INTERNSHIP IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE OR POLITICAL SCIENCE

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: CRJU 4800 (6 UNITS), 4810 (6 UNITS)
POLITICAL SCIENCE: POLS 4620/4630/4640 (3-9 UNITS)

INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR:
Dr. Katherine Bennett
University Hall 220
(912)921-5677

PURPOSE:

The internship/practicum program within the Department of Criminal Justice, Social, and Political Science at Armstrong Atlantic State University is designed specifically to enable the student to apply classroom knowledge to the work environment, and to better prepare the student to enter the criminal justice or political science/public administration field upon graduation. It will expose the student to the qualifications and requirements of various employing agencies and give him or her the experience to meet those requirements. It is intended that the student will participate in the work of the internship/practicum agency, and when possible, make significant contributions.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To afford the student the opportunity to correlate theory with practice within the agency setting.

2. To develop in the student an understanding of current problems within the agency and other components of the criminal justice system or general governmental apparatus.

3. To allow the agency an opportunity to benefit from objective inquiries by the student into the agency's method of operation.

4. To provide the student with intensive agency experience and permit the student to become sufficiently involved so that input from the student is solicited and received.

5. To allow the student to assume appropriate responsibilities of a regular staff member and be able to function with a minimum of supervision.

6. To enhance the student's capacity for intellectual inquiry and expository skills.

7. To develop the student's understanding and /or ability to devise realistic strategies for improving an agency's delivery of services.

In the achievement of these objectives, the student should have the opportunity to assume responsibility for productive tasks within the agency, and to observe and identify with the public sector professional in his/her various roles in the agency and community.

The goal of Armstrong Atlantic State University's criminal justice and political science programs is to produce a professional who is both highly self-directing and able to use consultative supervision.

As applied interdisciplinary professions, criminal justice or public management place emphasis upon planned experience as a vital aspect of the educational process. There are six (6) educational objectives for each student in Field Internship Instruction.

I. Socialization: The student should identify himself/herself as a part of the agency staff, develop collegial relationships with staff, and become accustomed to the style of the agency-hours, modes of dress, casual conversation, place and style of work.

II. Knowledge of Services: The student should be completely familiar with the functions of the agency, its modes of intake, service limitations, referral, and recording. He/She should also become familiar with the agency's network of relationships with other agencies.

III. Awareness of Role: In his/her agency activities, the student should develop a consciousness of purpose, including objectivity toward clients and a comfortable sharing relationship with supervisors.

IV. Values: The student should be conscious of his/her values and how they affect his/her ability to function with clients. He/she should be able to accept challenges to his/her values and when necessary, to use supervisory help to examine their validity.

V. Skills: The student should develop and practice those skills which are necessary in dealing with individuals and groups. Such skills include interviewing, listening, speaking, summarizing, and communicating non-verbally. The ability to establish comfortable relationships is vital.

VI. Advocacy: The student should be sufficiently aware of agency functions and sufficiently secure as a person to initiate questions and explore alternatives. His/Her reaction to supervision and staff meetings should demonstrate a comfortable, collaborative attitude.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF ELIGIBILITY:

1. Criminal Justice or Political Science major for internship; Master of Science (M.S.) Candidate for practicum.

2. For internship, minimum junior status, based upon the successful completion of 90 semester hours toward graduation. For practicum, 30 semester hours in the graduate program.

3. For criminal justice internship, successful completion of the following courses:

CRJU 1010 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRJU 1030 Interpersonal Communication Skills
CRJU 2100 Criminology
CRJU 2500 Criminal Evidence and Procedure
CRJU 2510 Introduction to Criminal Law
CRJU 3100 Research Methods
CRJU 3210 Law Enforcement
CRJU 3400 Corrections
CRJU 4510 Adv. Criminal Law
CRJU 5300 Juvenile Delinquency
CRJU 5500 Law and Legal Process

4. An overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 and a 2.5 GPA for all course work in the major (3.0 for graduate students).

