Seal Beach Police Open House 2017 – A Smashing Success
The day started out overcast and drizzling. There was so much drizzle in fact, some people were using umbrellas. By 10 when the Open House kicked off, the drizzle was gone and people were ready for the station tour and to check out the booths and activities. The Emergency Services “CERT” Trailer was set up and ready to go right about 9:00 which let the 8 Team members help out the other groups who were setting up.
The Station tour was once again a very popular activity. There was a line forming well before the 10:00 opening and continued most of the day. The Department VIPs (Volunteers In Policing) and officers guided the tour groups of 10-15 though both floors of the station. At various places along the tour route, a member of the Miss Seal Beach Court spoke to the group informing them about the area they were visiting.
The tour covered the Administration, Records,RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service)and theDetective Bureau before arriving at the WestComm Dispatch center (WestComm is a combined 911 dispatch center for the cities of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, and Cypress), where an off duty dispatcher about the call center, its call volume and how the center is staffed. The tour then left the main floor and headed downstairs to the police locker rooms, staff fitness room, and the jail. Enjoy the tour photos below.
Tour guests were welcomed in the station lobby and given a little history about the building and the department.
Throughout the tour, the Miss Seal Beach Court provided tib-bits of information about the police department and the area the tour gusts were viewing.
Photo ops for tour guests
Discovering more about the Watch Commander and her/his 12 hour shift.
Seal Beach Police Records Department
A little prep from the RACES Team...
...and now to pass along the RACES and communications information to the tour guests.
The interactive video demonstration was fantastic
The commanders' offices and duties are described and questions are answers.
The Detective Bureau....
And more questions about detective cases and processes.
West County Communications processes and procedures are described.
2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
The Department locker rooms and staff gym...
2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
The booking process is described....
We got to see the cells and facilities for those who are under arrest or serving parts of their sentence.
The open house included Emergency Services, Orange County Fire, the CHP, Long Beach Animal Care, our joint SWAT team, Beach Patrol, police motorcycles, and the vary popular and busy bounce house for the kids.
There were a number of demonstrations during the day as well. A Police Helicopter from Long Beach PD dropped in for a visit thrilling attendees of all ages.
The joint SWAT unit (officers and staff from Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Cypress, and Fountain Valley Police Departments make up this elite joint team) under the direction of Sargent Mike Henderson, demonstrated the use of a “flash bang” disorientation device. If you look carefully at the series of photos below, you can see Sgt Henderson (third person in the group) toss the flash bang, it’s in the air, lands on the ground and blows the mat away when it goes off with a bang and smoke.
Ready to approach...
Approaching, readying Flash Bang
Toss Flash Bang toward target area...
Flash Bang in air..
Flash Bang lands and delays explosion....
Flash Bang explodes with loud bang, smoke and light to disorient people in the target area.
The Cypress K9 unit put on an excellent presentation one how police can use trained K9 officers to do what human officers cannot do – at least not as easily.
In this demo, the officer used her K9 to "help" a resisting person from his car.
As you can see the "bad guy" is wearing a special sleeve to protect him from the dog's bite. This sleeve helps train the dog to bite but not crush the assailant's arm.
The K9 continues to encourage him to leave the vehicle...
The bad guy is still resisting - so the dog stays engaged.
The K9 officer will stay engaged until he is called off by his handler.
The officer can now more safely engage with the suspect and call her K9 partner off.
Alertly waiting for his next task.
This K9 is also trained for drug detection and after sniffing around the car, found something on the driver door handle and sat down as a signal so the officer can investigate further.
And lastly, the Department showed off a couple of it’s state of the art drones, wowing the young with aerial maneuvers and seeing themselves on the big screen. These drones are used by the Lifeguards to fly over swim areas looking for sharks as well as struggling swimmers who may be hard to see from shore. The police department use these to get overviews of accidents and to gather intelligence information when it is not safe or practical for an officer to do so.
The drone waiting for lift off instructions...
Crime Analyst Officer Kevin Edwards launches drone.
This view of the drone shows the SLR lens that use used to send images back to the controller for remote viewing...
Officer Edwards watches the drone in flight.
This image shows the drone's four propellers with the camera hanging from the bottom.
The drone is broadcasting its images on the big screen attached to the mobile command unit.
The drone flying from right to left viewing the crowd as it travels.
2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
Kids waving at the drone so they can see themselves live on the big screen
The drone files high...
More kids are enjoying the drone live feed.
Commander Steve Bowles "controlling" the drone with his "super powers" for the audience.
There was a lot of fun had by everyone who attended the 2017 Seal Beach Police Department Open House. Enjoy so some candid shots from throughout the day and plan to join us for our next Open house Event!
Trying on some SWAT gear and getting the feel for an assault rifle.
Building community relations is at the heart of the Seal Beach Police Open House event. When the community knows what the police can do and who they are, better raport (trust) is established and the community works as a whole together much better.
CHP Pubic Information Officer Duane Graham talks with a CHP Explorer during a momentary pause in the flow of community members.
Two of the SWAT team members enjoy the view from on top of the SWAT assault vehicle.
Police Chief Joe Miller talks with Officer Edwards while his son scans the event.
CHP building better relationships with Seal Beach VIP member.
One of the highlights for many of the young in attendance was getting to sit on the BMW police motorcycle - and have their picture taken of course.
One of the highlights for many of the young in attendance was getting to sit on the BMW police motorcycle - and have their picture taken of course.
CHP answering questions from the public.
Building awareness about the CERT program and personal preparedness in the community is one of our primary functions.
Too many lives taken - too much damage done. MADD reminds us to never drink and drive.
Chief Joe poses with community members for a photo op.
There's always interest in the open cases in the Detectives Bureau.
Checking out the new CHP Challenges.
Touring the Emergency Services CERT Trailer is always fun for families.
2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
CERT members explain the Neighbor 4 Neighbor program - it's the next generation of Neighborhood Watch.
Seal Beach Lions did a fantastic job of preparing and serving food all day long. Thanks everyone!
SWAT members pose for pictures all day - meaningful for everyone.
Commander Steve Bowles was the Master of Ceremonies for the day, welcoming the community and keeping people aware of what demonstrations were coming up next.
Jen from City Girl Prepper was there to help people understand how to prepare themselves and their family for the next major disaster event.
RACES helps to educate the community about the advantages of short wave radios in disaster situations and that it's just a fun hobby to participate in.
The hundred plus year history of the Seal Beach Police Department all in one booth. Amazing.
Explorer volunteers help out the Lions Club serve up popcorn and snow cones.
Orange County Engine 48 was in and out all day as the call of duty for the fire department doesn't take a day off.
Building relations through the Police Explorer program is a key link into the youth in the community.
Some of the less seen and maybe more fun police vehicles that are a part of the Seal Beach Police Department.
The line build for the Police Station Tour. Tours ran throughout the day.
The Station Tour was one of the more popular events for all ages during the open house.
Traffic safety is a must, even at the ope house.
Why is it that landing a helicopter is such an attraction? It seems most people stop to take a look.
And just for good measure, here’s Fritz Campbellwho was recently awarded the 2017 CERT member of the year
The Station tour was once again a very popular activity. There was a line forming well before the 10:00 opening and continued most of the day. The Department VIPs (Volunteers In Policing) and officers guided the tour groups of 10-15 though both floors of the station. At various places along the tour route, a member of the Miss Seal Beach Court spoke to the group informing them about the area they were visiting.
