By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorIt’s a fine fall Friday afternoon. I am cruising along with Officer Mike Blattel of the Warrenton Police Department as part of the civilian ride-along program.The Warrenton Police Department established the program in 2012 as an opportunity for residents to observe a Warrenton police officer on patrol. Participants ride with the officer in his patrol car to get a first-hand glimpse into the daily operations of the police department.Blattel, a 2 1/2-year veteran of the force, is friendly and knowledgeable, eager to answer my questions.In the short time I have been at the newspaper I have learned that while Warrenton may be a small town, it is a place where anything can happen.We get our first call shortly after I arrive at the police station. We are off to check on a possible stolen car at McDonald’s. Minutes later we are cruising through McDonald’s parking lot and spot the vehicle: a silver 2007 Ford Focus packed with the owner’s entire possessions. We get the backstory from an officer from the Fulton Police Department. An acquaintance of the owner stole the car, then later abandoned the vehicle at McDonald’s. He then called the owner to let her know where it could be picked up.The owner is notified and agrees to come pick up the vehicle. The Fulton Police will handle it from here.Crime Is SeasonalOfficer Blattel is more than half-way through his 12-hour day shift which runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.Crime is seasonal, Blattel tells me. Criminal activity tends to slow down a little in the fall, and takes a big drop in winter. “In the summer there is an increase in foot traffic,” he says. “There are more people out at all hours.” He says it is easy to spot a suspect in winter. “Nobody in their right mind is out at midnight in 30-degree weather.”Blattel says the top three calls Warrenton police receive are for domestic violence, traffic accidents and 911 hang-up calls. And it isn’t long before we are off to Kroger to check on a 911 hang-up. Blattel goes in, makes sure everything is all right — it is — and we are back on the road.We are assigned the south zone today. Another officer takes the north zone, which begins at Interstate-70 and runs north. A supervisor, or rogue unit, is also patrolling the city. Warrenton high and middle schools also have officers on campus.During the day shift things start ramping up around 3 p.m. That’s when school and a lot of workplaces begin letting out. Car accidents and shoplifting calls go up considerably, especially at Walmart, about that time.Blattel says police tend to see the same perpetrators over and over again, especially at night. Most of the thefts and stealing calls are related to drugs, both illegal and prescription pills, he adds. Heroin and meth seem to be the illegal drugs of choice. Clerks at the local stores that sell items that can be used in meth manufacturing (batteries, cold packs, tubing, pseudophedrine) are good about giving police a heads-up when they spot suspicious activity. “The only way to have an impact is by partnering with local businesses,” Blattel says. “We need those calls. That includes anonymous tips. A lot of our arrests come from anonymous tips.”An Officer’s DreamWhile cruising around, Officer Blattel makes several traffic stops. During the first stop, the driver informs Officer Blattel that he has a conceal-and-carry permit and a firearm. Blattel asks if he can lock the gun away in his trunk until the traffic stop is over. The driver agrees.“I like to be the only one with a firearm during traffic stops,” he says later.Blattel came to law enforcement relatively late. A Shreveport, La., native, he worked in retail for 12 years before, at the age of 29, enrolling in the police academy.“It was always my dream to do this,” he says. “I didn’t feel like I’d be in retail so long, but then you get to moving up and one day you look up and your almost 30.”We cruise through Paddock Fields, a trailer park on the very northern outskirts of Warrenton.“A significant number of calls come from here,” he says. “Mostly peace disturbances.”As we drive through a city park, Blattel mentions that over the summer the police and parks department dealt with a significant amount of property damage to the city parks. This can be blamed on local youths being out of school over summer, he notes. “We’ve solved quite a few of those cases,” he adds.As our ride-along winds to a close we get a call from Walmart where there are two individuals in the parking lot acting suspiciously.After we arrive at the scene, the first thing Officer Blattel does is remove a 4-year-old child from the back seat of the pickup. “She was sitting next to two firearms,” he says. The suspects tell police they are on their way to Iowa to buy machine equipment and that the female passenger has health issues, which would explain some of her odd behavior. Police run their licenses and Social Security information and check the serial numbers on a couple of GPS devices.Everything comes back clear. The travelers get back into their battered pickup and get back on the road.“When things don’t add up that gives us a reasonable suspicion to detain them,” says Blattel.Officer Blattel has three more hours till his shift ends, but things are just starting to pick up.Tonight’s a full moon. And it’s a Friday night, always a busy time for law enforcement. For Warrenton Police, the day is just beginning.To obtain a ride along application please stop by the Warrenton Police Department, or download an application from their website at http://www.warrenton-mo.org

Warrenton Police Department Officer Mike Blattel interviews a suspect in the Walmart parking lot Friday.