Mesa Police VIPS Banquet

Last week I was able to attend the annual Mesa Police Department VIPS banquet. This year's banquet was special because it was the 25th anniversary of the VIPS program at MPD. I have never really been to a formal banquet so I was very excited to attend.

I did not realize how big the VIPS program is. There were a lot of us in every age range. It was nice because you were able to meet some of the people in the police department that you do not see everyday. I sat next to the supervisor of the Crime Scene Specialist Unit at dinner. I was able to discuss different things with her and she even invited me to come and participate in a ride a long with her.

Our main supervisor handed out many awards. Most of them for the number of years an individual has with VIPS. It was nice to see all the people who give back to our community by volunteering their time to police services.

We all were handed certificates that thanked us for our service and the number of hours were completed for the year 2014.

There were many special guests at our banquet. The Mayor of Mesa attended and gave a speech and there were a few city council members there who also gave a speech.

It was a great experience and I am glad I was able to attend. I am also proud to say that I am a part of the Mesa Police Department VIPS program.

Resume.. Oh my...

So this week I am attempting to create a resume that I can modify every time I apply for a different job. I have created a resume for different writing and English classes but nothing that I feel comfortbale turning in for a job. I have heard so many do's and dont's for resumes.


So I want to know what are all of your do's and dont's? What has helped you and what do you wish you would have included or what do you wish you left off?

Applying for a 'big girl' job is scary and I want to put my best foot forward. I have had my dad and boss look at it multiple times for clues and hints.

Any suggestions?

Grad Fair!

Hi there everyone!!!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun spring break and if you were like me and only got a break from school I hoped you enjoyed it!

Hope you all were able to attend the grad fair... and even though it was kinda expensive.. it sure did make me more excited for graduation! These past 5 years have been really tough for me and I am sprinting towards that finish line.

Im sure you are all wondering 5 years? Well here is a little background story for you.

I was born and raised in a small town. We had two stoplights- one at the beginning of town and one at the end. I went to school K-12 with all of the same kids. My best friend has been my best friend since first grade.

I was very athletic and played 3 sports all throughout high school. It was my dream to play a sport in college. Softball was my passion and I was pretty good at it. So, when senior year came around I began to get offers from colleges. I decided along with my family that I would stay in Arizona for at least the first two years. I decided to accept a scholarship for Glendale Community College- GO GAUCHOS! :) Those two years were tough, mentally and physically. I moved out of my parents house. lived in my own apartment, I was in the middle of a city, I was a college student athlete and it all was a big change!! After my two years at GCC was over I made the decisions to stop playing softball (mostly because my arm had given me a lot of trouble the last season) and to focus on school and finding a career.

I did what most college students do and change my major... a few times. I was not sure what I wanted to do and I did not want to go to ASU and pay thousands of dollars and change my mind again. So that fall I took a few classes at Chandler-Gilbert Community College until I made a decision on what I wanted to pursue. So here I am graduating in 2015.

Throughout these past two and a half years at ASU I have to work and go to school full-time and complete my internship in order to graduate.

Now that we are in the home stretch I am proud to say and look back on what all I have accomplished in these last five years. A lot of people from my hometown a) never leave or b) leave and go right back. They all said I would be a "one and done" but I think that is what motivated me most. I wanted to prove those people wrong and become the person I am today-with a college degree!

Here we go! See you all soon.. Very soon! :)

Free write- Can you see the finish line?

Yikes... It is almost Spring Break.. Where did the first half of the semester gone? Like you all are, I have been nothing but go go go this semester. Between interning 25 hours a week, working 25 hours a week, having a full-time school schedule I can barely catch my breath! Not to mention I am running a 5K this weekend. I have more school work than ever and the days seem to go by faster while I am moving along in my internship. My question to you all is how are you doing? Do you have any useful hints and tips? I hope you all are having a great semester and have a safe spring break!!

