Cedar Point Police/Security??

Hey guys/girls... I'm gunna be working at cp this summer for the first time with the cedar point police as a non-bonded police officer... I just wanted to start this post to meet some people and find out a little bit about working for the cp police before I get there.

Look here.:)

I have a suggestion for you, enforce the smoking policy better than the employees and security does.

There's nothing employees can do about the smoking. We can stop every 5 seconds if you'd really like us to, yelling at people this is a non-smoking park and ask them to put out their cigarettes. Half of them will yell and argue us and keep puffing away. Maybe 25% will kindly put them out. And the other 25% will also put theirs out-- only to go back to it once my back is turned to them.

I worked at SkyRide last year. In each cabin, it specifically says NO SMOKING in big, bold letters. Day in and day out we were yelling at people as they were unloaded for smoking, and trust me, it was not just cigarettes they were smoking.

So, in other words, it's pointless. People are going to smoke when and whereever they want, regardless of the rules. Us asking them to kindly put it out is not working, it's too ineffective. Harsher penalties should be done for them, maybe a fine, maybe kicked out, who knows. I know the police can do more than the ride ops and sweeps, but let's face facts: CP Police doesn't do much.

I bet if you tossed a few rule-breaking smokers out of the park, they'd learn to heed the rules at breakneck speed.

Just take it easy on the Sky Ride enforcement, please. ;)

But that requires a top-down approach.

When gold tags walk past smokers without even looking twice, what's the motivation for the seasonals to go up and deal with it?

It was obvious from day 1 that this was a feel-good policy that the park had no plans of enforcing.

I can see where it's almost impossible to enforce. At major sporting events it's easy because you see the same workers for your section all day long. Every time someone is smoking they tell them there is no smoking, and they put it out. What are they going to do at Cedar Point though, follow them around all day and see if they light up again to kick them out?

I've never seen anyone thrown out of anywhere on a first offense, but when you're roaming a 364 acre park you're pretty much perpetually on your first offense.

You would be surprised to learn what the CPPD does. From what I see as a customer, they do a pretty good job at the important stuff, and they do it in an interestingly discreet and professional manner.

I'm reminded of the walk-out I got to watch from the Skyride. A couple of people had actually damaged the Skyride, and got to take the Walk of Shame down the main midway. Now I had seen the meeting at the station, and I got on the Skyride just as it re-opened, so I knew what to look for. But anybody else watching would have no idea that these guys were being shown the door. They were being escorted out, but it was far from obvious. Incidentally, similar tactics are used for escorting the ammo boxes back to Cash Control, so if you see someone taking *that* walk, don't get any brilliant ideas. :)

The even more interesting one was the day that I saw at least a dozen officers converge on a particular location to deal with a particular individual. One officer defused the situation, whatever it was, very quickly, but what the suspect never knew was that the officer had plenty of backup if he needed it.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Kyle - you apparently missed the stories when SF Great Adventure (or was it Great America) went smoke free. A couple high profile cases of people being thrown out with no refund did wonders for getting everyone to play along.

You'll always have people who will test the limits, and if you take care of those few everyone else will follow.

It did help though that those first ones went right to the press, and then Six Flags just had to point to their obvious and well placed signs regarding the smoking policy. Those people didn't have a leg to stand on, but everyone else knew they'd be out 40 bucks if they lit up.

I agree 100% that the best way to actually enforce the policy is zero tolerance like Six Flags did. Get a few stories out in the media of people being kicked out, and everyone else will think twice before breaking the rules.

Six flags has big banners at the entrance of some of the parks that say no smoking.

Cigarettes discust me. Yes, I do see that as hard to enforce though, but throwing a few people out and it getting media attention? That would be awsome! I do have friends that smoke, and I think they should have to listen to the rules just like everybody else.

Park security seems like a great way to start out in the law enforcement field. Hope you have a great season!

As for smoking... (oh, God, we're opening this can of worms again...)

The last thing that I want are 1,000 obnoxious, gaudy signs scattered throughout the park, a gigantic billboard at every entrance and a park wide PA address reminding everyone about the policy every 15 minutes like at a few Six Flags parks I've been to.

Honestly, I'm NOT a smoker, and guests smoking on the midway don't bother me one little bit. That's me, though.

Do I enforce the policy when I'm at work? Usually. I won't go out of my way, but if I pass someone I'll remind them. Do I get mean about it? Absolutely not. Do I think they should be kicked out of the park? No.

I'm with Southpuddle on this. The very slight annoyance I have with people smoking in non-designated areas is far less than the annoyance I would have with feeling that the park is a police state, and that our behavior is being closely monitored. I'd be more bummed out by watching a smoker being frog-marched out of the park for one infraction than I would be by briefly smelling that person's smoke while in line. After all, it is an amusement park, and like other sectors of the entertainment industry, 100% rule enforcement is neither possible nor desirable.

At any given concert or sporting event, there are many more people who could be busted for their behavior than actually are. But at some point, the cost of such high-level enforcement begins to detract from the experience of everyone else. I don't see how Cedar Point is different in this regard.

A police state? Really? Because they're enforcing clearly-communicated policy?

Dj - of course it is. Because after removing you from the park, they lock you up in a dark jail and without any due process rights. I can't believe you didn't know this.

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On a more serious note, I could care less if the park bans smoking completely, has designated areas, or no such policy. The minor annoyance of smelling a cigarrette in an open air space is nothing. But if they are going to have a policy, I would prefer to see it enforced. The biggest dis-service they can do to their patrons is to have a feel good policy that they are unwilling to actually enforce.

Well, clearly that's at one end of the analogy, and metaphor doesn't always come off perfectly through hastily-written internet screeds. But I'm referring to a zero-tolerance policy, which I wouldn't support, and don't think would be all that beneficial to the park guests at large.

Do you feel enforcement of CP's line-jumping policy is similarly unnecessary?

I agree with John, in that policy is only as good as its enforcement. No, smelling smoke out on the open-air midways is not a big deal, but letting guests ignore posted rules doesn't seem beneficial to anyone, aside from perhaps making CPPD's job easier.

The point is, you have to pick your battles, and there are some misbehaviors that are more serious than others. There are more than enough thugs, thieves and troublemakers in the park that are much more important to deal with than the inconsiderate smokers and line jumpers.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.