The Boring Side of Crime

The 10-year-old in me was expecting/hoping for an episode of MSNBC's Locked Up, walking through a hallway filled with nothing but Tampa's most violent murders, rapists and child molestors snarling and cursing as we walked by. The reality of course was nothing close.

After visiting the Hillsborough County Jail last Thursday, I decided to put together a list of things that are less mentally laborious and shorter in length than being arrested and booked in the Hillsborough County Jail.

Taking the SAT, waiting in line at a theme park, curling, trying to figure out why Twitter is popular, trying to figure out why anyone thinks Renée Zellweger is attractive, anything involving the DMV, the Boston Marathon and last but not least the Daytona 500. That being said the visit served as further motivation to keep me from doing anything illegal in nature.

The journey that is booking begins of course with the actual arrest for whatever particular reason it may be. The man or woman is than taken to the Hillsborough County Jail on Orient Road, no matter where in Hillsborough County they are because any arrest in the county has to go through that particular jail. So needless to say this could result in quite the tedious ride to the jail. The arrested individuals are then stripped of any property they have on them and it is placed in a bag that will be returned upon their release. They are then asked to sit in a waiting room of sorts until they can be called up to be processed which includes, finger printing, a photograph, medical questioning, a trip in the Boss 2 or (Body Orifice Surface Scan) and then a trip to another waiting room to appear in First Appearance Court, before being escorted to your actual cell where you will remain until a trial or you are bailed out. The entire process of checking in and First Appearance Court lasts more than 24 hours and for some can last much longer.