By Elisabeth Strillacci

KANNAPOLIS — There is much in covering police work that is standard across the country, but there is also a lot that is state specific, so when Kannapolis announced registration for their annual Citizen’s Police Academy was open, I applied.

Not just because I am curious, always, about police work and our legal system, but because most of my career covering police has been in Connecticut, and I saw a great opportunity to get a better understanding of how things in my home state of North Carolina work.

I also saw an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with Kannapolis, one of the three communities I cover.

The classes run weekly, three hours on Thursday nights, and last week during our first session, we got a lesson in the department’s breakdown, from patrol to school resource officers to detectives and everything in between. Deputy Chief Chris Hill explained how each of three divisions is broken down and how the captains who lead them oversee each of their numerous areas.

And even on the first night, I learned some of the differences. For instance, in Connecticut, most departments have three shifts of 8 hours, often called A, B and C. A is day shift, B is mid, and C is nights. And in many departments, officers rotate every few weeks so they are not always on midnights.

In Kannapolis, they work 12-hour shifts and their assignment is more permanent, though there are still day, mid and night shifts. If someone wants to come off nights, Hill explained the department will do its best to help rotate them off, but he also noted many choose to work the shift because they adjust to the different sleep schedule and would rather maintain it.

Officers also don’t work a five-day schedule. Instead, if they work 12-hour shifts Monday and Tuesday, they are off Wednesday and Thursday, then back on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That rotated them off on the next Monday and Tuesday, working Wednesday and Thursday, then off Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At no time would their regular schedule have them work more than three consecutive days. Which means though 12-hour shifts can be long, they get enough breaks that it’s not overwhelming.

The city is divided into nine districts as well, and at the start of each shift, officers are assigned a district for their 12 hours. In a call that requires backup or an additional officer, dispatchers have information on where officers are assigned and can send the closest available unit for assistance.

And yes, there are calls that elicit even stronger responses, and a number of available officers can and will respond, including a supervisor.

Both Hill and Chief Terry Spry expressed pride in the department and its organization, and Spry pointed out that currently, all available employee slots have been filled.

The department has a number of civilian support positions as well, and on a tour of the facility, perhaps the most impressive area was where the dispatchers work. Anyone who has watched any of the 9-1-1 television series will have to admit, this department measures up to Hollywood expectations. Multiple screens give dispatchers real time information and allow them to make the most informed decisions on response. Lights are low to reduce eye strain and focus attention on computer screens, and every officer I’ve ever talked to notes that it all starts from dispatch operations.

Another impressive area is the evidence storage area. Chain of command is essential, so there are only two people in the department who have keys to the locked evidence room, and the system for submitting evidence is just as secure. The two people who operate the evidence storage area are constantly working to eliminate any evidence no longer needed in order to make the most of a limited space, said Hill, but the security is absolute. Even the chief does not have a key.

There are other pieces of equipment that most of us wouldn’t think of, but that are essential. Next to the evidence storage area is a drying room, which is secured at the same level as the evidence room because the drying room is used for drying pieces of evidence that cannot be entered in storage while wet. The evidence needs to be preserved without mold or other issues, and so the night we were there, a piece of clothing that had blood on it was being dried before being put in the storage unit.

Not something most of us would think of, but essential to preserve information in a crime.

We traveled to the prisoner transfer area, where anyone brought in to the department for processing is held during the procedure. Fingerprinting is now inkless, and there are, as Chief Spry explained, no more “perp walks” where arrested individuals can be photographed by media, because there is an internal sally port now. A sally port is a secured inside area where only one doorway or entry is opened at a time. A police car pulls in, the garage door is closed, the prisoner is then removed from the vehicle, one interior door is opened and they are brought inside. It gives everyone in the situation more security.

I was fascinated, reminded of a lot that I know, but excited to learn knew things. And seeing the inside of the department makes it clear how involved the operation truly is.

We did also get to see an exercise area that is important both for physical fitness of officers and for stress management. Much of the equipment in that gym area was paid for with funds from asset forfeiture, which has to be used for the betterment of the department. It means it didn’t have to come from taxpayer money, which is something the department is both glad of and appreciates.

“This program, which had about 50 applicants and we selected 16 participants, is truly a great opportunity for our residents to have a better understanding of ow our department works,” said Spry, “and it’s a chance to see us from a different perspective.”

As the class moves forward, from time to time, I’ll be sharing an update of the thing we learn, the people we meet, and hopefully, some beneficial insights into the city and its police department.