Weblog JOU 4181

Our class trip to the Orient Road Jail was completely fascinating. We were greeted by Major Robert Lucas, who was our tour guide for this trip. After going over a bit of the ground rules, our trip was underway…

Booking
We started off in the booking area. This is where the incarcerated are received from the streets and processed into the system. First they go to the Intake station, where all their personal information is documented. This then becomes available on the county website, for those doing public records research. The next phase is Property. All their personal valuables are inventoried for the time being. They can either obtain them upon their eventual release from the jail, or they can sign a release for someone else to get them. Then they are taken to Fingerprinting. It was fascinating to see that the fingerprints are taken digitally. Then, instead of the old t.v./movie style of taking a pic holding a sign, with two profile pictures, they simply do a digital scan of the face. Major Lucas noted that having these images in their database (the photos are also available when doing an inmate records search), makes traditional lineups unnecessary. After they visit the Medical station, they then are taken to the body scanner. Since federal law now prohibits strip searches, the body scanners effectively determine any orifices that may be hiding metal. After that, if it is determined they aren’t going to bond out, they are sent to the resident areas.
See a map of the Booking area
Learn more about the Ranger Boss II Body Scanner

Living Pods

Actually, the residences are not long hallways of iron-bar cells as you might expect from television and the movies. They are more like little dorms. Stress the “little”. Each inmate effectively lives in a room not much larger than a closet, with either a single bed or a bunk bed, and then a desk. They are only confined to their rooms for certain times of the day, if they behave well. Major Lucas seemed to stress the behavioral modification aspect of the jail. If they misbehave, they lose privileges. Extreme cases get them put in Lockdown.
Lockdown is very similar to solitary confinement. An inmate is shut in a narrow room, only allowed to leave to shower, or one hour of indoor and one hour of outdoor recreation. Unless they lose the recreation privileges, then they can only shower. We then moved on to the final stop of the tour.

Master Control

Our tour ended at Master Control. From there an operator can see all the cameras throughout the jail. Major Lucas told us how even though we saw only a small part of the jail, that it was fairly symmetrical, and that the whole jail was pretty much the same from then on. I was rather impressed with the tour, particularly how technologically advanced they were. I would have like to see more, particularly the video courtroom, and the adult education center.

Meet you further up the road,
Brentin
PHOTO GALLERY

Our visit to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was full of useful information. J.D. Callaway, the SO’s Public Information Officer (and USF graduate), gave an informed lecture on the process that most reporters go through to obtain information on criminal activity and arrests. From a News Release, to an Arrest Report, to Incident Reports and Criminal Report Affidavits (CRA), there is a wealth of information for reporters to sort through. Callaway noted that a common mistake reporters make is not obtaining the CRA, which often contains the officer’s notes, evidence lists, and lots of other useful nuggets of info.

Another topic Callaway addressed was the immediacy of reporting driven by the surge of internet news. He noted that the SO had to be cautious with what was said over the radio, as reporter’s listening to the scanners may write stories that are incomplete, or worse, inaccurate. What is said over a scanner, he cautioned, may be completely reverse of the reality of a situation. That leads the SO and dispatcher’s to carefully monitor what they are saying on the scanners, but I would add that the reporters have the additional responsibility to do some fact-checking before posting something on the web where millions of readers could potentially access it. Another overlooked source of info was search warrants, which are public record. Half of the warrants, Callaway says, don’t result in an arrest.

Then we took a brief tour, leading past the records department to the “War Room”. On the way Callaway told some facts about the county and the SO, such as it’s the 9th largest county in the nation, with approximately 920 square miles. The SO used to be the central location, but that much of the operations are now decentralized.

Also, he noted booking videos are public records, and the deluge of requests to see the booking of American Idol contestant Jessica Sierra.

The “War Room” is a small conference room with telephones and computers that serves multiple functions. “Roll Call” and briefing meetings happen there twice a day, and it’s used as a classroom, for training new phone agents for 911 and dispatch calls. But it also can be used to coordinate in case of an emergency, such as a hurricane.

The 911 center employs about 120-130 agents total, with 22-25 on a shift at a time. The center receives about a million calls a year, with about 60,000 of those actually hitting the streets. Landline phones go to certain stations based on the first three numbers (not the area code). Cellphone calls generally depend on the user’s proximity to a tower. These calls can be tracked to a general area, but technology does not yet help them pinpoint exact locations.

We also learned how incoming calls have lists of who’s responsible for policing, fire, and ambulance services in the area the call came from, so the call can be forwarded if necessary (although it was noted the 911 operator stays on the line). Also, arial views of the call area can be shown to determine entrance/exit points, in the event of a hostage situation, etc.

The meeting concluded with a discussion of Reverse 911, a program in which the phone agents are able to target an area and call for emergency notifications. Reasons for such a service may include neighborhood emergency situations such as a hazardous chemical or gas leak, a natural disaster prompting evacuations, missing person alerts, or criminal notifications such as sexual predators moving to the neighborhood, or whether a fugitive is in the area.

The trip was very interesting, albeit a bit short. I would’ve like to seen the records room. I am also anticipating the visits to the jail and the courthouse, to see what the differences in records between the three agencies are.

Meet You Further Up The Road,
Brentin

PHOTO GALLERY

What is it?
The Florida Enterprise Zone program is designed to revitalize poor areas. The University Area Enterprise Zone focuses on the area between Fowler and Bearss avenues and Interstate 275 to Bruce B. Downs, particularly the strip of low income areas just north of the University Mall, known as Suitcase City.

One of the major accomplishments of the UAEZ was the University Area Community Center Complex which offers both a public park, as well as an education/recreation building for tutoring and after-school programs. This was the location of the meeting.

