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Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

James

Ashley James Figured world- Theories that explain how a certain world works. Within a figured world, and there are expectations about how things such as appropriate actions, language and behaviors should go. Throughout this semester, I will be analyzing and dissecting the figured world of Criminal Justice. The sole purpose of the criminal justice system is to deliver justice for each and every human being, by convicting and punishing any guilty suspect in order to stop their unlawful offending, while protecting the innocent. rders of court need to be carried out in a timely manner, such as collecting fines, and supervising community and custodial punishment by an officer. Any department in the Criminal Justice field is a serious business that can more often than none consist of all wor!, and no play. "re#uently, the system tends to encounter people presumed guilty until proven innocent, or victims in need of help. $ince this is such a large field, I will narrow down my studies by volunteering my time at the %olice $tation on the campus of &'C Charlotte. I will compare and contrast how fictional television shows portray the world of law enforcement with the real world of law enforcement. $ome tas!s that go on a daily basis at any police department consists of answering calls, patrolling the area, and doing your best to !eep your surrounding community safe. The police answer hundreds of calls on a daily basis and are summoned to help any person in need. (eing that this is such a stern job, pran! calls to )** pretending to be in danger would not be acceptable, and you just might have severe conse#uences to face. Also, no disrespectful remar!s should be made towards any officer. $how full cooperation and follow all orders and you will be fine. Tal!ing to an officer in a calm voice is something that is encouraged. +oud noises trigger a defense mechanism for an officer, and they automatically go into defense mode. The ,entalist -The ,entalist follows %atric! Jane, an independent consultant for the California (ureau of Investigation .C(I/ based in $acramento, California. Although not an officer of the law, he uses s!ills from his former career as a successful yet admittedly fraudulent psychic medium to help a team of C(I agents solve murders. The ultimate goal of %atric! Jane in his cooperation with the C(I is to trac! down the !iller !nown as 01ed John,0 who was responsible for the brutal murders of his wife and daughter.2 http344en.wi!ipedia.org4wi!i4The5,entalist

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

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[Type text Actors- people who play significant roles in a figured world: %atric! Jane6 Consultant for the California (ureau of Investigation. Joins the C(I after his wife and child are brutally murdered by serial !iller, 1ed John. &ses tric!s and mind games to close cases. +ess professional than other main characters. 7ery playful and coc!y and a master manipulator. bsessed with 1ed John. Teresa +isbon6 8ead detective of the team. +ets Jane get away with a lot of stuff when it comes to any 1ed John case. Constantly has her authority undermined by Jane. +isbon is very attached to her team but often e9presses an aversion towards anything that ma!es her emotional towards them. :ayne 1igsby6 ;oes most interrogations and sta!eouts. ;evelops a love relationship with agent 7an %elt. $enior agent. <imball Cho6 Ta!es his job very seriously and goes by the boo!. 1arely smiles or laughs. 7ery persuasive interrogator. "ormer gang member. =race 7an %elt6 1oo!ie of the team. ;oes most office wor!, being that she is a roo!ie and +isbon rarely lets her go into the field. &n!nowingly gets engaged to 1ed John>s -mole2 within the C(I. Conse#uently ends up !illing him when he puts her team in danger and reveals himself. 1ed John6 $erial <iller <illed more than ?* people, majority are female True identity remains a secret that %atric! Jane must figure out .narrows down to @ different people/ ,ost li!ely a Caucasian male

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

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Always one step ahead of %atric! ;raws a smiley face with the victims blood on the wall

Artifacts- not only physical ite s, but also e otional feelings that are very significant in any different ways to a specific figured world: "ood6 Jane uses food in most episodes to ta!e his mind off of things. "ood provides a mental satisfaction rather than physical satisfaction. The infamous blood drawn smiley face by 1ed John6 Cloc!wise smiley face drawn on wall with victim>s blood once 1ed John stri!es again. It is believed he does this to not only taunt investigators, but Jane as well. Couch6 li!e stated before, Jane is less serious than the others so most of the time ta!es naps during shifts. unities- groups within a figured world with co on goals and" or traits:

!iscourse co

California (ureau of Investigation .C(I/6 the team the show is based on. The C(I typically closes cases more fre#uently and faster than local police departments. +ocal police departments6 would rather wor! on cases without the C(I. A member from every department always gets into it with Jane. unication in a figured world.

