Sheriff's Office Trip

The trip to the Sheriff’s office was exciting and extremely informative. J.D. Callaway was an amazing speaker and was willing to answer any questions that we had in regards to how the system worked. He was great in informing us what was available as a public record. The handouts that he provided were great examples of what we can find when we use the sources given to us. The tour of the office was also another great part of the trip. I have never seen the inside of the Sheriff’s Office. It was kind of neat to see how it all works, and the layout of the building. Another interesting point that J.D. mentioned was how the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office is the 9th largest in the nation.
Walking through the 911 dispatch area was pretty overwhelming. Seeing that each dispatcher had four monitors to review, listen to the caller, make sure it is dispatched to the correct location are just a few of the tasks that a dispatcher has to perform. I don’t think that I would be able to do all that both physically and emotionally. Hearing some of the calls in the background and how the dispatchers dealt with the situation was amazing.
Overall the experience was great. I learned a lot in regards to obtaining public records at the sheriff’s office. J.D. was full of information that we as future reporters can use to present an accurate and informative story to the public. He stressed how sometimes reporters do not know what they have accessible to them; they sometimes neglect to come back and get more information about their story. He made sure that we know what is there and how to use it. I loved the tour and I am looking forward to the rest of our trips to learn more about what is available for us to make great reporters.