disciplines. Even though this course was not exactly what I was expecting, I sure did learn a lot during the sixteen weeks of the semester. The activities we participated in included writing a summary of a documentary, weekly blog posts, exercises from our textbook Just the Facts by Michael Biggs, analysis of police scenes, and concluded with mock interviews. In my proceeding thoughts I hope to describe how this course has impacted my skills and abilities going forward in a career in the Criminal Justice field.

The documentary summary assignment allowed me to get a feel for what it is like to document a series of events in chronological order. I know this is a skill that can be applicable to writing reports for a case. This assignment also refined my writing skills and made me gain more confidence in my writing skills. 

The weekly blog posts left room for a little more creativity when responding to guided reflection topics. Not only was the professor going to see our views and thoughts, but our peers could do so as well. Writing the blogs enabled me to get my views across in a respectable manner. 

The textbook exercises helped to apply what I read on the page to a real world experience. It is one thing to read information on a page, and another to understand and apply what you read. 

Analyzing police scenes reinforced the policy and procedures we read about in our textbook. The scenes also demonstrated just how fast a call can escalate and the quick thinking officers must do on a daily basis. 

Finally the mock interviews we did in groups allowed us to put together all that we had learned about investigations and interviews. We were able to come up with questions and interview our peers. The activity made everyone involved pay attention to their body langue,as well as, their tone of voice.

Overall there were lessons to be learned from taking this class. However, I wish I was able to get more out of this class. We focused a lot on the writing process and what it takes to be a good writer, but not enough on the actual documents or scenarios that we would encounter in the Criminal Justice field. 

Scene Study

The video I watched consisted of a truck driver being pulled over for being in the left hand lane of a highway. The driver explained to the sergeant that he had done so because a car kept pulling in front of him and slowing down. The twist of the whole incident occurred when the sergeant told the driver if he was the officer in this situation what would he do. The driver was so flustered and caught of guard he did not know wha to saw. In the end the officer let him go on his way without issuing him a ticket. 

When an officer pulls someone over they usually have in mind whether they are going to write a ticket or not. In this case, after hearing the driver admit he was in the wrong and explain the reasons why he broke the law, the sergeant decided to not write him a ticket. Turning the tables and asking what the driver would do if he was the officer is also a common practice by officers. The officers want to see what the driver thinks ought to happen. If the officer  agrees with the suggestion they will often do it. 

Class Interview Reflection

The definition of interview according to our textbook, is to "find the truth in the form of information received in a legal and professional manner. " While watching the two groups interview, I only saw one interview and one interrogation. An interrogation is "more focused then an interview and has a heightened sense of anxiety and tension."

My observations of the first interview include:

     #1

         The interviewers became really aggressive early on in the interview

         The interviews did not establish a rapport with the subject before asking the hard questions

         The interviewers seemed biased from the beginning and instead of getting information from the subject, they seemed to be    

           fishing for a confession. 

         The interviewers reacted to the answers the subject gave. 

         The interviews asked a lot of yes/no questions 

My observations of the second interview include:

     #2

        The interviewer asked basic questions first

        The interviewer asked questions that were answerable in short answers

        The interviewer built a rapport at the beginning of the questioning 

        The interviewer did a nice job restating the subject's answers

Notebook Preference

                           

http://europeanpaper.com/product/rhodia-pocket-reporter-dot-grid-webnotebook-prh200/

I would rank this notebook as my number one choice because it is small and lightweight to carry around all day. As in it's name, it is small enough to comfortably store in a pocket for both safe keeping and easy access.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/02/24/122-moleskine-notebooks/

I would rank this notebook as my number two because it is small enough to carry, however it would not fit in a pocket. This notebook would allow for more information to be written. Writing in the field might be challenging if the back cover can't be supported.

http://www.amazon.com/3-Subject-College-ruled-Notebooks-150-Sheets-65171/dp/B004HHNNVK

I would rank this notebook as my last choice because it would require me to carry it in my arms, which would not allow me to use my arms or take valuable seconds to drop it. The pages would also be too big and uncomfortable for me to write on without writing on a flat surface. I would not be able to support the notebook with one hand in the air and write with the other.

Rewriting a Report Exercise #13

    I made contact with Katherine Tunney who stated that at approximately 12:15pm on July 25, 2015 observed a white Toyota van wagon in front of her residence at 1647 rancho, El Fuego. The vehicle was parked on the opposite side of the street facing westbound. Katherine Tunney noticed the driver had a camera up to his face and was taking pictures of her specific residence. Katherine Tunney indicated that the vehicle, although parked facing westbound, was stopped in the middle of the street and not on the complete opposite side.
    Katherine Tunney believed this to be suspicious after remembering her mother, Carol Tunney,  had been contacted by a suspicious subject in April of 2015.
    Katherine Tunney attempted to make contact with the subject who, after seeing Katherine Tunney exit the residence, immediately rolled up his driver's window and sped away at a high speed. Katherine Tunney obtained the license number. I asked KatherineTunney for the license number and she indicated it was 836L92F.
    I ordered a registration check on the license plate and it came back to a 2004 Toyota Wagon, registered to Bond, Stephen D., 3381 El Balzo, El Fuego. Katherine Tunney described the subject to be a white male with graying hair.
    I then spoke with Carol Tunney, who indicated she filed a report with the police department in April 2015. Carol Tunney had been approached by a suspicious subject and asked what her name was. Carol Tunney indicated that she was not going to tell him her name and asked what his name was. Carol Tunney did not get any further information.
    Carol Tunney stated that the subject then left in a vehicle which had a personalized plate of ISPYONU. A registration check was run on the vehicle. The vehicle came back to a 2008 SAAB registered to a Toomey, Richard, 36 Paseo De Bonito, El Rancho.
    I advised Katherine and Carol Tunney that at this time there was no crime that had occurred. However, a report would be filed. At this time, no contact has been made with the driver of the Toyota or the SAAB and information has been passed on to the investigation division.

Michigan Boy Gives Up Birthday To Honor Police

To view this story visit WRAL.com

Reflection After Watching Blackfish

After viewing the documentary Blackfish, I was asked to consider the following questions:

1.Was there a specific scene that got to you? Describe and explain how it moved you (Angry? Curious? Delighted? Motivated?)
A specific scene that got to me was when the documentary used a flashback to show the original catching of the whales from the wild. How traumatic of an experience that must have been for all of the whales involved. First, having the mothers and babies separated from males, to the babies then being taken away from their mothers. One of the fisherman who helped in the capturing of the babies was distraught over the cries of both the mothers and babies. Even when free, the mothers stayed close by trying to get to their calves. It was heartbreaking to see.

2.What surprised you?
I think what surprised me most was how naive Seaworld management was in the handling of the animals. What also surprised me was how they justified the mistreatment of the animals. For example, how food was withheld from the whales if they did not do the correct behavior. There also seemed to be a disconnect between the trainers and management. Management had their own objectives of making a profit from the animals, while the trainers tried to care for the animals as best they could.

3.What questions remain after the viewing?
Some things I had scene that the documentary did not address was the size of the enclosure and the quality of life of the animals in captivity. They addressed the quality of life briefly when describing how two of the whales rammed into each other causing one to break a blood vessel, but only really focused on the danger to the trainers. PETA created a video showing what has happened to the whales in captivity.

Another issue that was not brought up in the film was just how small the area of the enclosures for these animals are. I have seen this picture circulating around the Internet of how big the parking lot space is for the Seaworld park, yet how small the whale enclosure is in comparison.

Express

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