[LSNN] Interview with SAPR Captain David Lawson and Corporal Emma Steiner

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Interview with SAPR Captain David Lawson and Corporal Emma Steiner

 

BY DENNIS SIDWELL

 

 

Los Santos, SA - On the 5th of May, 2021, the LSNN team conducted an interview with San Andreas Park Rangers Captain and Head of Media Relations, David Lawson and Corporal Emma Steiner. This is the written version of the interview which was held on air, in the LSNN studio.

 

David Lawson, Dennis Sidwell and Emma Steiner in the studio

 

Dennis Sidwell: Welcome to our studio, Mister Lawson and Miss Steiner, it is a pleasure to be able to talk to you on air.

 

David Lawson: Thank you very much, it is truly a pleasure to be on air tonight with LSNN, we are looking forward for the interview and the questions for tonight.

 

Emma Steiner: So happy to be here today, and to see what you have in store for us today. Thank you for having us.

 

Dennis Sidwell: I'm sure that the citizens can't wait to hear more about work related topics tonight, but before we get to that, allow me to ask, who is David Lawson privately? What are you doing in your free time, Mister Lawson? What are your hobbies?

 

David Lawson: In my private time, I like to relax and take a step back. I like to enjoy time with my family mostly, especially due to one of my sons being in college, following my footsteps slightly. Other then that, it's a lot of busy life on the job, sadly sometimes the paperwork aspect of the job comes home, so I might be crowded in my office at home. But generally speaking, I'm a family man.

 

Dennis Sidwell: What about you, Miss Steiner?

 

Emma Steiner: Well, Dennis, I used to be with the LSPD, more used to the city environment. However, ever since moving out to the county for better travel time to our headquarters, I've found so much more to explore and enjoy from the county. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: The San Andreas Park Rangers have been estabilished at August 14th, 1929. "Protect with Honor, Serve with Pride" is the Department's motto. To begin with, I'd like to ask, is it difficult to commit yourself to such a duty, what is it that you're daily facing out in the field? Are there certain difficulties that other law enforcement agencies, such as the LSSD and the LSPD do not face? 

 

David Lawson: While being a law enforcement agency, we do still deal with some of the same daily activities that per say, local law enforcement agencies deal with, however, on our side of things we are also trained and mandated to uphold the San Andreas Hunting and Animal Protection Act, so we do have a bit more of a twist per say, to our daily duties, than a city or county local law enforcement might encounter. On the other side of it, being a law enforcement agency, I think we can say that all departments have a bit of differences and difficulties depending on where they are within the State, but that naturally comes with the job. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: Now that you've mentioned the Hunting and Animal Protection Act, allow me to ask you... It has came to our attention that there's allegedly been two or three robberies in the protected and supervised hunting area. We don't have a confirmation that this is true, however, I suppose we can get it now, on air, from you. Furthermore, what are the steps that you've taken to keep the hunting area safe for the hunters?

 

David Lawson: In all honestly, the supervised and protected areas have seen some crime recently. We actually had a civilian come down to our local Paleto station and ask for more of a presence at the commonly known fishing spot near Sandy Shores and Stab City area. With that being said, what we are trying to do is increase a presence of patrol and activity from our side of our Wildlife Enforcement Division. Our local Rangers on the fields have been informed to get out more into these areas of interest, where there might be a crime spike, and remain present and visible. From what we have seen, there has been a decrease in reported robberies to the Department, specifically at the Sandy fishing area. So yes, I can confirm we have had a slight increase in crime, especially robberies. However, it is a goal of ours to keep present and visible to the community, so they have a safe and friendly place to enjoy hunting and fishing activities. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: Mister Lawson, you've achieved the rank of Captain and Head of Media Relations in the SAPR. Allow me to ask, what made you choose the SAPR to build a career at, and was it hard to achieve such high positions? 

 

David Lawson: When I became a Law Enforcement Officer back in 2002, I was originally with the San Andreas Highway Patrol. However, after around ten or so years, I chose to take a step back and join the Park Rangers. At the time, they were offering an amazing position for a supervisory position under the Community Engagement Section and Patrol Section. For me, it was a change for the better good of reaching out to the community. The Park Rangers devoted themselves to transparency and it was one of my goals when joining the Department originally. From there, we obviously had some changes in Command and structure, back in around, 2016 I believe it was? And from there, I was promoted to Lieutenant, Head of Public Relations, and then Captain a few years later. It was indeed challenging at first moving up, but that comes with every job. From a law enforcement perspective however, it is indeed a bit more "rough" at times gaining that trust back from the community. However, since then, I believe we have done a great job in trying to stay as transparent as we can, and also, I have just recently promoted Corporal Steiner here to the Commanding Ranger of our Engagement Division. I believe with her success in the LSPD previously, and my experience, we will be an amazing working duo to give the community the trust and transparency they deserve. It is truly a goal of ours to keep the transparency at all times. We have multiple open sources areas on our websites that are dedicated to promotions and status changes of Rangers. We want the community to know what's going on. It's a big thing of ours to make sure that the community knows what's happening with the Department overall. Obviously there are times, like with criminal and internal investigations, where we have to keep a confidential side of things.

Dennis Sidwell: The SAPR advocates for teaching before punishing, so allow me to ask, what are your thoughts on punishment versus rehabilitation?

