I am a member of the Iowa State Fair Patrol. This is a full time police department with authority and duties only on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds is located on the east side of Des Moines and is a little over 400 acres in size. The State Fair itself runs 11 days in August and draws almost a million visitors each year. There are events taking place year round, including dirt track racing each Friday in the summer, indoor motorcycle racing in the winter, horse shows, gun shows, flea markets, conventions, car shows, auctions, ect. Each of these events requires police protection and that is where we come in.

The department has 5 full-time officers and about 30 part-time officers. During the fair, this swells to about 200 members, most of them security guards who patrol the campgrounds, buildings and grounds to provide both security and information to the fairgoers. Due to the makeup of the department as determined by the Fair Board, there are both certified and non-certified officers. Only the certified officers are allowed to carry weapons. Most of the certified officers are employed elsewhere as Police Officers, but some, like me, are retired and work at the Fairgrounds just to keep the certification active. We have 3 patrol vehicles, two of which are old Iowa State Patrol cars and one is a 2000 Dodge Ram Pickup which is reserved for the chief. During the fair and large interm events, we use golf carts.

It's a fun place to work, and is entirley different than any other police work I have ever done.


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