Today was rather exciting. We met the officers showing us around Merseyside Police station at their headquarters. The first stop was the dog training facility. Unfortunately, it was cold and pouring down rain, so we were not as enthusiastic as we could have been. Four different dog handlers showed off their dogs with training exercises. In the first set of pictures, the dogs' names in order are: Olive, Venus, Cass, and Wolf. All the dogs were so happy to show off their police work. However, the rain threw them off a little bit. We then toured the stables to see the police horses. They were very sweet. I always forget how big horses are until I see them up close. All of them were nibbling on our pants, coats, and bags in search of sweets. In order of appearance in the pictures, their names are Elvis, Frankby feat. Will, Eccleston feat Alyssa and Leanna, and finally Harriet. Yes, I know in my picture with Harriet I look like Little Red Riding hood. The connection has been made, thank you. We then got in the van to head to the Mini Police at their elementary school. The Mini Police are just little kids from high risk family and living situation that are being taught to trust and not fear the police. They wear little uniforms and "practice law." But, we headed into a dead end, and the officer driving our van didn't look behind him before going backwards. We ended up hitting a Mini Cooper. There was not damage to the van, but considerable damage to the Mini Cooper. No one was harmed, but it is a law in the UK that you cannot just exchange information and move on. The traffic police must attend the scene before anyone can leave, so we waited until they arrive and sorted the matter. We had missed the Mini Police, so we ate lunch and then went to the Operation Command Center (OCC.) There is a large collection of sub units/ departments in this building. Here, there is a police unit that is actually trained to carry firearms, so we git a tour of their car and what they carry. These officers were very happy to share their duties and their opinion of firearms in the UK. Next, we had a presentation on the Matrix Disruption Team. This team is similar to SWAT. They are responsible for public order, gun crime, faction based criminality, bombs/ suspicious packages, spontaneous events or protests, rope and special access, and protester removal and control. We then had a brief chat with a sergeant of the Traffic Control Team, with whom we saw in action earlier. They are also responsible for bike patrolling and children safety when crossing the street etc. Our final stop within the OCC was with the Detective Superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department or CID. We had a decently long talk with him about his opinion on the current state of policing and law enforcement in the UK. He wants more collaborative communication between units as well as earlier education/ access to the younger citizens to aid in crime prevention. There was a brief tour of the Major Crimes Unit before we left the OCC and returned to the Merseyside Headquarters. The rainy weather discouraged much exploring, but we did go out to dinner before retiring for bed. Pics feat Officer Simon, Ethan, & the Queen.