College internship program: prospective recruits get hands-on experience.

Recruiting and selecting qualified entry-level law enforcement officers represent two of the most critical issues facing law enforcement agencies. The public continues to place increasing demands on the police, while looking to the police for immediate solutions to both real and perceived threats of violent crime. When the ever-changing technology being used to commit and combat crimes is added to the public's demands, it becomes clear that police administrators need to be very careful in selecting qualified police officer candidates.

Today's police officers require a wider base of knowledge than that of their predecessors in order to handle the diverse calls for service, investigate crimes, and act as first responders to the many misfortunes of the public. Increasingly, there is a demand for entry-level police officers to possess post-secondary education and as much practical training and exposure to law enforcement as possible.

For several years the state of Minnesota has required that its peace officers be licensed through the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) board. Recruits are required to complete at least 2 years of college with a degree or concentration in law enforcement science, complete an 8-week police officer skills program, and pass a state licensing examination. All of these elements qualify candidates to be licensed. However, candidates do not actually receive their licenses until they secure employment as sworn officers with a law enforcement agency.

Largely as a result of these requirements, the majority of new hires in the state are better educated and more formally trained coming into the profession than their counterparts of 20 years ago. However, these requirements do not ensure that candidates have benefited from one of the best forms of education available - experience.

Unfortunately, some well-educated police officer candidates discover that they are not "cut out" for police work only after they have been hired and are well into the field training process. Nothing in their education or skills training exposed them to actual field incidents or afforded them the opportunity to deal with the wide array of emotions and behaviors demonstrated by the citizens with whom they must come into contact. Agencies that hire such candidates face the difficult, and often costly, task of terminating a probationary officer who looked so qualified on paper, yet failed to live up to minimum expectations on the street.

To a large degree, such problems spring from the age-old dilemma facing young job seekers and potential employers. How does a prospective employee gain experience to get hired without getting hired to get experience? Where does a candidate obtain actual police experience, and how can an agency know in advance if their "qualified" candidate will be successful on the job?

To address many of these concerns, the Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, Police Department developed an internship program for college students interested in law enforcement careers. The program provides a way for prospective police candidates to serve the agency and community while gaining valuable on-the-job training. In turn, the experience gained can help the interns decide whether they wish to pursue a career in law enforcement after graduating from college.

The Program

The Spring Lake Park Police Department internship program grew from humble beginnings in 1988. A college senior majoring in criminal justice became the first candidate. The student's program advisor recommended him to the police department and arranged for him to receive college credit for his experiences with the department. Without the benefit of any formalized policy or procedure, department administrators worked to develop a program to make the intern's 200 hours of voluntary participation an enriching learning process.

From these very unstructured beginnings, the internship program grew to become a mutually rewarding experience for the candidates and the police department. The cooperative educational venture evolved into what could be aptly described as a "win-win" situation.

The college students who participate are exposed to all facets of municipal police work and gain experience that is difficult to obtain anywhere else. The agency benefits from the voluntary assistance of well-educated, enthusiastic candidates who can perform specialized, as well as routine, duties.

The program generally spans 10 weeks, or the length of a college quarter, but can be tailored to meet the needs of individual candidates. To ensure that each candidate receives the most from the experience, the police department accepts only one student per quarter for the internship program.

The Candidates

In keeping with the original objective of the program - to provide a hands-on learning environment for law enforcement candidates - prospective interns are selected for consideration from the following populations: 1) students currently enrolled in law enforcement or criminal justice degree programs at Minnesota universities, colleges, or vocational/technical schools, or 2) students who have completed their academic requirements for POST licensing but have yet to be hired as sworn officers. Each group gains similar benefits from the internship program.

Active students enrolled in a school with an accredited internship elective can earn college credit-hours for the successful completion of an internship. Generally, each educational institution has a prescribed course of study that gives the student - and the agency - broad guidelines to direct the student's participation during the internship. These guidelines suggest specific areas of law enforcement that the intern should experience. Additionally, the students may be given specific course requirements that often include the minimum number of participating hours (generally 200-400) and a research project or paper to be completed on a topic approved by the institution and the police department.

For candidates who have completed the academic requirements for licensing but have yet to be hired as sworn officers, the benefits of an internship remain the same. Although the interns do not receive college credit, they still gain valuable experience. Both the active student and the graduate must participate to the same degree within the agency to successfully complete the internship.

