Here's what you need to know about 'Alaska PD,’ the show that takes viewers to America's Last Frontier, and its newest female cop: Jamie Ramos.
The newest addition to the Live P.D. A&E franchise family is Alaska PD, which brings viewers all the way to America's Last Frontier to see the crimes that cops there are faced with on a daily basis.
"It's difficult for people to understand how cops work in Alaska," one officer tells cameras early in the pilot. There, the police department must face "extreme situations" in "extreme cold."
While it sounds like a less-than-glamorous way to spend 40 hours a week, we don't mind watching from the comfort of our homes to see how police work in Alaska is done.
One officer who proves to be quite relatable is Jamie Ramos, who moves to the Alaska PD from Portsmouth, Va. in the early moments of Episode 1.
Keep reading for what you need to know about the show and its newest female officer.
Jamie Ramos was a "lateral transfer" from Portsmouth PD.
"Things you would have never done in Lower-48 life become common here," says one male officer in a voiceover within the first few moments of the show. The cop explains that many small communities in Alaska featured on the series have crime rates that nearly double the national average.
In Kodiak, Alaska, where Jamie is entering the force, the serene landscape is "almost mythological" because of the postcard-perfect nature, preserved wildlife, and of course, Kodiak's national treasure: the Kodiak bear.
However, the day-to-day work of the officers in the Alaska PD proves to be less than idyllic.
Jamie Ramos has been a police officer for five years in Portsmouth, Va. "A typical day in Portsmouth is a lot to handle," she says when we first meet her. "You're busy all day. It's dangerous and you learn how well you work under pressure."
Upon traveling to Alaska, Jamie decided it was the most beautiful place she'd ever visited. So when she was offered the chance to transfer laterally and take a job as an officer on the Last Frontier, the decision was an easy one. "It's a big move, packing up your life and moving across the world," she explains.
"It'll be interesting to see how I acclimate to the environment," she says upon leaving Virginia with two bags and a one-way ticket to Kodiak. "Everything up there is going to be new to me. Since I'm a lateral transfer, I have a lot to learn."
It quickly becomes apparent that neither the cops on the small island community of Kodiak, nor its residents, are used to dealing with female officers.
"Having Officer Ramos really helps us," one of her colleagues-to-be tells cameras. "You might come across one of the toughest, biggest guys you've ever met and he sees Officer Ramos and bam, he wants to talk," he explains.
In addition to getting used to being one of the only female cops in her team, the officer must also get used to dealing with wildlife very different from what she's used to in Virginia.
"I've never seen a bear except for in a zoo," she recalls before one of her first cases on the job takes her to hunt down a massive Kodiak bear that's been causing a ruckus by tearing down gates and doors in a residential neighborhood.
We can't wait to see how Officer Jamie Ramos adjusts to her new life in Kodiak, Alaska when Alaska PD airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on A&E.
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