1. Write up what you believe is the overarching goal of the entire text. If you need to scan through the pages that follow what you've read so far, that's fine.
2. After writing up the goal of OTJ, list five questions you have about this goal -- questions you might direct to the author.
3. Additionally, list five questions you have about the writer's research he completed before and while writing OTJ. You might visit "Endnotes" at the end of the book if you're stumped.
4. Finally, list five (total, not five for a and b each) questions you might direct to the author about a) the biographies of Joe DeLopez and/or William Calabrese and b) the beginning of "Part 3: Who Are We? Organization and Culture of the Chicago Police Department."
12 comments:
Journal #6- Daryl Meador
1. I think the goal of the whole book is pretty obvious; Smith wants to give the reader overall information about the Chicago Police department, including it’s history, the way it works today, and personal experiences from cops that are retired and are working today. He integrates these sections of information with the personal stories throughout the book. I think he is successful in giving the information but he is biased on his point of view of the department because of his personal ties with it, and he therefore leaves out a lot of the bad information.
2.
a. What are some more stories from women in the Chicago Police Department?
b. What are the effects of women officers in the Chicago Police Department?
c. What are some stories of police brutality in the history of the department?
d. Are there many officers who have negative stories about the way the department is run?
e. What is the salary for a Chicago police officer?
3.
a. Were most of the officers you interviewed friends of the family or did you find officers that you did not already know personally?
b. Did you find books or news articles more helpful in your research?
c. Did you use the timeline on the website for the Chicago Police Department when you discussed their history?
d. Did you use more books that specifically talked about the Chicago police or police in general?
e. In the citations for part two there are a few books on Chicago police scandals, what information in the book did these pertain to?
4.
a. What does Joe DeLopez think are the downsides of working in an upper-class suburb versus the city?
b. In the rape case that he describes, why did the pack of cigarettes give away the fact that the man raped and murdered the girl?
c. Did Willie Calabrese enjoy his job at O’Hare directing traffic?
d. What kind of physical tests to the cops have to do in the police academy?
e. What kind of work do the do in the classroom at the police academy?
1.I think the overall goal of this text is information and understanding. While he does put a lot of information into his telling of the stories, and Im sure there will be more, he also seems to want to inspire understanding and respect. It is a pretty unselfish job, if done correctly and these people are out there doing things for us and getting little thanks for it. It seems that he really wants to make us think. Granted he does come from a family that has a history of cops so he may have a bit of a biased opinion, but is also shows that he is passionate about the subject.
2.Why didn’t you become a cop?
Would this subject have interested you as much had you not come from a cop family?
Did you consider including negative stories with reactions from officers in this book?
Why didn’t you compare these cops more to other city’s cops?
Why do you think our cops are so much better?
When training, why don’t they focus as much on what was done right, as they do on what was done wrong?
3.Why didn’t you include more stories about ‘the other side?’(the bad guys)
Why didn’t you include the Lager beer riot?
Why didn’t you include any Division street cop stories?
Did you use book sources as much as first hand accounts with the cops?
Do you think that the female cops have as much importance to the force as the men?
4. a. Did they ever drive their kids to school in their squad car?
a. Would they have preferred to work in a higher crime ‘more active’ area?
b. why don’t they allow the cops to follow through to a cases completion?
b. Do most of the cops feel well prepared for their first day, not knowing what they will run into, from what they have learned in class?
b. Are the men and women that come from cop families a different breed of cop than those that did not?
1. The goal of the book is to expel the myths of what police officers do, ie, that they are lazy and crooked, by glorifying a small number of Chicago officers who did extraordinary work. The book is also to document these individuals' most trying days at work, while informing a general audience about the history of the CPD.
2. Why did you choose to tell so many stories?
Why did you choose the officers you chose to interview?
Did you write this more for the officers or for people in general?
Did you consider telling more about the other side of the CPD rather than just saying in one sentence in the intro that not all cops are good? That would be more balanced...
Why did you write with the tone you wrote in, ie, using awkward phases such as "resting a pair of elbows" on a chair?