#iteracy $ractices- eans of co

(ecause of the seriousness of their job, jo!es do not play a huge role in the department. Aven though Jane is not head of the team, whatever he says goes. They trust him enough because he solves many cases so when he has an idea everyone goes with it. "ollowing Jane allows the team to be very successful because he has never let them down when it came to closing cases. %bservation & 'unday, February (nd 'eason ) *pisode &: @3BB At the beginning of the show, a hostage sends in a video giving a list of names of possible people who could be 1ed John. +isbon gets a call shortly after about a case. Jane doesn>t want to go because he wants to continue to wor! towards finding 1ed John. :hen they arrive, a blond female in her mid6twenties is laying deceased on the floor, with a rope around her nec!. Jane e9amines the house. The closet is messy and misplaced, not li!e how a woman would !eep her closet. Clothes and products were also stuffed into drawers instead of placed. Jane #uestions the victim>s husband and within being in the couple>s home for five minutes, Jane suspects her husband of being the !iller. nce Jane confronts him on it, he puts a gun to Jane>s head and holds him hostage. 8e forces him to wal! outside where about *B6*C troops are. Jane lets the cops !now that he replaced the bullets in the guns with peanuts. The suspect pulls another weapon from his belt strap and

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

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[Type text proceeds to shot at the officers. After he fires about D rounds, he receives appro9imately E bullets wounds to the chest and collapses. @3FF (ecause of the shot out which leads to an officer getting wounded, Jane and +isbon must report to the director of the C(I, =ale (ertram, who>s name was on the list as a possible 1ed John. 8e as!s Jane about the case and says he heard Jane is getting closer to solving the case, which is suspicious to Jane because he hasn>t told anyone about his progress on the case. As punishment for the shoot out, Jane and +isbon must choose between suspensions, or to go on an out of state case. They choose to wor! on a case in ,e9ico. @3F@ Against Jane>s wishes, +isbon confides in Agent 7an %elt about the @ possible suspects who could be 1ed John. $he orders 7an %elt to put a =%$ bug on each of the @ men phones. $!eptically, she agrees. $he begins acting odd and her husband Agent :ayne 1igsby #uestions her, but she cant say anything because she was also ordered not to say anything because everyone who !nows about the list has a high chance of being in danger. @3?) Jane realizes +isbon told 7an %elt and pulls them both aside. Jane shuns her for putting a =%$ trac!er on their phones, because he !nows 1ed John will !now and use that against them. +isbon feels as if Jane #uestions her authority and gets very upset. $he decided to leave ,e9ico and go bac! to $acramento and !eep an eye on the @ suspects.

@3E* Jane then finds out that 7an %elt told 1igsby about the list and 1igsby told Agent <imball Cho. 'ow Jane is worried for the safety of his team because all C of them are now in danger. @3E) Jane uses a waitresses -psychic2 abilities to solve the case, which leads to the waitress being one of the suspects. @3CD Jane continuously tries to reach call +isbon, but she !eeps sending him to voicemail. +isbon is called to respond to call at a house. :hen she loo!s it up, she sees one of the phones is at that location. $he calls for bac! up which is delayed, so she goes in the house by herself. :hile searching the house, she opens a closet and a body of one of the men that they suspected to be 1ed John falls out. $he turns around and is then bombarded by 1ed John. Jane finally gets a call bac! from +isbon>s phone, but it>s 1ed John. 8e paints +isbon>s face with the infamous counter6cloc!wise smiley face.