The Enterprise Zone allows for federal grants, including the “Weed And Seed” grant, which is aimed at “weeding” out crime and drugs, and “seeding” in programs and businesses that keep crime down. The Zone provides grants and tax incentives for small businesses. Other ventures included purchasing property for offering subsidized housing in the future. The goal is to turn the stretch of 22nd street extending out of the University Mall
toward Bearss into a type of “Main Street”. See Map of 22nd St Plan

Lynn Schultz, from the Hillsborough County Economic Development Department, opened the meeting by saying that 54 new businesses had been started in the zone, and 157 jobs were created. Some of these include a Cody’s Roadhouse and an Aldi Supermarket, with future plans to renovate the University Mall and open new stores both on site and on the property pending.

Then Schultz discussed a series of workshops for small businesses open to the public. They intended cover everything from getting started, how to obtain loans, permits, licensing, and how to acheive sustainability. Marlina McClure, from the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, expressed interested in the workshops for Workforce’s clients.

TBARTA
The bulk of the meeting focused on a PowerPoint presentation from Cindy Sharp of Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA). TBARTA is a large regional effort to develop multimodal transportation in the area. It ranges from Citrus County to the north all the way down to Sarasota County in the south. The agency was created a year ago to help the area catch up to other metropolitan cities in the realm of transportation. According to Sharp, Florida ranks last in public transportation, and Tampa ranks last in the state. The region is just behind Detroit, which has a plan in place but has not begun implementing it. TBARTA’s goal is to develop a Master Plan by July 2009, although she said it could be available for public review as early as January. See current Master Plan Map

The main focus of the presentation was on mass transit, and areas which could be improved by incorporating mass transit, and other forms of public transportation. Several public meetings have been conducted, as well as online input. Some of the suggestions were the Veterans Expressway (known as the Suncoast Parkway in the northern counties of the region) having an adjacent rail system, more efficient ways of getting from East to West Pasco, improving the bus system in Tampa, as well as better bicycling routes, even the possibility of a ferry/”water taxi” going from downtown Tampa to the St. Pete Pier. Sharp’s PowerPoint included a “before” and “after” photo of a region in downtown Plano, Texas that had been revitalized by having a rail station there.

The Master Plan’s main goal is to develop a transit/rail system that coordinates with the local bus routes in the area to help people get around without the need of a car. It was generally agreed upon by the board members that adding new roads and widening current ones has only gone so far to improve traffic congestion, and new alternatives needed to be pursued.

Some of the questions were how long the building process would take, would it interfere with current traffic flow, how would it be financed, and whether it could really improve downtown Tampa. One of the UAEZ Board Members, Manny Rivero, commented “It would be useless to have a rail going into downtown Tampa if no one wants to go there.”

TBARTA is one part of a statewide effort to improve public transportation in Florida. Other regions include Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami, and Sharp suggested coordination with those regions and their local public transportation could make getting anywhere in Florida without a car a fairly simple endeavour. The meeting then concluded.

Previous Coverage of the UAEZ

Grocery Chain Plans To Open On Fletcher
Nonprofit’s Landlord Bid
Mall Moves Ahead With Renovations
‘Like Main Street Disney’

I found Matt Doig to be very well informed in his field. He did a very good job explaining how to relate investigative reporting and public records research to our broadcast majority. Some of the things he mentioned that I had not thought about were how to use database systems, public records, and spreadsheet programs such as Excel to cross reference two or more public records to find very specific information. He also had a nice tidbit about how public records can be used to enhance any story, not just investigative pieces.

His response to my question on how to deal with varying public records’ access in other states (assume it’s open, and make them tell you why it’s not) was useful as well.

Things I would have liked to have seen were maybe more specific examples of his work, perhaps by using the projector and the newspaper’s website. Also, I would like to know more about their TV operation, and how they incorporate the print, online, and broadcast aspects of their reporting to create multiple ways of looking at a story, and how public records factors in to each aspect. I know this isn’t the MMJ class, but multimedia reporting is a reality of news today.

A trend I’ve noticed with guest speakers in this class and other classes is how few of the current batch of people working in news today were trained in multimedia. Most got their training on the fly as they transitioned into 21st century journalism. The next wave of mass communication graduates will need to have these skills as basics, as well as be able to innovate new methods and skill-sets if they are to be competitive in this job market.

Meet you further on up the road,
Brentin

I found Adria Harper’s discussion very interesting. Although much of the information she covered was also covered in the text, it was encouraging to see that she is well-informed about her role in Open Government. It also helped for her to put some of the sometimes awkward legalese from the book into more plain language terms.

I also was pleased by her response to my question (”Do you think the trend is going to be to put more and more information online?”), that she and the First Amendment Foundation encourage the agencies to put as much information online as possible, to allow more public accessibility, making their jobs easier and ours.

I was not encouraged by how some exemptions and fees are very vague, even to her. I am eagerly awaiting our FOIA project to put to the test some of the policies that these agencies should be practicing. I find it fascinating all the information that’s available out there. It creates a great deal of responsibility: Agencies must be well-trained in how to correctly handle requests for public records, and the viewers of the information must know how to properly interpret it, especially journalists, a group that the general public largely depends on to make sense of all the technical information found in those records. I was also not encouraged by the apparent lack of discipline or punishment for agencies who don’t comply with the sunshine laws. Although it could be argued the agencies suffer from poor training, so it will be interesting to see how these agencies perform on our project as well as future audits.

I am excited about future trips in this class, so I can learn how to delve even more deeply into the sea of information that’s out there, as well as how to interpret it.

Meet you further on up the road,
Brentin