3. How did you find the officers you interviewed?
Did you use sources that only glorified the CPD or did you accept both sides?
How much were you influenced by similar books about cops?
How much did you rely on newspaper articles?
Did you search out specific books and articles or did you get referred to them?
4. Why does Delopez say that "you can travel relatively safe throughout Chicago day or night" when that's obviously not true esp. considering the story on the next page about the missing girl?
Why does it seem like working in Winnetka is comparable to working in the city?
Why is Willy proud of something he can no longer do?
Why does the author switch voices to switch from the story to part 3?
Is it really that dramatic of a change?
1.I think the overall purpose of the story is just to inform the reader. However, there is a lot to inform one about this subject, and he or she may get confused while reading it. I think he just wanted people to understand the lives that the chicago policemen and women have been living for the last so many years. However, as a former police officer, its hard to tell if the words are true or not. Some readers may find this story biased.
2. Why is it important for the reader to know about the chicago police department?
What made you write this book?
What will a reader get from reading this book?
Was there one incident or person that inspired your writings?
3. What was the most peculiar source you used?
Which source was the least helpful?
How long did it take to site your sources?
What to you is the diffrence between a good and bad source?
How did your outside information affect the way you exprienced stories?
4. Did they ever use their cops cars for recreational purposes?
How physically challenging is the life of a cop?
How do you prepare a cop to deal death that he may have caused.
How many cops eventually get arrested for drug crimes?
What would Joe Delopez think of todays CPD?
1. The goal of the On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department is to show the all of the different aspects of the CPD. From history of the CPD to stories from real officers, Smith takes the reader on a journey to better understand officers, their job, and the department as a whole.
2. –Do you think there was a public need for this book?
-Were you aware of your intent for this book while you were researching and writing?
-Did you learn things about the CPD that you had not known before?
-Why does the title focus on the people of the CPD when there is so much history in the book?
-Was this goal your reason for writing the book?
3. -How was an average interview for an officer’s bio?
-How many officers did you have to talk to, to be able to get all of the statistics and information for the book?
-What was the driving force that made you leave your job as an English teacher to write this book?
-Did you write the biographies as you interviewed the officers, and filled in the historical parts at a later time? If so, why did you do it this way? If not, how did you go about the writing process (where did you start)?
-How many of the historical facts were you familiar with before you started the researching process, due to your family’s involvement with the CPD?
4. –Why do you start William Calabrese’s biography with such a large emphasis on his wife?
-How did Joe DeLopez choose to become a police officer when he realized he was unhappy with his business job?
-Why did you mention the names of the officers who appear in the subsequent biographies?
-Do employees of the Forensic Services Section have to go to the Academy? Are they police officers as well as experts in the forensic field?
-Are the members of the specialized units included in the 13,500 count of CPD officers?
1. The goal of the text in its entirety seems to be revealing every part of the Chicago Police Department that was ever wondered about, some of the text also seems to touch on information that very few people will be interested in. However, in a mix of personal stories and descriptions of the history of the department as well as the dynamics of the CPD today, the author presents a thorough investigation. Personally, the more informative sections of the book seem to stray from what I believe the author's goal should have been: for the reader to understand why the Chicago Police Department is important to the city and to understand and perhaps appreciate more the work the officers do each day.
2. Is it necessary to include every detail mentioned in the book?
What part of the book is for you the most important part for the reader to pay attention to?
How much of this book can one recognize as being biased that you may not have thought of?
What parts were most enjoyable to write?
Do you think it is important for the public to read this and why?
3. How did you decide on which officers to interview?
Did you ever think about interviewing officers who had not performed their job well?
What parts of the book, the personal stories or more research based areas, did you spend more time on?
Was the research done in the library as rewarding as the research done by interviews?
Were there any parts of the history that should have been described more thoroughly?
4. Why would officers with integrity mind if a fellow officer participated in the IAD?
Why are the 2 years of college education important to have before joining the CPD?
Why is there an age limit to be an officer?
Is there often a family legacy with the CPD?
Is being "Officer Friendly" held in high regards to the rest of the department?
