My internship experience is something to remember. Doing this internship has really opened my eyes to the unseen tasks of law enforcement. From the smallest detail to the most obvious, this career is not as easy as it seems. In reality, there is a lot of stress and danger because you do not know what could happen while on the job.

The excitement and the unforeseen is what motivates me to pursue a career in this field of work. Law enforcement is not a career for everyone but it is for me and the way I found out it was for me was through this internship experience.

At the police academy, we were able to use the virtual simulator which produced realistic scenarios so we could practice resolving simulated problems as effectively as possible. The machine can be programmed to adapt as the user progresses through the situation. This setting can help recruits to get out of their comfort zone because it can deliver real life situations in a safe environment. After using the virtual simulator, we observed recruits practice traffic stops in real life with trainers and their partners. While training they used soap rounds, which are shell casings with dyed soap. They use this to simulate actual bullets. During the traffic stop situations, there could be shoot outs or just a plain ticket violation, but the trainees do not know until it's over. This was amazing to see because we were able to see how recruits could handle a problem.

As the recruits in the Police Academy went though there fire arms and driving test we observed and watched. The recruits needed to drive though a course without touching cones and making it before time runs out. For there fire arms test they need to shot a certain number of rounds into the target at certain distances.

We went to the prosecutors office and saw their major crimes van. The Major Crime Unit will help assist any crimes that are Arson, Fatal Accidents, and Homicides. The van is equipped with wifi, computers, monitors, interview rooms, First Aid, and satellite(Incase wifi is down or out of service).  

With one officers, my partner, and I went to the prosecutors office to view their cyber crime lab. This is where they use computers to help analyze, and find data from the evidence they collect at crime scenes. They can receive data from almost anything, from cell phones and computers all the way down to "DELETED" information. The technicians can manipulate any or most software to their advantage, such as finding someones location, calls, history, and so much more. Finally their computer lab is one of the most useful tools in their arsenal, most if not all crimes now have a cyber trace; everyone has a cyber-fingerprint/cyber-footprint that can be found and used against them.

This is the East Rutherford Police Department, where I intern at.