Internships are fundamentally advantageous for companies, organization facilities, and students as well. Internships in the criminal justice field allow students to put what they have learned in their criminal justice classes to the test by gaining firsthand exposure to how the American criminal justice system works (Fabianic, 2018). Internships modify young professionals’ perspectives by exposing them to new experiences which also play a vital role in expounding their mindset. The primary goals of the course are to expose students to new contexts and environments, broaden and deepen knowledge of key concepts and theories relevant to the field, and improve an overall learning experience. Internships in the criminal justice sector provide hands-on experience in the field while providing students with a chance to network and develop professionally through hands-on exposure to real-world scenarios (Fabianic, 2018). The purpose of this paper is to provide a report for my internship at New York Edge (NYE), Woodside, New York, United States.
Background of the Internship at New York Edge
New York Edge (NYE) is a non-profit agency that is one of the major providers of school-based educational services in New York City and the surrounding area. NYE has an influence on approximately 40,000 K-12 children from over 100 campuses, most of whom live in underserved communities (New York Edge, 2022). Year-round programs are available either before or after the regular school day. Students from low-resource areas in New York benefit from New York Edge’s efforts to improve their academic achievement, health and wellbeing, self-confidence, and leadership abilities so that they can pursue their full potential in life. Literacy, STEAM, leadership, HSTCT, and MSTHST, music, visual and performing arts, and field visits to museums are all part of the organizations’ bundled academic enrichment programs (New York Edge, 2022). Their flagship after-school Champions Clubs operate through pathways to success and are open anywhere from three to five days a week for a whole 36 weeks during the school year (New York Edge, 2022). New York Edge’s mission is to provide students from underserved areas a better shot at a successful future by providing them with programs that boost their academic achievement, health and wellbeing, self-confidence, and leadership skills.
The reason for selecting New York Edge as the agency for my internship is based on their focus on equipping students with hands-on experience in whichever field. The agency has invested in the field of criminal justice by helping students put into practice vital concepts and knowledge acquired in class. Additionally, its intelligence and investigation services provide reliable data that may be put to use immediately. In addition, the criminal justice department in the agency has a proven track record of assisting the US government in developing the knowledge, connections, and tools necessary to deliver first-rate intelligence and investigation services.
Identification and Securing of the Internship at NYE
Acquiring an internship opportunity in any agency across the globe always proves to be challenging for students. Different organizations have different regulations guiding internship and provision of practical skills to the students. However, the value of interning at a company cannot be understated. Employers today are increasingly looking for candidates who have participated in not just one internship but several (Williams et al., 2020). One’s academic skill in numerous theoretical and practical examples of how a job could be conducted is demonstrated by the degree awarded upon graduation, which in turn serves to propel the graduate into a profession. Internships have historically been a fantastic opportunity to make connections in the field of work that one would eventually seek employment in (Williams et al., 2020). Internships are a great way to obtain valuable experience in a variety of industries while also saving valuable time.
I learned about the available internship opportunity at New York Edge agency via the Indeed Job Board Website. The millions of job postings that populate the Indeed website employment search engines come from many web resources, such as specialized job boards (Knabenreich, 2021). Indeed, uses a wide variety of sources to provide approximately half of all hiring in the United States. The website also has a powerful tool that can help employers locate qualified candidates to either internship or employ. I therefore applied online and went through an extensive criminal background check and authorization. I also had to take various trainings and later got certified to work with children in the agency.
This internship will play a vital role in my effort to secure an employment opportunity in my future career as a Youth Correctional Counselor after graduation. The fact that I interacted with children during the internship has laid a solid foundation on how I can establish long lasting relationship with the youth. This is a significant aspect that will ensure that youths are properly counselled and educated on various crimes and how they may avoid falling victims (Knabenreich, 2021). Additionally, the internship expanded my pool of knowledge on drug enforcement administration considering the constant training opportunities on drugs and substance abuse among the youth.
Duties and Tasks at NYE
In my role at New York Edge agency, I was responsible for managing the facility’s security system. I was given the responsibility of figuring out who should be granted access to what areas, facilities, and data. In addition, I was responsible for greeting guests and doing a complete pre-access control security screening of them in order to determine their purpose in coming to the facility. If a visitor presented a valid national ID, I was to note the identifying information in the visitors’ notebook; if they did not, I was to request an ID badge and note the specifics of its issuance in the visitors’ logbook. The next step was to arrange a security escort as per the access control policy and fill out the entry log. I was also given the responsibility of figuring out who should be granted access to what areas, facilities, and data.
New York Edge agency requires that the authorized specialists to ensure that the school age children are granted a positive and safe environment. I was therefore tasked with ensuring that the children are provided with a conducive learning environment by overseeing their activities and trips to prevent any form of crime in their working areas. I was also required to moderate their groups by ensuring appropriate and reliable group ratios based on the CDC guidelines and that of the agency. NYE had established the New York Edge’s Summer Programs and all interns in the criminal justice department were required to ensure that the program was successful. This had to be done by ensuring that we maintain the safety for campers and take leadership roles in providing updates to the caregivers.
