Security Intel

Introduction

For the requirements of the criminal justice practicum course this summer of the year 2007, I did my interning at Hickory Hollow Mall in the security department. I started at the beginning of June and am still working there. I have experienced many happenings while on the job. I have also learned many things in the field of criminal justice through my experiences on the job, and studying books, notes, and codes used by security and Nashville metro police departments.

I received the job through my brother who works at the mall on weekends. He is a metro officer who also went through the criminal justice department at Tennessee State University. I was introduced to Julie, head of mall security and hired from there. In order to receive the job however, I had to be fingerprinted on three separate sheets, have my picture taken for three separate pictures, have a background check, and also apply and pay for my security license which was seventy dollars. The specific license that I applied for was an unarmed officer license. During this process I had to give a five year work history and

After all that was taken care of I had to go through training. This took place at Rivergate Mall. It was a four hour course in how to conduct myself, what to do in certain situations, following the Tennessee Anotated Codes, and a written test at the end. I scored ninety- four percent on the test. Two of my teammates also went through training with me and were also hired to be security.

First Day

My first day on the job involved introductions to many things and also meeting my co- workers and mall management. I was introduced first to second in command Stephanie. I also met supervisors Strickland, Jack, and Rajah. I then met fellow officers Ryan, Tanya, Dwayne, Johnnie, Amanda, and Petey. Then I met mall management. I received my uniform which was black slacks and a white shirt with security patches and what not on it. I also received a big forest ranger looking hat. I was instructed that the hat must be worn while roaming in the mall at all times. Officers outside patrolling mobile did not have to wear the hats. I thought to myself that I wanted to be outside mobile all the time! Also I supplied my own black shoes.

I did more paper work also and signed into an electronic log book. I had to put in my personal code and then place my hand on a panel to sign in and out everyday that I worked. I was also given a ten code sheet. This listed all the codes used over the radio when calling anyone. I was also given an officer number. I received 126. Before starting any radio traffic I had to call out my number to be identified as the one making the call.

My training officer on the job was Dwayne. His number at the time was 127. He took me throughout the mall showing me different routes to take and checking corridoors. About an hour after walking around and getting familiar with the mall, we had a call to do a walkthrough at a store called Wet Seal. There was suspicion of theft of property or stealing. In our codes this would be a 10-39. We arrived at the store and did a walkthrough but there was nothing that happened or no one caught stealing. We continued to walk the mall, stopping by stores to just alert them of our presence and what not. Then our supervisor called me on the radio! Her number was 101. She stated, "101 to 126, what is your 10-20?" I pulled out my ten code sheet to see what it was. (copy of ten code sheet attached) I found it and noticed that it was my location. I came back over the radio to tell her that I was lower level Steve and Barry's wing. She then quickly came back over the radio saying, "could you 10-19 please." I again looked at my ten code sheet to see what she wanted. 10-19 was the code for reporting to the office. At this point I am thinking to myself what have I done wrong already. As I walked to the office I thought about everything I had done up until that point. I could recall no errors I had made while on the job. When I finally got to the security office I went into her office and her first words were, "Reiley, how do you like it so far?" I told her that it was pretty easy and pretty cool since nothing had really happened. She then told me that I was going mobile training with Amanda. She told me to use my radio to tell Amanda, number 115, to signal 8 with me at delta service. Delta service was the service court where all the security and maintenance cars were parked after officers or maintenance crews were finish with their respective shifts. I got on my radio and did what I was told. Amanda replied back, "10-4, en route." I was beginning to like the whole radio and codes used.

When I arrived at delta service Amanda was just pulling up. I got in the car with her and the first thing she said was for me to take that silly hat off. While we were still parked she gave me the pre- driving instructions. There is a log sheet we had to do before starting mobile patrol. It consisted of start mileage and time. The time always had to be in military time. There was also a checklist going through all the parts of the vehicle. We had to put whether there was damage to each part etc. We also had to check oil and washer fluid levels. If we had flares and air tanks had to be checked off as well. (copy of vehicle checklist attached). After we finished that we had to call in that we were 10-8 (that's means in service) in the specific vehicle we were driving (there were three security vehicles: mazda 1, mazda 2, and the rodeo) and finish with the gas level. We were at a quarter tank of gas at the time. Dispatch then responded with the time. Right before we pulled of dispatched came on the radio again to tell Amanda, 115, that she would be covering all lots. This was good because I would become familiar with all the outside areas needed to be covered. As we rode around the mall Amanda explained to me that each lot had a specific code name. The first one was the Alpha lot, which was the food court entrance. It was also the busiest lot. The next lot was called Bravo lot. Its entrance was upper level right next to Macy's. The next lot was the Macy's employee lot which was also a part of Bravo, but a little of to the side. Its entrance was actually Macy's. The next lot was called Charlie. Its entrance was lower level by Macy's on the other side of the mall closer to electronic express. The next lot was Delta lot. The entrance to the mall from that lot was either Dillard's or Sears, both lower level entrances. The last lot that we covered was the court yard. It was behind the mall on Bravo's side. The courtyard was where the movie theater, T.G.I. Fridays, Enterprise Rental Car, China Buffet,