I participated in a ride along with the Saint Joseph Police Department last night. I wanted to see what our police officers do every day and learn more about the process and the challenges they face. It was very informative and would recommend anyone that is interested to reach out to them and schedule a time to do this yourself.

I will always be a supporter of the police. They have a very important job where they put their lives on the line every day to ensure this community is safe for everyone. During my shift I was able to see traffic stops, an attempt to execute an arrest warrant, the arrest of people with a large amount of drugs and the booking process.

Stopping crime in progress is important, but preventing crime in the first place is even better. To do this we need to invest in schools, fight extreme poverty and create a sense of ownership and pride in the city. We need to have programs in place to get people the help they need such as mental healthcare, detox, a safe place to stay and social workers to help them get back on a path of prosperity. I was very impressed with the police department as a whole and the initiatives they are taking to continuously improve. Everyone I interacted with was friendly and seemed to genuinely care about the citizens of this community. I look forward to doing this again and speaking to more law enforcement officers.