5. The student shall not have been convicted of a felony.

6. The student, if presently under indictment for a felony, will postpone the internship placement preceding the outcome of the indictment.

7. If applicable, the student shall have been off academic probation for one (1) semester proceedings internship placement.

CREDIT:

For undergraduate internship, twelve (12) semester credit hours requires forty (40) hours per week for fifteen (15) weeks in the agency or program for a total of six hundred (600) hours. A six semester credit internship requires 20 hours per week for 15 weeks, or 300 total hours. For the graduate practicum, six (6) semester credit hours requires a total of four hundred (400) hours in the agency or program to be completed within the fifteen (15) week semester.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STUDENT:

1. Complete all prerequisites outlined in the program.

2. Arrange and appear for a personal interview with the internship coordinator.

3. Complete the following forms (2 copies) prior to meeting with the Internship Coordinator.

(A) Internship Application (Addendum A)
(B) Notarized Waiver of Liability (Addendum B)
(C) Current Resume

4. Arrange and appear for a personal interview with the agency program representative.

5. Report to the agency dressed and groomed in an appropriate manner (if unsure check with the internship coordinator or agency representative prior to the scheduled interview.

6. Be punctual and reliable-treat this assignment as you would a normal paid career or occupational assignment. The agency supervisor and /or representative must be notified if the student will be late or absent. All absences will be made up prior to the end of the term.

7. Maintain regular attendance at the agency during hours arranged for placement. Absences must be reported to the supervisor and internship coordinator and lost time must be made up.

8. Fulfill in a professional manner all the duties and responsibilities assigned by the agency supervisor. Special emphasis is placed on absolute commitment to the principle of confidentiality regarding sensitive information gained while in field placement.

9. Be familiar with the rules, regulations, and all laws that pertain to the participating agency or program.

10. Participate openly and honestly in the evaluation process.

11. Meet with the Internship Coordinator at least three times during the semester. Generally these meetings occur during the first week of the semester, at midterm, and at the end of the term. Maintain contact with the coordinator for scheduled dates. Once again, these meetings are mandatory-missed meetings will affect your overall grade.

12. Complete all written assignments ( Summary of Weekly Activity, Student Evaluation of Field Placement, Student Self-Evaluation in Field Placement, Research Paper, etc.) And all course requirements.

13. Initiate, develop, and complete a research project related to agency concerns or interest.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS:

Students are expected to treat the internship or practicum in the same manner as if they were paid staff members. Promptness and regular attendance are non-negotiable requirements.

Fifty percent (50%) of the student's final grade will derive from the internship coordinator's analysis of the evaluations conducted by the agency supervisor at mid-term and again at the end of the semester. Periodic contacts of the agency by the internship coordinator will also be used in determining the final grade.

The remaining portion of the grade will be determined by the depth of your analysis on your weekly activity reports together with a moderate-sized research paper. The weekly activity reports should stress the student's observations and participation at the internship site. Students should look for similarities and inconsistencies between their course work and what they find to exist in the criminal justice field. Weekly reports are to be completed at the end of each week and either faxed or hand delivered to the Internship Coordinator (IC) the following Monday morning.

Research Paper: Criminal justice students will be required to write a twenty (20) page minimum double-spaced, typed original research paper (properly formatted and referenced) on a selected topic relating to their field placement experiences (with the approval of the internship coordinator). The student may choose to write the paper based upon some field research growing out of his/her placement experiences (details outlined in the following two pages) or choose to do an extensive literature review and paper (grounded in academic research, not rhetorical polemic) on an issue which has already been well researched and discuss its salient features in the light of his/her field experiences. In either case the paper should identify a specific problem in criminal justice, and propose, justify or update policies, programs, or techniques designed to solve that problem. Topic selection for your paper to be determined after consultation with the Internship Coordinator.

