I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but last night I was finally able to take part in the Ride-Along Program with the Greensboro Police Department. What a cool experience!
The area the officer covers that I was with doesn’t generally pick up until later in the evening (on Wed), so things were pretty calm while I was in the car (8:30 – 11 pm). I had hoped to take part in the program on a Friday or Saturday, but the department has a new class of recruits doing their in car training on those days. The image at the top of this post highlights a few posts I made to Twitter while out on the ride.
Not only did the officer take the time to answer the questions I tossed out, and I ask a lot, but he engaged me in conversation and took the time to show me various things about the computer system (in car) and some of the processes they abide by. To say the least, there is always a lot of multitasking going on inside of a police car.
GPD response time is always some that has come to mind when the council annexes a new chunk of land… and at one point the officer did mention that they, at times, can be spread a bit thin. When I’m on the council I plan to make sure that police response time is always a topic of discussion when annexation is on the table.
The Ride-Along Program is well worth your time and I highly recommend you give it a shot. I live in downtown and requested to ride with someone that patrols that part of town (also the busier part of town), but you could request to ride with someone that patrols the area you live in. If you want to schedule a ride, call 336-373-2496.
PS – I can’t stress how many great people we have working for the GPD. They, at times, get completely overshadowed and that is unfortunate.
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