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

James

bservation F $unday, "ebruary Fnd $eason D Apisode F G3*? %olice finally respond the house +isbon was at. They find her down and rush her to the hospital. 1ed John did nothing to harm her, which spoo!s her and Jane even more. G3FB The hospital wont release +isbon, so Cho, Jane, and 1igsby must report bac! to her via phone calls about a new case they are on. G3F? :ith one suspect dead, and D people left on the list, all the agents begin to wor! harder at finding out who 1ed John is. ne man whose name is on the list visits +isbon in the hospital, which frea!s her out and !eeps her on edge. $he leaves the hospital without being officially released. G3?B +isbon tells 7an %elt to reverse the =%$ trac!ing system on all the suspects, because as Jane said in the last observation, 1ed John !nows. Jane goes to visit his former psychiatrist .whom he confided in after id wife and daughter were brutally murdered/ suspecting that 1ed John is learning all his information from her. :hen he rings her doorbell, she doesn>t answer, so Jane brea!s in. 8e sees a note that says -;inner in the oven2 on her refrigerator with the infamous 1ed John smiley face, so he decides to open the oven. :hen he does, his psychiatrist>s head is in there. G3?? Three of the men on the list show up to the C(I office at the same time, so Jane pulls them all in the office together because they all tell him to !eep them updated on new information he finds out about 1ed John. Jane speculates 1ed John !illed $ophie ,iller .his psychiatrist/ because she could identify him. They feel as if he posed as a client for a couple of visits, then decides to !ill her. Against orders, +isbon orders 1igsby to search ,illers house for her appointment boo!. G3EC :hile searching through ,illers appointment boo!s, 1igsby comes across four names that stand out. In other words, four men that have visited once or twice to never return. The four names are Aarnest ,athewson, ,itchell +ivingston, ,iguel (amario, and Jay 1oth. The name Jay 1oth immediately stic!s out to Jane because 1oth is from the =erman word rot, which means red. $he met with -Jay 1oth2 five and a half months ago. :hen searching for the file of the session, it is nowhere to be found. They also chec! the university where she wor!ed as well, and still come up empty6handed. G3C*

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

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[Type text +isbon is upset they couldn>t find the files, and wonders why Jane isn>t as distraught. Jane e9plains he isn>t as worried because he !nows something 1ed John doesn>t !now. :hen he bro!e into her home, Jane poc!eted $ophie>s tape recorder !nowing that she had never learned how to type, so she voice6recorded each session. G3CE :hile listening to preliminary diagnostics report of 1ed John, ,iller concludes that he>s middle aged, with good health. 'o prior psychiatric issues, and has no living family. 8owever, he relies on his company for emotional support. 8e is well spo!en, has good posture and is self6possessed. :hile waiting for his appointment, he sat calmly needing no distraction. ,iller also states he is an e9cellent whistler with a pleasant self6 presentation but has hints in his behavior of a damaged, narcissistic personality. ;uring their session, he states he deals with conflict well but ,iller isn>t convinced. $he senses something deceptive and dar! in his emotional ma!eup and determines he has a phobia of some sort, most li!ely acrophobia. $he ends her tape of saying she loo!s forward to more sessions with him, not !nowing that he is truly 1ed John and her future is going to soon be cut short. %bservation + 'unday, February (nd 'eason ) *pisode + )3BB A -John ;oe2 which is an unidentified male body is found dead in 'apa 7alley, California which Jane and +isbon are called to investigate. The sheriff of the town, whose name is also on the list, is also on the scene. Jane challenges the sheriff to what he speculates happened to the John ;oe and how is was murdered. 8e does this to toy with his head and get any reason to believe he could be 1ed John.