1.
I think the goal of the book is to present an image of the Chicago Police Department that is removed from the more negative portrayals that have developed over the years. In this sense, the book is meant to be informative. Smith wants the book to inform people about what he believes the CPD is really like. Though, as we discussed in class, it's more likely that anyone who picks this book up to willingly read it would do so because they're already in some way involved with the CPD. So I suppose the unintended goal of the book is to affirm the views of such people about the Department rather than tell them something entirely new.
2.
a. Who did you believe the audience for this book would be?
b. How do you, personally, feel about the portrayal of the CPD in other forums?
c. Did you ever consider using such opposing view points?
d. How do you think doing that might have affected the book?
e. Most of all, what do you think people learn from this book?
3.
a. Where do you begin looking for sources?
b. How do you decide what sources are more reputable than others?
c. Is there anything that you found that you thought could be included, but had to be left out for some reason?
d. How did you find the officers you interviewed?
e. What would you say is a better source, generally: interviewing people or reading books, articles, etc.?
4.
a. At what point during his nine-day retirement did Joe DeLopez decide to become Winnetka police chief, or did he make the decision before he even retired?
b. Willie Calabrese seems to mostly have good memories of being a cop. Were there any particularly bad cases that he was involved with?
c. What are the prerequisites for joining Special Operations?
d. What kind of hands-on training goes on in the academy?
e. How popular has the Forensics unit become in the past few years?
I feel that the goal of the this text is to inform the public that police officers are human, and to show police officers that even though they get flack from the media there are people who appreciate the work they do. To inform the public of the humanity of police officers Smith provides personal interviews with police officers that would probably call Smith a friend. The Police officers give Smith an understanding of who they are behind the badge and teach the reader that police officers think of the welfare of the public. The evidence to support this is in the fact that all the officers have families and these families live in the city they protect. So it comes down to protecting their family, which in turn leads to protection for the citizens of Chicago. To provide the police officers with appreciation Smith writes about police officers that cover a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Also by repeating the fact that police officers are strong, smart, and courageous in all walks of life. Often times neglecting the other side of the story, Smith, succeeds in feeding the ego and pride of the Chicago Police Department.
Questions for the author:
1. In the beginning of the text you promised to show the CDP in the most “truthful of lights.” Do you feel you achieved this?
2. With of the many police officers you have meet in your life, do you find that most police officers are married?
3. What was the hardest part about creating this book?
4. What would you say is the most important quality in a police officer?
5. Who is your audience for this book?
Questions on the writer’s research:
1. How long did it take you to research this book?
2. What part of this book was the most enjoyable to research?
3. Did you cross reference research to make a more accurate and truthful statement?
4. Because there is so much information out there on the CDP, how did you decide on what information to use for this book?
5. Did you research the book alone or did you have help?
Questions about the biography of Joe DeLopez
1. Why is the introduction about him failing at achieving the police superintendent job?
2. DeLopez lives in a very “dry” part of town, why did you include his story?
3. In two parts of this biography you, or rather DeLopez mentions that public do not appreciate the work the police do. Why do you think the public feels this way?
4. What does DeLopez do day to day?
5. How much does DeLopez make a year?
1. I feel that this section’s goal was to show the goodhearted side of the police department. People always say that Chicago is a big city with a Midwestern feel. This means that the people are generally good and friendly. All of the police officers mentioned that their number one priority is the people and that they all wanted to be on the streets being helpful to the public. This shows the caring nature of the police department.
2. Questions:
• Although walking the streets and being with the common people is great, what are the bad sides of this part of the job?
• How does the history of the department have a role in how the officers are with the public?
• I’m sure that there are officers in other cities that care about the public just as much. So how are our officers much different?
• Would it ever interest you to look further into other cities’ departments?
• Are there any stories from female officers that made an impact that you could write about?
3. Questions:
• How did you go about finding these stories to interview the officers about? Did you use the internet, referrals, etc.?
• Was there anyone in your family that you interviewed?
• Did you hear any other stories that you did not put in to the book due to not caring for their content?
• How long did it take you to compile all of this research and stories?
