Citizen Police Academy: week 4

Goffin Cockatoo at 1 month old, originally uploaded by nybird.

There were only two sections in this week's class; I'll take them one at a time. I could not find an appropriately weighty Flickr photo for the topics of domestic abuse and officer training, so instead I hope you will enjoy this googly-eyed bird baby.

Criminal Procedure & Domestic Violence Investigations

• Domestics are like homicides: police may press charges even if you don't want them to
  
• St. Paul Police responds to 40 domestic calls per day
• 2-5 are felony level crimes
  
• 80% of strangulation victims show no external physical markings

Selection & Evaluation of Police Officers
I thought the most interesting thing about this subject was that St. Paul Police hire new cops based on character evaluation, as opposed to skills or experience. Assistant Chief Bostrom explained that they can train people to be competent, but character cannot be taught. He also had a great quote:

"We don't give rides to jail. You have to earn them."