Police World Edition 3 2014

Article

POLICING USA STYLE After the successof aprevious visit inSeptember 2012, USARegion56 inWisconsin invited sevenofficers from UKRegion9 togo statesideandexperienceall thingsAmerican. BTPbranchSecretaryGaryWarren, oneof those

lucky seven, takesup the story. A nemail hitmy inbox in January about thepossibility of goingacross to GreenBay,Wisconsin for aweek. I had read, inprevious editions of PoliceWorld, about Hertfordshiremembers going in2012, and the return visit by JohnFlannery last year, so immediately I knew I had to go. Emails immediately startedbeing sent backand forthabout the tripandwhen JohnFlannery sent theplanned itinerary I just couldnot wait to get out there– thiswould indeedbe the tripof a lifetime. JoiningmewouldbeGerryMcDonald, Andy Piper andPhil Rosier fromHertfordshire, Chris Leah from Bedfordshire, Ross Landers from theMetropolitan PoliceServiceandMarkBishop fromBTP. The time finally arrivedand inearlyMaywemade our way across thepond. Wemet our UShosts in the shadowof Lambeau Field, a football stadiumwhich ishomeof the GreenBay Packers, andenjoyedUShospitality. Joe Johnson, Region56President, and JohnFlannery certainly knowhow tomakea good first impression. Our first day startedniceandearlywitha tour of AshwaubenonPublicSafetyDepartment. They are unique in that they provide the functions of policing, medical responseand fire fighting fromone location. All thePublicSafetyOfficers are trained inall three disciplines. The concept washard to imaginebut made somuch senseandall theofficerswe spoke towere soproud tobepart of theDepartment.We took theopportunity to take somephotos in the police vehicles andona fire truckbeforepresenting theChief witha tokenof our appreciation for openinghisDepartment up tous.

the facility. TheOneida tribe is oneof theoldest nativeAmerican tribes in Wisconsinandonly native Americans can serve in theDepartment. It was fascinating to learnabout theway the tribeoperates. After lunch, anda tour of LambeauField, we then paida visit to the ‘Uniform Shoppe’ to lookat some USpoliceuniforms and equipment. Policeofficers in theUSare givenan

Lunchwith theChief of DePerePoliceDepartment thenbeckoned.We then toured the facility and spokewitha fewofficers. Before leaving, to go to the NortheastWisconsin Technical College (NWTC), we thankedChief Biederwieden for hishospitality. TheNWTC college iswhere students enrol on the LawEnforcement programme. Anyonewishing to becomeapoliceofficer needs topass this course with sufficient creditsbefore they canapply toa policedepartment. Weall got very excitedaswewere shown the ‘MILO Range’ training system, locatedat the college, – and given theopportunity to takepart in some scenarios. They evenhadone that tookplaceona train forMarkBishopandme, sowe felt at home. Then the liveaction versionbeganaswewere taken onto the range to shoot somepistols and rifles. Havingnever shot before I was apprehensive, but foundmyself tobequitea good shot.Wewereall taken throughbasic firearmdrillsbeforewe shot fromkneelingand standingpositions.Wewerealso taught how to ‘double-tap’ accurately - which is a shooting techniquewhere twowell-aimed shots are firedat the same target with very little time in between shots. After suchanactionpacked first day, Gerry McDonaldand I went toNWTCearly thenext morning to takepart inaQ&A sessionwith some of Joe’s students. Thequestionswerewell thought out and the students seemed genuine in their enthusiasm to get anunderstandingof how things aredone in theUK. We thenheadedout toOneidapolicedepartment, wherewemet upwith theother UKofficers, to tour

allowance topurchasekit and theUniformShoppe is theplace to go. It was anamazingplacewith lots of cool gadgets. That eveningwewere invited todinner at Donna Gilson’shouse. Donnahas anamazing collection of policememorabilia. Shemade themost amazing foodand therewas plenty of it. I thoughtMark Bishopwas going toexplodewhen theChocolate Éclair cake cameout. Wewerebackat NWTC collegeon theWednesday morning tohavea goon their driving simulators. Theywereextremely interactiveand gaveus the opportunity topracticedrivingon the right side of the road. Then it was off to the local airport to run through some vehicledrills includinghigh risk contacts, slalomdrills and vehiclepursuits. Andy andChris certainly enjoyedputting theDodge Charger through its paces - andRoss showed some rather silky driving skills.Wewere then taken to the On the range

16

POLICEWORLD Vol 59No. 3, 2014