Tour of the Middletown Police Department
Thanks to Cub Scout Pack 28, The Middletown Police Department, and Nathans mom, we were treated to a guided tour of the Police Department last night. The boys and parents met up at the lower level of the Middletown City Building at 6:30 last night, a typical cold, freezing rain, miserable sort of December in Ohio night. As we waited in the lobby by the elevators, which is entirely cement from top to bottom, I was reminded of the noise a group of first graders can make. But the wait was not long, and just so you don’t get the wrong idea, the boys were all really very good and very well behaved.
Our tour guide arrived around 6:40 and things got under way with a visit to the briefing room. The officer explained that every day for a police officer starts with a meeting in the briefing room and that it’s there of course that the officers discuss the goals for the day and chat about any bad guys they might be trying to catch.
Next we went down the hall to the dispatch area. There were 3 dispatchers on duty at the time and with all the high tech hardware in that room the boys were all filled with questions. The senior dispatcher gave a brief overview of the job they do there and the officer showed the boys some of the fancy hardware at their disposal. For example we were shown a very large display monitor with a map of Middletown. That monitor is apparently used with the computer based 911 system to help locate the exact house where a 911 call might originate from. Also located in the dispatch area is the emergency early warning system. This is the system that controls the tornado sirens that have been installed all over town. This was also a computer based system but with a traditional sized and much less eye catching monitor.
Following the dispatch area was a brief chat in the records department. The officer explained how officers on patrol dictate reports onto cassette tapes and turn them in each night along with any tickets they have written. The tapes are of course processed by the staff in the records department and transcribed into the computer system for further processing.
Next was a stop in the weight room. From memory I think there were two to three treadmills and about eight other machines for weight training. The kids of course loved that room, but for us adults were pretty much thinking it looked like a weight room and smelled one too.
The last stop was the police garage where the boys met Ajax the police dog. Ajax is a two year old German Sheppard who has been on the force for about a year. We learned the police dogs work for around six years before they retire. Ajax was obviously well trained and his handler let a few of the boys throw his chew rope for a quick game of fetch. Click here to see a YouTube Vide of Ajax the Police Dog.
After Ajax went back to work the tour finished up with the boys being shown the inside of a police cruiser. Luckily were told that this particular curser was one that was not used to transport any bad guys and whose back seat had never been thrown up in. Yep it’s the small things in life that make parents happy.