On Tuesday my public affairs class took a field trip to Ybor and visited the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to get a better understanding of public records. I learned that if you need public record within the Hillsborough County area, we as public citizens can request files any time at the sheriff’s office, jail and courthouse; however not everything is considered a public record. We were given a very useful and very descriptive pamphlet on the standard operating procedures describing news releases and media cooperation. Section six of this pamphlet specifically lists what may be released unless it falls into the 10 listing examples. Personally this pamphlet is a must-keep-item so we, as mass communications majors, can legally understand what can and cannot be released. Mrs. Nunez and Mr. Callaway (spelled like the golf club) provided my class with copies of affidavit reports, copies of examples of arrests that were recent and up to date, and copies of arrest warrant documents to see first hand what these documents look like. Nunez and Callaway also offered my class advice to help us become better journalists and to get a clear understanding how to communicate well with the sheriff’s office.
We were all allowed to watch 9-1-1 operators doing there job and learned some interesting facts about the job. I thought it was very interesting that they can trace your location accurately within 300 meters when you place your 9-1-1 call. The most stunning fact was how long each of these individuals trains for their jobs: a little over a year. As Travis mentioned in class, our carpool discussed on the way home how mental that job has to be. Imagine getting a 9-1-1 call and have to calm down a mother who lost a child or even explain to a confused child why her mother or father won’t wake up. Even though none of these events are the operator’s faults, going to sleep after receiving over one million calls in a year must be terrifying.
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