 

David Lawson: We generally like to inform and educate the community as best as we can. We know the hunting laws are not the most "common" per say for the everyday folk. A lot of people are missing a small regulation here and there. For example, sometimes people forget to put a orange hat on, or get confused whether they should wear both the orange hat and the orange vest or covering for the torso. We would rather educate on that than simply issuing a citation overall. As Law Enforcement Officers overall, we do have a duty to act within the State, so there are some things we cannot ignore and do have to enforce overall, as the Penal Code states. But in the big picture, our goal overall is to attempt to educate. The system is in place for the State Prisons or more or less for the County Sheriff's or State Corrections. While we have a presence at times, it is not our expertise per say.

 

Dennis Sidwell: Same question, ma'am, I'd like to hear your thoughts on punishment versus rehabilitation, to offer the citizens some variety.

 

Emma Steiner: I'd have to agree with Captain Lawson, what we enforce is the Hunting and Animal Protection Act, and with such we look to ensure that the public is safely and effectively enjoying what it regulates - hunting. With the penal code, we look to assist local law enforcement with ensuring that if per say someone is driving recklessly, we will issue the appropriate penal code defined enforcement. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: Thank you, Miss Steiner. Mister Lawson, can you tell us about the liaisons with the LSSD and the LSPD? What happens if a suspect arrives in your jurisdiction? 

 

David Lawson: I believe we have a great working relationship with both the Los Santos Sheriffs and Los Santos Police Department. There are many times when we all call eachother or work together. It can be something like a rabbit ran over, to something like a DUI, traffic accident, someone carrying illegally. Per say however, as sworn Law Enforcement Officer per Penal Code Section Eight of Seven and Eight Eleven of the San Andreas State Penal Code, we will engage in law enforcement activities if needed. We don't directly relay on the local agencies we work with. However, when we can, we do like to work with them on higher profile cases we might run into. However, for example, if a suspect from Los Santos comes up to the Senora Desert Area, we will liaise with the local Departments as needed, to make sure the proper transfer of custody occurs. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: Mister Lawson, as a high-ranked law enforcement official, allow me to ask you, what are your thoughts on firearms accesibility and open carry? 

 

David Lawson: I do think the State does as best as it can in regards of accesibility. We are no experts at lawmaking per say, our job is to follow the State laws overall and it's enforcement brought to us. In regards to open carry? In reality I have no personal view on it, I have no problem with either. I think the State is doing what the public might want. I know it's been a topic of discussion for years and years. Since I have entered law enforcement, it's been a topic of discussion. For us in the job, at times it is nicer to know when someone does have a firearm, it's hard to miss a holster with a full sized pistol on their leg or hip. But in reality it comes down to each individual Ranger and Law Enforcement Officers in the State. We all just have a job to do. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: My experience with the SAPR has always been positive. Furthermore, the LSNN team conducted analysis regarding citizens' opinion about the SAPR. The results showed that the citizens trust the SAPR when it comes to safety, protection and guidance. Naturally, I would like to ask, what are the standards and the procedures that you have to maintain, in order to continue a successful career within the SAPR? 

 

David Lawson: Well, we do have a list of requirements to initially get inducted into the Department and hired. However, every Officer in the State has to go through mandated training almost yearly on the dot, where we go through some courses that are required overall. Firearms safety, defensive tactics, making sure we are still fit for the job overall. But the overall standards and procedures are to apply to our recruitment process. You have to be the age of twenty, and at the completion of the Law Enforcement Academy, you have to be twenty-one. From there you go through a three month academy that teaches you the specifics of being a Park Ranger, learning the wildlife, laws and such. We ask that those want to join or to maintain the certification, to stay healthy, fit, and always remember to push forward, don't quit on yourself. But overall, our direct list of requirements is on our website sapr.gta.world under our public recruitment area, where we also have our FAQ list. 

 

Dennis Sidwell: Corporal Steiner, can you tell us an anecdote from out in the field? From the wildlife in San Andreas?

Emma Steiner: Of course. Animal's behavior can always be unexpected and interesting, especially if you're not around them all the time, it can almost seem... otherworldly, per say. One situation that comes to mind, is some of the wildlife that wonders into Paleto. Obviously, just being so close to the Paleto forest, most will wonder into the city bounds. So several times before, we usually get a call from dispatch, directing us of a rogue deer or the like in the area. So one can imagine the Benny Hill theme going off as we try to make sure the animal stays out of harms way, and the public remains safe. So most of what we do is to ensure the safety of both the public, and preserve the wildlife of the state parks, albeit, sometimes in more silly ways than others.

 

Dennis Sidwell: That's a very interesting story! Well, Miss Steiner, Mister Lawson, thank you for being our guests tonight. It has been a pleasure to talk to you two. 

 

David Lawson: Of course. Thank you for having us, it was a pleasure being here tonight and we look forward for maybe another interview in the future. 

 

 

 

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Comment:

[Pathologic]

Username: MediaMonk

Comment: Both Lawson and Steiner are a credit to their service and the community, a joy to meet them both and looking forward to visiting someday. God Bless.

[CrisisGG]

Username: FellowAmerican

Comment: What a handsome, polite looking pair, I wish them all the best with their future endeavours. 

[MrWussWuss]

Username: patriot1986

Comment: thank u for ur service !! #backtheblue #thinblueline