Workforce development in action

Program's success prompts
changes in hiring policies

By Bill Campbell
Special to Intercom

Aspiring police officers from Penn State's administration of justice major have made quite
an impression on the Mifflin County Regional Police Department.

So much, in fact, that the department has changed its hiring policies.

"In the past, we only accepted applicants who had completed training required under Pennsylvania law," Lt. Michael Britt, head of the department's Criminal Investigation Division, said. "Now, recent college graduates can apply and, if accepted, can complete the training required under Act 120 while on the job. Our decision came because of the success of our internship program and, specifically, because of our experience with Penn State interns and our relationship with administration of justice personnel at Penn State.

Britt said police officers must be highly-trained and well-motivated, and new officers must know the law to be effective and must be able to interpret laws every day.

"Our Penn State interns over the last two years opened our eyes and helped us convince our board, the Mifflin County Regional Police Board, that we should not miss an opportunity to be in a position to attract these kind of potential police officers. We needed to be in a position to hire recent college graduates."

The Mifflin County Regional Police Department is one of the larger police departments for a rural community in Central Pennsylvania, with some 23 sworn officers. Britt, a 1980 Penn State graduate who has used his science major in police work, is second in command of the department and also is responsible for the internship program.

As interns, students work shift work and report to a specific sergeant or lieutenant. They have a rotating schedule each week during the 12-week internship, in which they go on patrol, write reports, sit in on suspect interviews and work with the Criminal Investigation Division, particularly in developing search and arrest warrants.

"They get to see first hand what comes from their textbooks," he said. "They leave the safety of the classroom and experience what it's like on the street. It opens their eyes."

Karen Sones, academic counselor and internship coordinator for the administration of justice major in the Department of Sociology at Penn State, said most students complete internships during the summer.

"We expect 75 to 80 students will complete an internship this summer," she said. "It is our largest group and they are represented in a wide area. You can find them in law enforcement, the prison system and corrections, juvenile facilities, law offices, federal government and correctional houses."

When the Mifflin County Regional Police Department announced the first vacancy under its new hiring procedures in April, it received approximately 60 applicants as opposed to the 20 it may have gotten for openings in the past. Among the applicants was Jessica Bledsoe, a Penn State administration of justice major who completed her internship with the department last month and will graduate in August.

For several weeks, she worked in the department's crime unit, where she watched a wiretap being put together; was involved in fingerprinting and photographing suspects; did a criminal complaint involving search and arrest warrants; attended an arraignment before a magistrate, and helped transport prisoners to jail. While on patrol, she participated in vehicle stops and was involved in responses to a number of domestic cases.

"The patrol unit worked all three shifts," Bledsoe, who is from Lancaster, said. "The 11-to-7 shift was very interesting and opened my eyes. It took a little getting used to, but it was a good experience. The entire internship experience definitely reinforced my plans to be in law enforcement."

Bledsoe added that real training happens on the job -- on the streets and at the scene.

"I know that the textbook material and theory are important, but you learn many more practical things on the street. And the officers in Mifflin County tried to teach me everything they had learned. They were always willing to answer my questions. Having been through the internship makes me want to get out on the street as a police officer as soon as possible."

Bledsoe, who hopes to go into the FBI or another federal law enforcement agency, also has applied to the Virginia and Pennsylvania State Police.

Britt said his department will continue using its internship program as a means of developing future police officers.

"We have been highly impressed with our interns, especially those from Penn State. Their interaction with our department speaks volumes for the University and its students. New police officers need to be well-prepared and we've found that our Penn State interns fit that bill well."