Students pursuing a criminal justice degree should consider completing police internships to gain valuable work experience. Internships could be done locally, state-wide, or nationally. Working alongside an officer who is patrolling a district and responding to emergency calls could be one of them. This type of volunteer work could also take place inside a jail or prison, where an intern would be expected to learn about procedures related to offender custody and control. Internships as an investigator are occasionally available during the summer, and may include collecting and preserving evidence as well as interviewing witnesses.
Internships in law enforcement are frequently available for college students pursuing a criminal justice degree. Many of these can be found in police departments across the country. Interns may be assigned to work alongside a seasoned patrol officer to gain a better understanding of the job. This could be accomplished by patrolling an officer’s beat, conducting routine traffic stops, or responding to citizen calls.
State and federal governments, in addition to local agencies, offer police internships. These could be with a government agency that enforces border security or investigates government crimes. It could also be with a local police department or a federal drug task force. Depending on the agency, the work performed during a student internship can range from writing reports to conducting investigations.
Some police internships may be purely investigative in nature. Internships in this field are usually found with a federal agency that investigates federal crimes or those that are highly classified. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is one such agency in the United States (FBI).
Internships in the police force are occasionally available in prisons. Volunteers who work in this capacity could help transport offenders from one facility to the next, write reports, or supervise visitation. Interns may also be asked to assist in keeping track of the number of inmates in each cellblock. Typically, this work experience is gained under the direct supervision of a warden or shift supervisor.
Although the majority of police internships are unpaid, some programs may pay interns a small stipend. The amount depends on the agency, the length of the program, and the type of work done. Even if an internship is unpaid, the work experience gained can be extremely valuable when it comes time to look for full-time work after graduation.