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Show Hv l)U. U(,I1M Ti the avcrai; viewer ihe p. :a programs nn television may aim rcalij.iic, bul how dies a nial jnliu' officer view the programs, "THI-. BI(ir:ST difference rx:-tween Hol'W(nd and the real ihinn is the time element," noted I.t, Ron Ballantyne of the Bountiful PoIk e. ' "On television thev solve crimes in half and hour that usually takes weeks m final lv solve." Lt. Bailantvne went on to point out that the television people never show all the foot work that goes into police work. A LOT of time is spent knocking on ditors, talking to people to see if any witnesses are available. This is never shown on the tube. Officer Ballantyne said that the television people have to make the show dramatic to sell, a little color has to be added to give the show that "something" extra, "IT WOULD be almost im possible for a police show on television to be lot) percent (actual, it probably wouldn't get on the air, A lot of the shows on the air now though indicaie that the cases portrayed por-trayed are actual cases." Ron indicated that these factual shows are those that at the end of the program state that the incidenis are true and that the names have been changed to protect the innocent. ANOTHLR falacy of Hnllywixrt is the warning shot routine, where the policeman is chasing the crook and warns him to stop and fires a shot over his head. In Bountiful Boun-tiful a warning shot is prohibited. "The department has strict rules governing the use of an officers firearm, any time a shot is fired it has to be accounted ac-counted for." THE POLICY of the Bountiful Boun-tiful Police is that if a shot is fired, a written report on the incident is reviewed by Lt. Bail tntvne and Chief of Police Anderson. If the incident involves the shooting of a person then the detective division runs a complete investigation. THE OFFICERS are required by the department to go to the shooting range once a month, and they must qualify on a practical pistol course every three months. Aside from the time element and the shooting, Ron enjoys the shows on television. He says police Story is the best, as far as police procedure goes, but he likes Starsky and Hutch. SO IF you see a red and white hot rod flying around town with a police siren on the roof don't worry, it's just Lt. Ballantyne fulfilling a dream, dw |