Morgan Barbret
Staff Reporter
Karli Obriecht
Business Manager
Police ride-a-longs
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in tension between lawenforcement and the community. The public has seen many cases where individuals have abused the power of a police badge, and this has rightfully caused many people to lose respect for law enforcement, and feel fearful of what may happen when they encounter officers. On the other hand, there is no doubt that there are many honorable and honest police officers out there whose main priority is to keep us safe. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand others if we have never been in their shoes. For example, do you know what it is like in a day if the life of a police officer? If not, you may want to consider going on a ridealong.
What is a ridealong? A ridealong is exactly what it sounds like, any student can “ride along” with a police officer in a squad car to directly witness what the officers in our community do in a typical day’s work. Ridealongs typically last a few hours, and allow students to ask any questions they may have and to gain a better understanding of what the job entails.
Detective Brad Mckenzie, of the Roseville Police Department, helps facilitate simulations for the tectonic leadership program and decided to share his thoughts on why he thinks a ride-a-long is a good experience.
“Typically students who participate in ride a longs are interested in going into law enforcement… I think ride a longs are great because they show students what kinds of calls we go on, and how we handle them. It gives people the opportunity to see what police officers go through on a daily basis,” Mckenzie said. If a student is under 18 years old, then a parent or guardian must sign a liability waiver for the student which says the police department is not responsible if a student is injured or experience a traumatic event. To schedule a ride along with the Roseville Police Department, call (586) 4474475.