In a bid to ensure that all forms of crimes are prevented, the organization had a well- established patrollers unit which helped to deter crime. The interns in the criminal justice department were therefore required to act as law enforcers by creating and maintaining a strength-based, youth-focused atmosphere that is consistent and sensitive to the needs of participants with learning, emotional, or behavioral differences. We were also required to serve as a positive role model for participants and act as a community support while providing a safe place for the youth to keep them out of trouble or harm’s way. At one point, I was required to promote and realize positive relationships between guardians and parents by overseeing regular communication about the children’s weaknesses and strength.
Amid the COVID-19 period, I was responsible for assisting in COVID-19 wellness screening and other health related concerns for the children. I was also required to engage participants in meaningful activities, lesson plans and special events that are structured and age- appropriate. This lesson plans had to be fun, exciting, challenging, and based in the fields of arts, STEM, character development, creative expression, community service, physical fitness and/or nutrition. To realize the leadership aspect, all interns were required to take part in training sessions, special events and designated meeting related to criminal justice. We were tasked with ensuring that providing appropriate supervision to realize the health, safety and well-being of the participants while reporting to the supervisor of the daily concerns related to staff and facilities.
Professional Skills Learned and Relation to Curriculum Classes
My internship at NYE agency provided me with invaluable knowledge and training that will serve me well in both my personal and professional endeavors. Business communication is one example of the things that I learnt. We did this through regular in-person visits, electronic mail exchanges, and spoken chats with various site personnel. Thanks to the attachment, I was able to learn the material covered in the messages, workshops, and training and receive recognition for my clear corporate connections. As a bonus, I picked up a lot of information about making networking and connections. Through my internship, I was able to network with people in my intended sector of work. Networking will help me get a full-time job through referrals into a certain group, positive character references, and introductions to potential employers (Fabianic, 2018). I was juggling a number of tasks at once while working at NYE. Learning to juggle multiple tasks at once is an essential skill in both the workplace and everyday life, and I have mastered this skill.
I was able to acquire knowledge and abilities useful in my chosen field of criminal justice. One more goal was to improve my capacity to communicate effectively in writing and verbally across cultural boundaries. In addition to achieving these other aims, I have also improved my communication and interpersonal skills. This internship allowed me to put into practice what I had studied in school, improve my abilities, gain exposure to the working environment, and gain insight from my supervisor. The primary goal of visiting this location was to accumulate as much practical experience as possible. Even though I was not always given major responsibilities, I always made it a point to pay attention to every aspect of a task from start to finish. I had the competitive drive to work extra hard and complete the assignments and the positive enthusiasm and attitude about the opportunity to grow. I also had the willingness to keep an open mind to learn new things, and the social skills to interact with others.
Working at NYE helped me to apply various ideas and understand different information learned in the classroom curriculum. Various concepts related to law enforcement as a patroller became evident in the internship period. I fully understood the differences between a detective and a patroller after taking up various tasks and duties assigned by the supervisors. Other aspects such as the roles of the court system, wardens and the parole officers became vivid during the internship.
Career Goals and Internship Significance
Currently, I am considering a career as a Youth Correctional Counselor, Crime Prevention Specialist, Drug Enforcement Administration Agent, Parole or Probation Officer, Court Officer, Customs Inspector or a FBI Agent. The internship opportunity provided me with a chance to interact with children and youth of various ages and discover their experiences. These experiences will be vital if I will take up the Youth Correctional Counselor career in the future. Additionally, the internship equipped me with leadership skills and knowledge which will be helpful while working as a court officer, youth correctional leader and crime prevention specialist. We were also exposed to training sessions and special criminal justice meetings whose focus was on drug enforcement. The skills and knowledge acquired in this meeting will serve a great deal in my future career as a drug enforcement administration agent.
Strength, Weaknesses and Recommendations of the Internship
The key strength for this internship was the fact that there were well defined roles for each intern making it easier to go about duties. However, during my first day on the job, I was introduced to far too many people for me to easily remember their names, titles, and relative department. Since only a brief introduction to the site’s profile, its operations, and all of the HR features was provided, the second weakness was an overload of information. The data was coming in so fast that it would be impossible to process it in its entirety before more of it arrived. I therefore had a hard time settling into the office culture and making friends amongst my coworkers and superiors.
The main strength of the New York Edge agency lies in its ability to maintain a strict adherence to their schedules and plans. The organization has well stipulated management system guiding the various departments and can manage a large number of interns at once (New York Edge, 2022). However, I came to understand that New York Edge’s weakness was finding the correct fit employees because the hiring team lacked a dependable hiring and certification verification procedure. The recommendation to this challenge is finding the best selection practices and top-notch training that guarantees the highest level of service requirements for the client’s security programs. Retaining key employees is another weakness that I spotted in the agency. Almost all security programs are unique and keeping the proper people once they have been employed has its own issues. This difficulty can be overcome by taking great satisfaction in making sure that they find the most qualified and compatible candidates and keep the talented people who provide excellent customer service and uphold the site’s reputation.
References
Fabianic, D. A. (2018). Criminal justice internships. Just. Prof., 2(2), 19.
Knabenreich, H. (2021). What Does Google for Jobs Mean for Job Search, Recruiting—and Job Boards: In Google for Jobs. Springe. Web.
New York Edge (2022). New York Edge. Web.
Williams, T., Pryce, D. K., Clark, T., & Wilfong, H. (2020). The benefits of criminal justice internships at a historically black university: An analysis of site supervisors’ evaluations of interns’ professional development. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 31(1), 124-140.