Rifleman_1101
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Posts: 5
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« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2010, 05:48:44 AM » |
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Jerome,
I play a game with my 13 year old son. I tell him to "Keep in Mind" everything he sees outside our car when I'm driving him to swim practice.
As we're driving down the road, he is looking at everything, and "Keeping it in mind". He is looking at pedestrians and people on bikes. He is looking inside businesses. He is looking at cars. Basically, he is memorizing everything he is looking at and storing it to memory for a short period of time. I'll drive past someone and ask him, "What was that guy wearing?", or, "How many heads "people" were in that blue car that we just passed?" He will quiz me, too. It keeps me sharp.
I also teach him to look at body language and people's facial expressions. You will notice when something is amiss.
This is something I train rookie officers to do, observation AKA OBS skills. Because you may see a car or pedestrian go by, and two minutes later, you hear, "Robbery just occurred, etc." And you may have just driven by the suspects two minutes earlier. Or they may see that guy climbing through a house window or acting as a lookout.
You can also try looking at license plates quickly and memorizing them. You may see a car wanted in an Amber Alert. You may witness a crime where a vehicle is used. You may only get one chance at seeing the license plate before you write it down or call it in. So when a car passes by, take a glance at the plate and look away. Say it to yourself and look back and see if you got it right. Phonetics help. I am able to pick up plates of cars going the opposite direction routinely at normal traffic speed. It's almost like taking a quick picture.
So always carry a pen. And a backup pen. One being a Sharpie or a pen that writes on skin. And if you write it on your hand, write it on the back, not your palm.
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