An Interview With Officer Leonard

I had an interview with Leonard, a Cal-State University Long Beach Police Officer. He talked about his personal step-by-step approach when dealing with illegal drugs.

Usually, Officer Leonard catches someone after the act of using illegal drugs. During the day shift, this occurs on average about once a month, and usually in the dorms. However, the use is much more active on the night shift, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. CSULB Crime Statistics of 2006.

When Officer Leonard receives a complaint call dealing with drugs, he will immediately go out to the location where the disturbance is. He will confiscate the illegal drugs. He asks the person who called in what that person would like to do with the drug user. What he does with the user depends a lot on the amount of drugs the person has. But it also depends on their attitude towards the officer, their particular location, and if they are bothering anyone near them. He can let them off with a warning, fine them, or arrest them based on these points.

Officer Leonard also told me that there are currently no DUI checkpoints on campus though CSULB Police have collaborated with the Long Beach City Police Department in DUI checkpoints. But future DUI checkpoints on campus have been talked about.

When asked about an interesting story dealing with illegal drugs, Officer Leonard did not hesitate to tell me about a baggy of pot that was lying on the floor in the Administration Building. It seems no one noticed it because it looked like it was stepped on many times.