Sheriff's Academy

I was the only Deaf ever to take classes at the Osceola County Sheriff's Academy, a program specifically designed  for its citizens here in Florida. It's a good way to check it out to decide if a career in law enforcement is for you. We tour the  Communication Center where 911 calls are taken. Yes, it's accessible to the Deaf that uses videophones (VP) and text messaging. A word of advice: If you uses a cell phone, leave your GPS on and stay where you are so that the emergency crews (police or fire) can locate you within minutes. Also be sure that your VRS providers has the correct addresses of where you live. Deaf often forget to update their VRS profile when they moved and it may be a matter of life or death if the dispatchers send them to wrong address. They are training eight new dispatchers this week and will hire more after adding new equipment.

This is Kaos, a German Shepherd, that  takes commands in German as he was trained in Germany. K-9 are trained to locate bodies. He can smell a scent 1/4 mile. We discuss about their intelligence unit, discussions includes terrorism. Our classes are nine weeks. It requires background checks and an application to join the program, you will also need to sign a waiver to participate on the shooting range and to ride in a patrol car. Everyone in class is required to wear an uniform and a name-tag. There are two ASL interpreters. The class is free to anyone over age of 18 living in the county. Classes are three hours every Monday nights. Everything is hands on, not just lectures. Yes, the K-9 unit officers uses hand signals. Yes, there is an unit that deals with crimes against tourists. Officers will answer any questions you may have during the course. It was raining outside so the K-9 demonstration was held  indoor. There was an interesting PowerPoint (PP) presentations on terrorism which describes the characteristic of terrorists from planning to dry runs. I think those PP ought to be printed as handouts. We had one incident here where an FBI shot and killed a suspect that is linked to the Boston bombing, so don't assume it'll never happen here. 

We also  visit the Communication Center where 911 calls are taken.

We also learn about their Crimeline program where you can leave a tip and may get a reward if it result in an arrest. One tip lead to an arrest of 72 suspects. Most tips are related to drug dealing in our neighborhoods.  We also discuss the new "Speak Out" program where children stand up to bullying in public schools.

Saturday morning, we went out to the shooting range learning to use police 45 semi- automatic pistol, rifle red laser aim, and a powerful shotgun that blasts the target.

We  also discusses these three topics:
1. Violence Crime Unit (VCU) - how we investigate homicides.
2. Public Relations - our relationship with the media.
3. Crime Prevention - programs of various topics (ID Theft, Women Defense, etc.) that are available to organizations and schools.
Several graphic photos of crime scenes shown, a decomposed body of a German tourist who overstayed his visa, becoming homeless gambling away his whole life savings. A prostitute identified his body. State lab indicated that alcoholism is the main cause of death.
One of the perks of joining the academy is freebies, tonight they gave out gun locks to prevent a child from accidental shooting at home.
It's a great experience, hope to see more Deaf involvement. 

This is Smokey stay tuned for the next episode of Deaf Anthology, Good Night Deaf America.