Goals and Objectives

In an effort to provide students participating in the internship program with as much hands-on experience as possible in the relatively short amount of time they spend with the police department, administrators drew up a list of goals and objectives to provide direction to both the interns and the program. These goals and objectives give structure to the program; assist the interns in scheduling their duty time; and aid the agency in training, supervising, and evaluating the interns' performance.

Written objectives become particularly useful when an intern undertakes a specific project, such as a bicycle safety clinic or crime prevention program for the elderly. In fact, with the assistance of a supervisor, each intern identifies and completes at least two projects that encompass the following goals:

* Understanding and demonstrating professional values, ethics, and principles

* Improving written and verbal communication skills

* Identifying community resources

* Learning community policing concepts and their applications

* Developing decision-making skills

* Developing a practical knowledge of criminal procedures

* Identifying law enforcement support services and understanding their respective functions

* Understanding the functions of the agency's divisions and bureaus.

In addition, determining goals and objectives helps the agency identify the vocational skills and knowledge the interns bring with them to the program. It also gives the interns the opportunity to identify any shortcomings they may have (e.g., inadequate verbal communication skills) and to set their objectives for improving them. At the completion of the program, supervisors use the goals and objectives as a basis for evaluating each intern's overall progress and performance.

Training

All members of the agency take an active role in the training process and provide each intern's department supervisor with feedback on the individual's progress. Initially, the interns work closely with clerical and administrative personnel to gain an understanding of the organization and to become familiar with police documents, forms, records, databases, and available support services. During this introductory phase, interns are given the opportunity to answer phones, observe interaction between the public and department personnel, review the agency's manuals, and become familiar with its law library.

With the cooperation of patrol officers, the interns receive field training on a ride-along basis. The department issues the interns a uniform that clearly distinguishes them from patrol officers. Under the direct supervision of patrol officers, the interns are encouraged to handle routine calls for service.

As the interns' knowledge and experience grow, they are given greater latitude in the scope of duties and areas of responsibility handled. Interns eventually will go out on proactive patrol in a semimarked squad car and assist patrol officers with routine matters. Then, they can handle calls for motorist assists, complaints about animals, and vehicle lock outs on their own.

The department makes arrangements for interns to work with investigators, tour jails and crime labs, and spend a shift at the communication center. In addition, the interns are encouraged to observe district and municipal court proceedings. To track activities and record duties performed, each intern makes daily entries in a personal log book. On a weekly basis, the intern meets with the program supervisor to critique the past week and discuss future assignments. The supervisor also provides guidance to help meet individual goals and objectives.

Evaluation

Supervisors use a final evaluation form to assess intern performance and participation in the program. Each intern receives a copy of this written evaluation during the exit interview. The evaluation uses a Likert scale (5=well above standard through 1=well below standard) and assesses the intern's performance or comprehension in the areas of:

* Communication

* Community relations 

* Human relations 

* Decision making/judgment

* Work analysis

* Ethics/values

* Self-image.

The supervisor conducting the interview uses this opportunity to recognize the intern's accomplishments and performance. More important, the supervisor advises the intern of skill areas that could be improved and directs the individual toward additional training resources. Supervisors also are encouraged to write a narrative summary assessing performance and critiquing the intern's major project(s) or research initiatives. All of this material becomes part of the intern's personnel file and may be released to prospective employers at the intern's request. All interns who fulfill the program's requirements receive a certificate of completion.

Results

Since 1988, 10 students have completed the SPring Lake Park Police Department internship program. Nearly all have sought employment as law enforcement officers upon graduation. One former intern became an officer with the Nashville, Tennessee, Police Department, while two others joined departments in Minnesota. Another former intern, who completed the program in 1991, recently returned to the Spring Lake Park Police Department as an officer.

Conclusion

Although debate over whether police officer applicants should be required to possess a college degree probably will continue for many years to come, few would question the value of a program that offers practical experience to potential police recruits. The Spring Lake Park Police Department internship program provides interested students with experience, as well as a structured environment, to serve the police department and the community.

In addition, by providing students with hands-on experience, the internship program gives them a more realistic picture of the policing profession. Participants who do not like what they see can refocus their career plans without devoting a great deal of time and energy to a career in which they ultimately would not be happy. Those interns who choose to pursue a career in law enforcement will possess a much clearer understanding of what that decision involves.

At the same time, by working with area colleges and universities to incorporate an internship program into the learning process, law enforcement agencies can help assure themselves of a better-prepared, more-qualified workforce for the future. As the Spring Lake Park Police Department has discovered, developing an internship program is a smart thing to do.

Kevin W. Dale

Mr. Dale, formerly a sergeant with the Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, Police Department, now works in private industry.