Criminal Minds

For this week’s guided reflection I watched the clip from the television show, Criminal Minds. I chose this one because I love Criminal Minds. There are many things that go right with this video. The man on the witness stand, Agent Hotchner, is one of the main characters on Criminal Minds. When the defense attorney was saying that Agent Hotchner’s job was just a bunch of guess work, Agent Hotchner did not seem phased by this. He was very calm and answered his question and then went on to explain the things that he had picked up on with the defense attorney. This shocked the defense attorney and showed the jury that his job was not just guess work and that Agent Hotchner is very good at his job. I honestly cannot really think of anything that Agent Hotchner could have done better. I really enjoyed this video and it was cool to see what criminal profilers can do.

Police Officers

In the video Do You Trust The Police, by VICE News shows a woman that had a bad experience with police in her city of Oakland, California. I would like to think that everyone thinks the police are there to help them when they need it most. However, after watching this video it is obvious not everyone feels this way. The woman from Oakland grew up in East Oakland, which had extremely high gun violence. She said that she would call the police many times and they would not show up. She also said that when she was driving she was constantly worried about being pulled over by the police. I can completely understand her frustration with the police and not wanting to trust them just because when she did call them they did not come on multiple occasions. However, many police departments are extremely under staffed and have to see which crimes are more important than others, especially in a high crime area. Many cities right now are having budget issues and have to find areas to cut. I wish things like this did not happen, however, they do. If she grew up in another city her view on police would be different. Majoring in the criminal justice field, I do not like hearing when someone does not like the police, however, I am finding than in many cities some people do not have a good experience with the police, which hopefully will change over time.

Height

As a class exercise I was asked to measure the distance from the ground to my waist, shoulders, and nose. This is a very good idea because it will help one know the approximate size of things, which will come in handy for just about any career in law enforcement. I am 5’2” and the distance from the ground to my waist is about three feet. The distance from the ground to my shoulder is about 4’5” and to my nose is about 4’9”. I think this is a very good idea to use as a reference for height.

Harvard Debate Team Loses To Prison Debate Team

The article that I read for this week's blog was about how the Harvard debate team lost to a prison debate team. It gave them an opportunity to learn about different things and to challenge themselves. That goes against the stereotype that prisoners were not very bright. Also by the prisoners participating in things like that it shows that prisoners are actually smart. To beat a Harvard debate team is not a small task. The stereotype is that prisoners are not smart, but this goes against that. In the article many of the people said that they were caught off guard on how good the inmates actually were. Overall I think that this is a great opportunity for the inmates and I am happy they are participating in it.

Notebooks

If I needed to take notes at a crime scene I choose a specific type of notebook. The notebook would be slightly smaller than the regular paper size notebook. The reason I would have it smaller would be so I would be easier to carry around. Also because when you take notes at a crime scene they should be short and concise. This would help me make sure that my notes would be short. It is also important to keep your notes neat, organized, and easy to read for when I have to refer back to them. Therefore I believe a lined notebook would be best with space at the top for a title and date. I would want it to have pockets so I would be able to put any papers I need in there. I would also want there to be a place to keep a pen or pencil. This could mean a notebook with a special spot for a pen or a spiral notebook that would be big enough to fit a pen. The pictures below give some idea to what I would want my notebook to look like.

Kindness

The Twitter post about a Chicago police officer and a homeless man was moving. In the news today one will read many bad things about cops. This post however changes the mood. In this article it explains how a Chicago police officer spent his time and money on a homeless man. The article explains that the police officer saw a homeless man digging through the garbage and decides to buy him a meal. After that they shook hands and went their own direction. This is something that almost everyone can do for someone in need, but often times we choose not to. This article shows that there is still good in the world. It is very refreshing to see something noble about police officers after the most recent headlines.

Summary Writing

This past week I have learned many important things that will be useful for summary writing. The first thing that I learned was how to properly introduce a film or documentary into a summary. Before I did not realize that there was a certain method to it. I also did not know that that the director needs to be added when introducing the film or documentary into the summary. The second thing that I learned was that when writing a summary one cannot use opinion words such as fantastic, wonderful, or brilliant. I was completely unaware of this before this week and I know that I have put my opinion into the first draft of my paper. The third thing that I learned when writing a summary is that I cannot use the phrase “we get introduced” instead use the phrase “the film introduces.” During this week I have learned many important facts about summary writing that will be useful to this class and my career in law enforcement.