Sparta PD Internship Week 3 (5/21-5/25)

This week was the week I was looking forward to the most because I had the opportunity to work with the detectives of the Sparta PD. Becoming a detective is my ultimate career goal so this was a great opportunity to learn about what it takes to be a police detective. The week started with watch interviews with suspects that they had on record, it was funny to see how many suspects lie in the beginning but change their story and slowly start to tell the truth throughout the interview. The second day was a day I'll never forget I had to go with one detective and one uniform officer to a gentlemen's home to inform him that his son had passed away that morning, it was suspected that it was a suicide and the father was devastated. This was something that I had never been exposed to so it was an eye opening experience. There is a lot of procedure that goes into informing  the surviving kin of a relatives passing such as, the victim can not be left alone till someone who can assist them arrives, such as a pastor or family member. There must be a uniform officer to present a professional appearance so to not confuse the victim, you must inform the victim of the passing simply and honestly and before you inform the victim the person must be seated because you don't know how the person will react to the news. Tomorrow I will be with one of the detectives going from school to school doing security checks. This week has not only showed me my favorite part of law enforcement but also the worst part by having to inform a father that his son has passed on.

Sparta Police Internship Week 2 (5/14-5/18)

Week 2 began with a ride along with the patrol officers, this being my first time in a squad car I was really excited to see what it was like to go on patrol. First we had to take a ride to the Morris County Corrections Facility to finger print and photo a 24 year old who had been arrested on charges of auto theft and possession of heroin. Unfortunately I had to wait in the lobby being the intern but I had the situation explained to me on the way back to Sparta. Once we returned to Sparta we took radar on highway 15 and patrolled some of the neighborhoods in the town for the rest of the day. I got to see how officers ran license plates and even got to run some myself, I also got to see how police officers use there discretion when it come to writing tickets, when it comes to township residents, officers normally won't write offenders tickets unless the offender was speeding well above the posted speed limit. I also got to see how much paper work police officers have to do, their job isn't simply done after they write a ticket or respond to a call, officers have to write numerous reports so that every offense is documented and checked out by the sergeants. For week three, I will be working with the Investigative Division of the department which I'm looking forward to because becoming a detective is what I want to pursue as a career.

Sparta Police Intern Week 1 (5/7-5/11)

During the first week of my internship I've been able to examine the rules and regulation of the police department and I was able to observe what being a dispatcher is like. My first day as an intern began with a detailed tour of the police department, I was able to see the interview rooms, the garage where they bring in citizens they detain, where booking takes place, the dispatch room, and other offices in the building. It was my first time ever being in a police department so it was a really eye opening experience. After the tour ended I was put in an office room and had to read a total of ten large binders explaining the rules and regulations of the police department, as well as job descriptions, traffic control, investigations, structure, how to make an arrest, etc. I spent a lot of time reading the article on investigations because that's what I want to pursue in the future, my goal is to become a detective one day and this gave me the chance to explore what it means to be an investigator and I also read a lot into traffic because it wen't over subjects like making an arrest, traffic control, and making traffic stops, all things that I'll need to know since I have to begin my career as a patrol officer. It took about two days to read all of the articles but I finally finished and I got to experience what happens in dispatch, dispatchers really have to put up with a lot because a lot of the calls aren't really serious and it only frustrates dispatchers, but when something happens say for example a car accident, dispatchers make sure police, fire dept, or emergency response is at the scene ASAP, I also got to see all the technology dispatchers use which was very cool. In all my first week as an intern peaked my interest more in this career field and hopefully I'll be able to learn more about what it takes to be a police officer in the weeks to come.