Tierra Flores shares her account of working with the Ponca City Police Department …
The police department is in the most troublesome neighborhood in Ponca City. The address of the station is 200 E Oklahoma Ave. It is in downtown Ponca City. I did ride-alongs throughout the semester and I needed 48 hours. I got assigned to a different offiicer each day and night. I got to know them and they got to know me.They taught me the ropes of being a cop and why they do what they do. They tell me why the pull people over and the reasons why they do. They showed me around the department. You walk into the back, you see all the doors and then you see a door at the end of the hall on your right. You walk through it and there is a staircase. You go down there, that is where everyone meets for disaster stuff and dispatch is also down there.
The primary activity of the Ponca City Police Department is to stop crime and others from violating the law. For example, when cops pull people over for speeding. They do that because it is dangerous and could possibly injure someone or one’s self. When cops give out tickets for having no insurance is because what if someone who hit you had no insurance and then you are stuck and left to pay for the damages. When someone runs a red light and they get a ticket. They receive the ticket because them running a red light can cause an accident when the other light turns green. Another example would be pulling someone over for reckless driving. Cops also pull over people for being on their phones. They do this because when you are on your phone then you are not looking at the road and can hit anyone at anytime anywhere. It is very dangerous to be on your phone while driving. Another thing that cops pull you over for is an improper lane change. They do this because the inner lane is for the left handed turners and the right lane is for the right turners. This way both cars can turn at the same time. If a left turner turns into the right lane then it can cause an accident with the right turners. Everything that cops and detectives do is for the safety of the people. In 1919, a system called the three-man commission. The people of Ponca City elected the officers and these people were the only officers in the city. The other department heads were appointed snf served a one year term. In 1923, Orville P. Callahan was elected mayor then right after he was, he made an announcement that he was going to increase the police force.
I am a forensic science major, I want to specialize in DNA and fingerprinting. My daily duties at my internship was basically the same every day. I get to the police station and there was 2 phones, one was to call a dispatcher or a detective, the other one was to the jail. I picked up the red phone to call a detective. They asked me what I was here for. I told them I am here for my internship. They buzzed me in. I walked to the back where the lieutenant’s office was and then i waited for him to get there. When he got there, he looked at who was working then called that person over the radio by their badge number. I sat there and talked to the lieutenant and the other officers until my officer came to pick me up. At night before I would get assigned to an officer, they would have their squad meeting downstairs and I would attend them. After everything is handled then we get to the real job. The rules of the road were that I stay in the vehicle at all times unless said otherwise. If the officer is in a pursuit then they will drop me off on the side of the road and then I will call dispatch and they will send someone to pick me up and bring me back to the station. If the officer is in trouble, shot or can not hold their own then I will have to get on the radio and call for help to my location. If we are getting shot at, I would get on the floor board and hide. The officers are assigned a Beat. There is 4 of them. They stay within their beats until the next shifts come in. Dispatch knows the officers assigned to the beats and at which times. When a call comes in, dispatch calls the officer over the radio and then the officer is on their way to the call. This experience I did showed me everything that happens before the evidence reaches me. For example, I was doing a ride along and it was a crazy case that had happened and we had to dust for fingerprints all over this car. I saw how it was done and how they take them off the vehicle, and how its processed before hand.
This internship definitely had it’s pros and cons. Some pros are I learned the background of how everything ends up at me. I get field work experience. I learned how to process figure prints. Some cons are I could not get ut of the car. I could not always get close to things so i can actually see what going on.
I 100% would recommend doing an internship! I really recommend my internship as well. They were amazing. They worked around my schedule and were very welcoming. They acted like you were one of them. They welcomed me with open arms. I had so much fun with my internship to short rides to night shifts. They were all so fun and adventurous!
In conclusion, I loved my internship. It really helped me look at what actually happens in the field before it gets to me in the lab. I really recommend that people do an internship in there major. It helps a lot. 10 out of 10 recommend.
Work Cited- http://www.poncacity.com/history/pages/1920/1920-1923.htm