--Tiana

Free Write-Interview with the Chief

For my Public Leadership class this semester I had to choose someone in the public sector that I thought was a significant public leader. I choose Chief Meza of the Mesa Police Department. I had to follow protocol and get in touch with his adjuadant to set up an interview with the Chief. The interview went very well. I was able to take 30 minutes of the Chief's time and I learned a lot about leadership and what leadership meant to him. I really appreciate Chief Meza taking time out of his day to meet with me. Now to turn my 30 minute interview into a six-page paper! Wish me luck!!

Free Write

Today I was able to tag along with my supervisor to the CompStat meeting. This meeting is where each of the districts goes over their stats and data for a 28 day period. The different districts focus on different things. The district supervisors brief everyone on special projects they are doing to help reduce the crime rate and trends. It was very interesting to hear the break downs on all the different numbers. A lot of very high up police personnel attended and that was very cool to see. From what I saw CompStat is very beneficial because it allows the districts to get together every month and discuss what they see as a crime trend and what they could do to stop the trend. As a crime analysis you are consistantley keeping track of these stats so in a way it is very rewarding seeing all your hard work being put into a packet and being discussed!

Group 2

Having a career in the Criminal Justice field has always been my dream. Coming from a Law Enforcement family it would mean a lot to me to follow in their footsteps, mostly my dad's. I have always been so proud of him and all of his accomplishments throughout his career. I would not trade my interest in law enforcement for anything! The Criminal Justice field interests me in so many ways and has so many oppurtunities for me to be able to have a successful career. One day I hope to make my dad as proud of me and my career like I am of him and his career. 

I am an intern for the City of Mesa at the Mesa Police Department for the Crime Analysis Unit at the CAFV (Center Against Family Violence) And I absolutlely love it! As a 

Crime Analysis Intern my duties are 1) to assist Crime Analysts by reviewing police reports and preparing data for crime trend bulletins; 2) research criminal activity in Mesa; 3) compile and enter data into various databases; 4) use computer databases, electronic spreadsheets and other applications to manipulate, analyze and present data.

I do whatever I can to make my supervisor's life a little easier! 

This intern has been a real eye opener to me so far as in what I want to pursue as a career. Crime analysis really interests me because I like compiling data and trying to make sense of it. I have always been a really organized person and even in a sense have my own OCD tendencies. I like crime analysis because you have to be organized and have to want to data scrub to make sense of things and to also be able to provide the information that will be useful. I have always been a list type of person, I make a to do list, a grocery list, a packing list, basically a list for whatever I am doing and in crime analysis I have found that lists are very helpful and can mean a lot. 

A typical day at my intern... Hmm lets see. I go in from 7am-2pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I talk with my supervisor and see what has happen over the weekend or since that last time I was there. She updates me on cases and things we need to be looking out for. So after that I begin my work. So far in my internship I have learned to run searches in R.M.S ( Records Management System) and use the calls for service module. I review the calls for service for certain criteria i.e.. child and adult contacts. I have learned to summarize a large amount of date into a smaller amount that gets right to the point and to the cogent details. With this I have been utilizing my excel skills and have been getting pointers and short cuts from my supervisor. I have learned how to scrub data and to get data in a raw form to standardize it and make it so everyone knows what it means and make it useful. 

I have also have been given the assignment to update the metal list for the whole city of Mesa. The metal list is a list that contains all the crimes that happen with scrap metal, vehicle batteries being stolen, shoplifts of metal goods, street wire, copper wire thefts etc. I enjoy doing this because I am practicing my skills to one day become a crime analyst. I update this list every week and pull data from RMS and review data from other districts and put all the data into one giant city list. 


I really do enjoy going to my internship and being able to learn hands on and have the real life experience. I was not too sure about what career I wanted in law enfacement but now that I have had the chance to explore a career and find one that I love and have a passion for I will be keeping my eyes on the prize and doing whatever I can to become a crime analysis tech and then one day become a crime analyst.