Sgt. Cutler demonstrates the proper technique for fingerprinting.

Officer Peterson demonstrates writing a ticket.

Purpose

Internship experiences in the field of criminal justice serve multiple purposes. The criminal justice intern will be exposed to better understand the complexities of the criminal justice system. Toward that goal, the following is a list of goals and objectives of the criminal justice internship:

• To provide the criminal justice intern with insight into the day-to-day activities of criminal justice agencies and to provide a realistic perspective of the complex nature of such agencies.
• To provide the interning student with a sense of career orientation by creating a heightened sense of desire.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a criminal justice internship, a student must have a letter from the CRJU coordinator.

Personal/Professional Responsibilities of CRJU Interns

• Criminal Justice internships are decidedly unique in that issues of confidentiality, privacy, and personal integrity are so critical to appropriate functioning. Therefore, for a student to successfully complete an internship with the Clarksville Police Department, he/she must be able to demonstrate high levels of maturity and integrity. Additionally, CRJU interns must possess emotional stability to the extent that unpleasant sites and situations (which are occasionally encountered), can be observed and dealt within an appropriate manner.
• In addition to possessing the aforementioned personality traits, all CRJU interns should abide by the following rules:
  • Always dress appropriately.
  • Do not allow yourself to be put in a dangerous situation.
  • Do not discuss sensitive information
  • Never at any time carry a personal firearm on your internship site.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of the internship agency is to permit the student to observe the central functions of the agency.

Other responsibilities of the internship agency are to schedule student's work; to mentor and direct the student's work; to evaluate the intern's work; and to ensure that the intern's experience is productive.

Conversely, should a student fail to fulfill his/her responsibilities, the internship may be terminated. Example of infractions which may require action are: the student not showing up for assignments; the student engaging in behavior deemed inappropriate by the agency; engaging in illegal or immoral behavior, as determined by the agency; or not performing duties as requested by the agency.

Experiences

While interning, a student should experience or at least observe various activities. The following is a brief list of some of the experiences an intern could have while working with the Clarksville Police Department.

• Observe Comstat overview and crime
• Observe/participate in routine patrol
• Observe Dispatch/Communication centers
• Observe/participate in CID (criminal investigative division)
• Observe/participate in crime prevention
• Observe Records functions\
• Observe/participate in Training, Procurement, Public Information, Homeland Security, Mounted Police Patrol, STEP and City Court.

If you are interested in participating in the internship program please contact:

Paulette Redman @ 931-648-0656 ext. 2321 or predman@clarksvillepd.org