Political science students will be required to work on a specific project which will result in a paper or report of moderate size. The topic of the project will be determined by the student, the supervisor, and the faculty member responsible for the intern within the first two weeks of the intern's placement. Ideally, the project will be determined prior to the internship while the student is arranging the internship with the agency.

Grading. Final grades are based on the following percentage scale:

GUIDE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD RESEARCH PAPER

The following guide is suggested as a basis for developing the field research project (paper option # 1) for the agency in which you are placed. Students should make any necessary modifications to increase the relevance of this guide to their specific situation. This guide is merely a skeletal outline; the student should expand it on the basis of those details which are relevant to their specific assignment.

1. PROBLEMS OF CENTRAL CONCERN TO THIS AGENCY:

A. This agency has arisen as a response to what social problems and conditions?
B. What are some of the current problems (areas) of concern for this agency?

2. THE SOCIAL TASK OF THE AGENCY: (as currently defined by the agency.)

A. Historically, what have been the changing shifts in conception of task?

(1) What movements and forces have helped to shape the focus of present concern?
(2) What have been the major contributions of political and reform leaders and criminal justice professionals?

B. Currently, with what parts or aspects of what social problems is the agency concerned?

(1) Distinguish between what is said to be the task of the agency and the task in which it is actually actively concerned.
(2) In which of the remaining important areas of unmet need would it be appropriate for the criminal justice agency to become concerned?
(3) Note those variations in the definition of the task by other agencies in the community.
(4) Give your own summary of the agency's task.

3. THE SERVICE SYSTEM: Organization and present functioning of programs of your agency. (What is now being done?). Selected comparisons with other agencies.

1. The network of agencies and programs:
   (1) Typical agency structures and functions
   (2) Related and fringe agency structures and functions
   (3) New and non-typical structures and functions
   (4) Extent of cooperative and coordinative efforts
   
   
2. What groups are typically served? What groups are given low priority or omitted? (For example, middle and upper classes and poor urban and rural).
   
   
3. Geographic coverage of your agency's services.
   
   
4. How much emphasis on crime preventive services is there? Specifically, what evidences are there that preventive work is being undertaken?
   
   
5. How do public attitudes affect the extent and quality of services rendered by your agency?
   
   
6. Knowledge and skills developed in this agency.
   
   
7. Financing: extent, sources, adequacy.
   
   

8. Personnel: (examine for manpower gaps)
   (1) Non-criminal justice personnel in agency: numbers classifications, qualifications, deployment, in-service training and staff development, possibilities for more effective utilization of existing staff, extent of man-power gaps.

   (2) Criminal justice personnel in agency (AS, BS, MA): numbers, classifications, deployment, in-service training and staff development, possibilities for more effective utilization of existing staff, extent of manpower gaps.

9. What are the current trends in the agency's service system?

4. SUMMARY OF MAJOR GAPS

This summary is to be derived for the above study and from the student's own experiences and observations.

A. What have been the recommendations of experts, taskforces, and study commissions?

B. Insofar as possible, it must be specified whether a "gap" is measured against a realistic operations concept of the social task, or against an ideal concept of the task.

C. To place gaps into a working perspective, there should be a summary of the positive aspects of the current functioning of this network of services.

5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE
PROFESSIONAL - toward closing the gaps, in varying degrees of collaboration with non-criminal justice personnel in the field and with community groups and "power structures."

A. Areas of social change effort for which criminal justice must assume primary responsibility.
B. Collaboration with others.
C. Action priorities.

INTERNSHIP FORMS

INTERNSHIP/PRACTICUM APPLICATION FORM
RELEASE, WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE
FIELD PLACEMENT AGREEMENT
STUDENT INTERN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (Midterm)
STUDENT INTERN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (Final)
SUMMARY OF WEEKLY ACTIVITY IN FIELD PLACEMENT
STUDENT EVALUATION OF FIELD PLACEMENT
STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION IN FIELD PLACEMENT