)3B) Jane spots a bloody hammer, which is on a high shelf that re#uires the sheriff to climb up a ladder to get. The sheriff hesitates and gives all types of e9cuses as to why he can>t go up the ladder. This stands out to Jane and +isbon, because in the previous episode in ,illers recordings she describes 1ed John as acrophobia, which means afraid of heights. )3** The John ;oe is found out to be -&ncle +arry2 the uncle of a soon to be bride. The groom and the bride family don>t get along at all. :hile trying to interrogate the family together, the bride calls off the wedding. )3FD

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

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James

Jane convinces 7an %elt to approach the bride and tal! her into going on with the marriage as planned. It wor!s, and Jane agrees to marry the couple being that they can>t find a priest. )3?E Jane finds out that the sheriff is a hunter, which is another trait that 1ed John had. Jane, 7an %elt, Cho, 1igsby and +isbon all attend the wedding e9pecting the !iller will snea! out of the reception. )3EB :hile trying to serve as a distraction, 1igsby gets on the microphone and proposes to 7an %elt. Aven though it was a distraction, the engagement is real. $hortly after 7an %elt says yes, sure enough the suspect, the bride>s brother rushes out. )3CF Jane figures out that &ncle +arry caught the suspect stealing so he !illed him to cover up his crime. :hen confronted, he holds Jane hostage. 8e brings Jane to the roof of the church in order for him to escape. ut of nowhere, the sheriff shows up on a ladder at the top of the roof and shots the suspect. (ecause he was on top of a building and also saved Jane, they eliminate him from the list of possible 1ed Johns, leaving five other men. )3C@ The day after 1igsby>s proposal, 7an %elt and 1igsby wed at the justice of the peace.

!escription of #ocation: The interrogation room is a small dar! room, with one door. A rectangular table with three chairs is placed in the middle of the room. Two chairs on one side where the agents4interrogators sit, and one chair on the opposite side for the suspect. A bright lamp is placed on the edge of the table, facing the side with only one chair. The light is used as a techni#ue to shine in a suspects face. The light can agitate some people and help brea! them down easier. The light also adds intensity. ne wall in the interrogation room is completely glass, which is a two6sided mirror. "rom in the room, you can>t see the other side, however if you are standing on the opposite side of the glass you can view the interrogation without being spotted. ,nterview with %fficer -arlos .alentin of the /0- -harlotte $olice !epart ent: H3 8ow did you get into the criminal justice fieldI

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Observation Assignment Site Location: The Mentalist

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[Type text A3 -I was luc!y enough to have a friend who was a police officer, so I went on a ride6 along with him one day. I got to see some interesting things and it was pretty fun. I immediately !new that law enforcement was something I had a passion for. H3 Tell me about a day in the life of a campus police officer. A3 -:e start of with roll call, then we are assigned an area we must patrol on campus. Jou can either be assigned foot patrol, bi!e patrol, or vehicle patrol. :e encounter numerous amount of students on a daily basis. ,ost days are calm and we don>t encounter many severe problems.2 H3 =ive an e9ample of some encounters you may come across on campus, and not necessarily as a police officer in city limits. A3 -%atrolling the school area, us officers serve mostly as customer service associates. :e can do anything from giving a student a jump to wor!ing with CAT$ on campus which is something you wouldn>t do wor!ing for a department such as C,%;.2 H3 8ow do you feel about the way television shows portray criminal justiceI ;o you feel it is over e9aggerated or pretty accurateI :hyI A3 The way policing and investigating is shown on T7 can sometimes be frustrating. Those fictional shows ma!es it loo! li!e our jobs are easier than it really is. :ith that being said, it is very over e9aggerated. $hows such as the "irst EG are very precise. It shows the hardships we really go through.

H3 :hat>s the best part of your jobI :hat is the worstI A3 The best part of being a police officer is !nowing that I am ma!ing a difference to everyone I come in contact with. I learned from my mother to be a very helpful person, so I love that I can help whoever needs my assistance. The most difficult part of my job is seeing young people ruining their future. I don>t li!e seeing !ids out here stealing, fighting and murdering. I want everyone to succeed in life and if you are brea!ing the law before your life really begins, you will only end up in jail.

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