Junior, Kayla Rheault (Criminal Justice major) completed a Criminal Justice internship during the Summer 2023 semester with Townsend Police Department in Townsend, MA. Read on to learn about her experience!
What was your internship? I interned at the Townsend Police Department in Massachusetts for Summer 2023 before the start of my Junior year.
Why were you initially interested in this internship? I was interested in this internship because I live one town over from Townsend and my dad grew up there so it was nearby and a great opportunity to gain experience in the criminal justice field which I am majoring in and want to pursue a career in.
How did you find your internship? I looked into nearby police departments and applied for internships by emailing and submitting an application and my resume. I applied to the department about a week into my summer break by emailing the Chief who sent my information, application, and resume to the internship coordinator at the department. I had an interview where I was asked about what I wanted to do for my career, what aspects of criminal justice I was interested in, and why I wanted to intern with the Townsend Police. They were on board for a summer internship so I got started pretty soon after.
What did you do as part of your internship? As an intern with the Townsend Police Department I was included on ride alongs with the patrol officers to observe real life police dispatch calls. I was also assigned a project which involved the filing of old case files in assistance with the records admin. I was able to work on cases with my assigned officers and assist on writing case reports. One of my favorite things I did during my time with the department was working on a fraud case because I was able to see this case through to the end and see the resolution.
Has this internship helped you work towards your future career goals? If so, how? This internship gave me the opportunity to learn more about policing and all the aspects that go into it on the job and behind the scenes. I was able to ask questions about job opportunities in the areas I was interested in for the future. I gained experience in law enforcement and created connections with the officers that I am so grateful for. The department was kind enough to offer a recommendation or act as a resource if I ever needed one so it was also a great networking opportunity.
What was your biggest lesson/takeaway from the internship? My biggest takeaway from this internship was that it helped put what I’ve been learning in my classes into reality by getting real life experience into the day to day lives of police officers. From my policing class to my law classes, I was able to see the information given from those classes in action. I also gained so much more knowledge and perspective into law enforcement that I could never get in a classroom.
What advice would you give to someone interested in a similar internship opportunity? I would say go for it! Finding an internship can be really intimidating and overwhelming so I would recommend setting up a meeting with a career advisor on Handshake to help navigate where to look and how to get in contact with potential internship employers. That helped me a lot and gave me resources to find internships. Use Handshake to find internship offers but also just look up places you are interested in and reach out to their hiring manager to ask about their internship programs. Overall, just apply! Apply to different internships with a good solid resume and take the initiative. Even though it can be scary to intern somewhere because it’s something you’ve never done before, I’m so glad I went out of my comfort zone because it was an amazing experience and I learned/experienced so much.
Want to share your experiences during an internship? Email Kevin (kdeeb@rwu.edu) in the CCPD to learn more about sharing with us!
