My first blog as I haven't been on the Net in a while.
Everyone is lovely over here! We've been shown the best time in Stockton with so much to do and so little time. I'm staying with Scott and Kristin McElhinnie and they have made me feel so welcome in their home. Scott is helping me with my Cheeseburger World Tour, but I think I'm now also doing a Pizza World Tour. Score is 3 to 4! Good thing Kristin has had me doing exercise in the morning....but she kicks my butt and I have to try to keep up to her!
Top blokes & Sheilas: Kristin, Scott, Michelle, Sarah
I'm only going to write about the vocational visits today as it's getting late and Will has been doing an excellent job so far! Go Will!
VISIT ONE:
I had a "impromptu" Vocational Visit on Wednesday (2/4/08) thanks to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that I met at the Stockton Arena on our tour the day before. I organised to meet up with them on my free afternoon as it was the only time available.
Adrian Quintero met me at the CHP Office near Stockton and showed me around the office and their Radio Dispatch Service. RDS is in the same building as the officers and they have the best technology. AVL (Automated Vehicle Locators) are in each car and RDS have a Map on a large Plasma Screen which shows exactly which vehicle is where and what they are doing.
Data available at the RDS
I was able to go on a ride-a-long with Adrian (after signing waiver and liability forms) in the marked CHP patrol car. What really made me feel odd was the fact that there was a AR15 and a Shotgun sitting in between the driver and passenger seat. I was kindly shown how to unlock the firearms if necessary and how to use them! They can't believe that we don't have shotguns or wear ballistic vests. After writing out a few speeding and seatbelt tickets during the afternoon, attending a few crashes and helping other officers with translations, we headed back to the office. It was an awesome visit and the technology available is amazing. It was a long day
VISIT TWO:
Thursday 3/4/08 was a dedicated full day vocational visit organised by the Stockton Rotary Club. I was dropped off by Scott McElhinnie (Host) to the Stockton Police Department bright and early. I met up with Lt Tuollson and Gordon Gray of the traffic section who showed me around the office and outlined their role with the Stockton PD.
Gordon showed me the red light camera officer and how the system worked. It is a program developed by an Australian Company, RedFlex, and not only gives still photos of the drivers face, vehicle registration plate, and the intersection, but also a video of the intersection as soon as the red light starts with the vehicle travelling through. The video can give information on how long the light has been red before the vehicle enters, how long the vehicle was in the intersection and what speed it was going. It was scary to see how many people race through without slowing down at all. One guy travelled at 116 mph! He was being chased by the police at the time...
Out & about with Officer Moreno
I headed out with Captain Paoletti who is charge of Stockton North Station. He gave me a tour of the area, the problems, and organised a ride-a-long for me with one of his troops. I headed out with Officer Miros Moreno who is general duties. She has been out for about 18 months and was great fun. Yet again, they had all the cool technology that the CHP had. The best part was that the radio system was hardly used at all. Checks were conducted on an in-car computer and there was no need to book off at a job as it could be down on the computer as well! Saved heaps of chit chat on the radio system.
RBT Unit. Swipe the licence to bring up all past convictions
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