Journal #2
Shifts 4-6: June 11, 2012; June 12, 2012; June 13, 2012
During my next shifts at LAPD, I continued to work in the Gang Unit. Although the physical setting did not differ from how I described it in my first journal entry, this week, I worked in an area within the Gang Unit that contains a computer stationin each of the four corners of the room. This room is rimmed with closed shelves that are designed like the overhead bins in airplanes. The shelves contain binders comprised of information on individual gang members belonging to each of the main gangs in Los Angeles. [A1]
At the start of my shift, I met with Mary, one of the civilian workers in the station. Mary is a middle-aged, African American woman. She was dressed professionally in a business suit and spoke in measured, pleasing voice. She told me that she had had worked at LAPD for 12 years. [A2]She taught me two tasks that morning. First, she showed me how to read Field Investigation (FI) cards. These cards include physical descriptions of known or suspected gang members, including tattoos, piercings, and other identifying features, as well as their residences, hangouts, and activities. Patrol officers complete FI cards after each encounter with the public so that the information contained in them can be entered into a statewide incident tracking system called CalGangs. This systemtracks and monitors known gang members, their associates, and their activities. This, in turn, allows law enforcement officers to track both people and gang-related crimes. [A3]It also helps crime analysts see which areas of the district need more patrolling. However, since each officer completes roughly a dozen FI cards every shift and there are insufficient funds in these tough budget times to hire a sufficient number of data entry workers, the LAPD is always several months behind in getting the data on the FI cards entered into the tracking system.[A4]
I was pleased to see that LAPD was using crime analysis techniques to help control crime. Although I had learned about such data-driven policing techniques in my policing class (CRJU 302), I somehow expected a large organization like LAPD to be a bit behind the times as a function of managerial inertia. Specifically, we had learned that in large departments, as people are promoted up the chain of command, they often cling to the ways things have always been, rather than experimenting with new approaches. This is especially true in large departments that do not require any college education for hiring or promotion.[A5]
While I was entering FI card data into theCalGangs system, I used the LAPD’s internet web page to access some forms to complete the registration updates. I noticed that the home page had a heading titled “Los Angeles Police Department” and a photo of an officer’s badge. In addition, the letters “LAPD” were colored in the horizontal stripes of the rainbow and a rainbow flag was alongside the American flag in the background. A subheading explains that these designs commemorate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Heritage Month. In addition, there was a message from Chief Charlie Beck, which, among other items, mentioned the department’s support of “our LAPD brothers and sisters who are proud members of the gay community.” Chief Beck elaborated by stating that their service “makes our organization a more authentic reflection of the communities we serve” and urged officers to familiarize themselves with the new “transgender policy.” Chief Beck concluded his remarks by emphasizing that officers are expected to “treat everyone with respect.” This was very interesting to me because, according to what I learned in Criminal Justice Ethics, Values, and Diversity (CRJU 330), police culture is typically very masculine, conservative, and resistant to change. Historically, the field of law enforcement has been plagued by charges of prejudice against women and minorities who join the force. Police have also been accused of misconduct against civilians in the field who belong to minority groups. Sexual orientation has also been a battleground in law enforcement, but one it appears that the Chief is actively trying improve.[A6]
During my work in the Gang Unit, Mary and I discussed some of the gang cases on which she was working. As previously mentioned, Mary is not a sworn officer, but she nonetheless works closely with the Gang Unit Detectives to keep their cases organized and entered into their system properly. She told me how shocked she was at the young ages of some gang members. She stated that she blamed their parents for “locking their kids into their own lives.” Mary also mentioned that she feels that some victims who are assaulted, raped, or robbed by gang members often “act stupidly and behave in ways that make their risk greater.” She emphasized to me that she had “little sympathy for women who party and get drunk with gang bangers and then want to press rape charges.” Her lack of compassion for the victims of serious crimes surprised me. But then I recalled from both my policing class (CRJU 302) and from victimology (CRJU 401) that police are frequently critical of crime victims, often attributing some of the blame to them. But I had not expected this attitude to have crept from the sworn officers to civilian staff like Mary. But as I thought about it while writing this journal entry, it made more sense to me. I should not have been so surprised that pervasive attitudes at the station reach all (or at least many) of the people who work there. This shows how the “police subculture” affects those who work in police departments even if they are not sworn officers. That was not something I had learned in any of my previous coursework. [A7]I think I might write my term paper on this topic, investigating the research on police subculture and attitudes.[A8]
My expectations were met this week in that I learned about how police monitor gang members and use data to help prevent future crimes and solve those that occur in spite of prevention efforts. I was also pleased to begin learning how to use the CalGangs system, as I think this skill will help me secure a position as a new police officer. The only real issue I encountered this week concerned Mary’s views on the victims of gang-related crime. As I thought about what she said when outlining my journal entry, I reflected on my own views about criminal victimization. Although I agree with Mary that people need to behave intelligently and work to avoid becoming victims, I also feel that it is unfair to blame the victim—especially the victim of a sexual assault. No one deserves to get raped. I think the criminal justice system’s focus should be on punishing the offenders and educating people on recognizing risky situations and behaviors. [A9]Mary probably feels as she does because of the high volume of crimes she has worked. After years of caring about the victims and then seeing the same crimes repeated in similar situations to many different people, Mary might have hardened her heart to the victims’ plights. I hope this never happens to me, although I recognize that I as enter a career in policing, it may be inevitable.[A10]
CRJU 492: Internship
Journal Entry Grading Rubric
Scale 3 = Very Good 2 = Satisfactory 1= Needs Improvement 0 = Unacceptable
I._2.5_ Points for Description – The journal entry needs improvement with the following (check all that apply):
- _x_The setting of activities in which the student engaged that week are described in detail.
