i spent the last weekend with the policemen from st james, mo. i was allowed to go with them on patrols, but wasn't allowed to photograph the people that they would arrest, fine etc. i found it quite frustrating sometimes, but i understand why they asked me that. besides that, i've learned a lot about the work of an american policeman in a small town. for example, there's no animal police in st. james, so they have to deal with stray dogs, but they also keep and eye on the traffic, deal with domestic violence situations or drugs. i got along very well with all the policemen there and i was surprised to notice that even though most of the time they spend on the job they get to see the dark side of our world, they're not jaded at all. i might sound naive on this one, but this is what i felt after talking to them.
it's going to be hard to put together a story from what i have right now, but i knew from the beginning that my focus wouldn't be just one of the six policemen that work there, but the whole department. i will try to go back there at some point and take some more images.
these are a few shots that i've selected for the blog.