• What advice would you give on interviewing and researching?
4. Questions:
• Which job did you (Calabrese) care for most, traffic control or patrolling?
• Are there any other jobs through the police department that are similar to patrolling?
• (To Calabrese) Even though your health does not allow you to patrol, is there any type of volunteer work that you could do to fill that gap?
• (DeLopez) How did you adjust to working in the suburbs? Was it difficult?
• How do you feel about all of the training you did in the academy to want nothing more than to patrol the streets and assist the
The goal of Smith's On the Job is to acquaint the reader with the emotions, both negative and positive, that are a result of work in the Chicago Police Department. Smith does this by introducing the reader, both through interviews and the back stories he writes, to a wide range of police officers both retired and on active duty, in a wide range of jobs. From Deputy Superintendent Joe Delopez to patrol officers like Art Hannus, Smith attempts to humanize the Department from the ground up.
Smith fills his book with details to serve his purposes, but some have differing effects. Smith focuses on small details in his interviews as human gesture and vulnerability, but in his prose, he ranges from a workmanlike description of districts and ranks to a dramatic glee while writing about violence. In short, Smith wants to sound like a cop. For the most part, he achieves this, at least from the reader's perspective, he is certainly the authority.
Questions for Smith:
1.Was the violence in the book intentionally dramatic?
2.Where there any officers who wouldn't speak to you?
3.Where there any officers who were particularly guarded and closed off?
4.Do you feel that due to your familial influence you had to hold back any damning character details?
5.How extensively did you research the records and histories of the officers interviewed?
Research Questions:
1.Why did you choose to break up the research material by sections of the book?
2. Did you use research material from earlier sections in the latter ones?
3. How did earlier books written about the Chicago Police Department influence your writing?
4. How is your writing different from earlier books about the Chicago Police Department?
5. Do you feel that the memoirs you cite as sources are reliable?
The Chicago police do not have the best reputation in the world, or anything even close really. I think that Smith really was trying to inform people about the Chicago Police, but I think that if he wanted to inform anyone, it was people outside of Chicago who might have only heard about them through the media, or only really heard about the democratic convention all those years ago.
2a. How wide was the distribution of this book?
2b. Who do you think got more out of this book, a citizen or an officer?
2c. Who do you think got more out of this book, a Chicagoan, or an outsider?
2d. What part of this book do you think was the most important or had the most impact?
2e. Do you feel you accomplished whatever goals you had set for this book?
3a. How did you choose the officers you interviewed?
3b. How many officers did you talk to as opposed to how many you included?
3c. Did you consider perhaps interviewing a criminal about his views on the police?
3d. Would it even have been possible to interview a criminal?
3e. How long did it take you to write this book after you decided to write it?
4ai. What kind of physical text did Calabrese have to take?
4aii. Where did DeLopez prefer to work out of the places he has been?
4aiii. How does the rest of the department view “Officer Friendly?”
4biv. What kind of college do the police have to go to?
4bv. What was the overall point and goal of Part 3?
I think that the overarching goal of the entire text is to really elaborate the importance of having the Chicago Police Department on our side. When my friends and I usually share cop stories, most of them consist of talking about a time when the cops crashed a party or pulled someone over. The CPD does not have that great of a reputation for everyone. I think that through the text, Smith chose to share stories from officers that did more than just pulled someone over. They save lives and keep us safe. People could trash talk cops all they want, but when it comes down to it, 911 will the first number they dial for help.
1. What was your overall view of the CPD, putting aside the fact that your dad was a cop?
2. What other things do you think we can do to show everyone what the CPD is really about?
3. How did your father act towards you as a son of a cop?
4. How do you talk about the CPD?
5. How do you feel about all the trash talk (i.e. calling cops pigs) about cops?
1. What made you choose the specific people you chose to interview?
2. Did you decide where you were going to meet?
3. Did you have prepared questions to ask?
4. What kind of responses did you expect?
5. Were you prepared to be shut down?
1. Were you b able to feel the passion of the CPD radiating from Joe Delopez and William Calabrese?
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