- ___The human/social environment of the interactions in which the student engaged during the week (e.g., characteristics of the subjects; patterns, frequency, direction of both verbal and non-verbal communications; the language of participants, including jargon; decision-making behaviors; surprise events, including things that “did not happen” which the student expected to occur; etc.) are described in detail.
- ___The formal and informal activities in which the student engaged (both planned and unplanned), and the behaviors observed during those activities are described in detail.
- ___The documents (e.g., policy manuals, training materials, minutes of meetings, memoranda, computerized data files, etc.) to which the student was exposed during the week and how the data contained within those documents compare and contrast to the behaviors observed during other activities are described in detail.
II._3__ Points for Analysis – The journal entry needs improvement with the following (check all that apply):
- ___The student analyzedthe experiences (either through a retrospective examination of prior course-work, prior job experience, or current on-site training) that prepared to student to engage in the activities performed that week, paying particular attention to differences between prior academic learning and the participant-observations.
- ___The student identified any issues with which the student was confronted that week and described how the student resolved those issues.
- ___The student explained how the student's expectations were either met or failed to be met that week.
- ___The student addressed other thoughts, concerns, or feelings that the student believes would be productive in helping self-analyze his or her own success at this internship and/or helping the professor assess the student's success.
III._3__ Points for Writing – The journal entry contained errors with the following (check all that apply):
a.Grammar/Spelling/Usage:
___ Adverb/Adjective Use___ Apostrophe Use___ Biased Language___ Capitalization
___ Comma Use___ Dangling Modifiers___ Effective Transitions___ Gerund Use
___ Hyphen Use___ Parallel Construction___ Pronoun Use___ Quotation Marks
___ Sentence Fragments___ Spelling___ Subject/Verb Agreement___ Use of Jargon
___ Verb Tenses___ Who/Whom___ Whose/That/Which
b.Writing Style:
___Overuse of Passive Voice
___ Varying Sentences to Avoid Repetitive/Boring Writing
___ Writing Concisely
Total Points: _8.5_
[A1]Good description, but you could expand this a bit. How big is the room? What is its physical condition? Is everything neat and well organized or are materials strewn about? Are the computer stations modern or do they contain outdated equipment?
[A2]Excellent.
[A3]Excellent explanation of FI cards and the CalGangs system.
[A4]Excellent observation!
[A5]Fantastic analysis of your participant-observations. Good job!
[A6]Again, this is a wonderful analysis of your observations.
[A7]You are doing a first-rate job analyzing what you observed. Keep up the good work!
[A8]Yes, this would be a great topic.
[A9]Good, but don’t you think there is a tension here? If we’re educating would-be victims on preventing their own victimization, then we’re still not focusing on preventing would-be offenders from committing crimes. Might it be effective to implement educational initiatives (in grammar schools and in public service campaigns) that teach boys/young men to respect girls/young women and emphasize the former’s responsibility to make sure they have consent for sex, rather than to focus all of our energies on teaching girls/young women to avoid being the victims of rape?
[A10]Excellent self-analysis. This is an extremely well-done journal entry, <name redacted>. I also appreciate that you wrote your journal entry with a professional tone and with attention to proper grammar, spelling, and usage. Brava!