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Young Forensic Scientists Forum

Young Forensic Scientists Forum Newsletter - May, 1999

Tips For A Better Internship
by Dan Holland, J-33

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Eastern Washington University. Eastern’s Criminal Justice program requires 400 hours of internship experience to complete the program. I found that starting an internship with a police department to be a bit intimidating, especially on my first day. I didn’t know anybody and wasn’t sure exactly what the next few months had to offer. Needless to say I was not sure how to act when I started my first day with the Moses Lake Police Department. After I saw how things were run and got to know the officers, the internship went great throughout the 400 hours.

Looking back, I feel that I can pass on some tips that may help your internship be a great learning experience like mine was:

1) Specialize – Narrowing the area of study will help when choosing an agency by making sure it meets your learning needs.

2) Scout – Talk to many departments or labs to see which one meets your specialized needs and offers the best all around internship.

3) Hands-On – Once you have chosen your internship, do as many things as possible to help get an idea of what the work is all about.

4) Observe – Try to observe as much as you can in all departments and areas of the agency you have chosen.

5) Shift Change – Try to experience all the different shifts that your department has. As you will find out, different things happen on the day shift as opposed to the graveyard shift.

6) Department Policy – It is important for your supervisor to explain the standard procedures of the department. I found that reading the department policy was one of the most important things I did while I was doing my internship. Since police work involves crimes that are classified or have evidence that can’t be touched, it was important for me to know ahead of time what kind of cases in which my involvement was appropriate.

7) Have Fun! – It is important to have fun while completing your internship. While the classroom provided the basics, the internship gave me the hands on and real world experience I was looking for.