Have you ever wondered what goes on during a typical day for our area police officers?
Now residents of Ingleside can find out for themselves by riding along with an officer for a few hours in their Ride-Along program.
The Ingleside Police Department has been offering this program for years. They see it as a way to connect with the community, and what better way to do that than by tagging along?
“The program has been in effect for several years now, and some people have taken advantage of it along the way," said Ingleside Police Chief Tammy Burr. "I think it is important to get it out there to the public and let them know we have this program available, where they can come ride with us to see how we do our job on a daily basis.”
The Ride-Along program fosters a better understanding of the challenges, hazards, and rewards of a police officer's role in the community.
“The biggest thing is to be transparent with our community; I mean, that is the ultimate goal for this police department, to be totally transparent," said Burr. "We want them to know how we do our job, why we do our job that way so they have a better understanding when something critical happens here."
This is also a great recruiting tool for the Ingleside Police Department, not only for future officers, but also to have better communication between the police department and the citizens it serves.
“And we want the citizens to tell us, 'Well you know what? I have this going on in my neighborhood. ...' and it may be something we were not aware of," she said. "So it serves a two-fold purpose. And yes, the citizen gets to see what we do, but also we want to know the problems they are encountering in their community and how we can help fix those problems."
If you are 18 and older and interested in the ride-along program: you must pick up and fill out the application and return it to the police station.
“Fill out the application, it has to be notarized, and you return it to us," Burr said. "You pick the date and time that you would prefer to ride, and we will do our best to accommodate you. We will run a criminal history when you return the application to make sure that you are not one of those we should be picking up and putting in the backseat instead of the front."
For more information visit: https://inglesidetx.gov/police-department/
