CNN iReport

Philip Rosedale had stated at the Congressional Hearing on the 1 April, that the residents of Second Life were good at reporting anything suspicious and inappropriate going on in the virtual world. Luckily there are a group of people who offer their support to the virtual world residents, the PDSL (Police Department, Second Life) I had met former PDSL officer Keno Lykin when be was patrolling one of the areas that I frequent. Keno is now working as a consultant, but still has close ties to the PDSL. He had told me about the Force and arranged for me to meet two of the Commanders, Eddie Hagoromo and Nickie Docherty. There is a third Commander, Hechicero Blanco, who was not able to attend the interview. I travelled over to meet Eddie and Nickie at their Headquarters. My friend and colleague Drax Ember also attended the interview, as he is also interested in the procedures of the Force. Eddie and Nickie made us welcome and gave us an outline as to how the PDSL helps to protect and inform Second Life residents. I asked Nickie how many officers the PDSL deployed, she said that, at this moment, there are 75 officers within the PDSL and these are made up of six ranks, ranging from trainees through to commander level. Drax asked whether the officers had assigned hours and posts, Eddie said that the officers work on a voluntary basis, and PDSL are grateful for all the hours they can give them. They also have schedules for where they can be when they are online. Drax also asked if they had a Field Training Officer program, where they match new officers with veterans to learn? Eddie said that they do, this being part of their Phase 3 training Course. He said that they link a trainee to an officer where they go together on the job whilst training. The officers' uniforms are also provided by the PDSL. Drax was interested to know if any of the trainees failed to reach the standards set by the PDSL. Eddie said that some are deemed inactive, i.e. failing to attend training, however they are given three chances before being told that they are not required. The PDSL includes as much training as possible to improve an officer's skills. Referring to my CNN report on griefers, http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-14563 I was curious to see what action the PDSL could use against them. I asked Eddie if the officers were allowed to use force against griefers or troublemakers, besides issuing abuse reports. Eddie said that the PDSL practises ‘proactive policing', so that they try to solve possible problems before they occur. The PDSL do not promote the use of weapons and do not issue any kind of weapons. The most powerful tool they use are abuse reports, and ban/eject rights if the owner of the land provides them. Nickie told me that there are areas very prone to griefing such as one island that is set up especially for ‘newbies'. She said she remembered when she was a new resident herself, she was so confused by the griefers (as we all were!). So in these areas in particular, the PDSL help and advise newbies and any other residents how to deal with these situations. The PDSL officers do happen across some humorous call outs within the virtual world though. They were called out because someone had reported a case of nudity in a sandbox (PG). They split up to look around the area and one of them spotted an av sitting on a bench and went up to question him regarding his dress code. On closer inspection the ‘av' turned out to be a figure made of prims that someone had made and left sitting there. Both Eddie and Nickie have very impressive histories within Second Life. Eddie had worked as an officer for the SLPF (Second Life Police Force), moving on to SLPD SWAT, holding the rank of Deputy Chief there. He then started as a Team Leader with the PDSL and worked his way up to Commander where he is today. Outside of the PDSL, Eddie is also a designer, explorer and Second Life Mentor as well as working in the Senior Team Management of ‘Help People'. He has also started a newspaper called the Continental Journal Gazzetter, of which he is Managing Editor. Nickie joined the PDSL as a SWAT officer, transferring to the Support Team, later on becoming a Sergeant in the Academy, then moving back to Support as a Senior Team Leader working her way up to Commander. Nickie uses her building skills for the PDSL as well. Outside of the PDSL Nickie is also a wedding planner as well as being a Second Life Mentor. The future for the PDSL is to expand. Not only are they taking on more officers, they are currently in the process of building a PDSL Campus which will cover over 50% of their sim. So griefers and villains beware, the PDSL are on the lookout for you, and as Eddie says, his officers ‘work hard and play hard' so they are a force to be reckoned with!!!