Paid Internship Opportunities: Campus Police
by Amber Rivard
The 4C’s Campus Police Department has intern opportunities for criminal-justice majors.
Interns will receive hands-on experience in traffic control, security duties, patrol functions, and other responsibilities, according to Chief David McGraw.
Interns are required to complete 150 hours with the department. Positions have previously been unpaid, but the needs of the department have allowed for extra work and the extra funds, says McGraw, who adds he believes the hourly wage will be in the $18-$20 range.
“We would train the intern to be more of a security guard, and they'd be able to get paid for extra work that they did and obviously count those as their hours,” McGraw says.
Twin brothers Carter and Kai Rotcavich spent the summer as interns for the Campus Police Department. As they share a car, they needed an internship that would accept them both. The brothers would work opposite shifts and relieve each other.
In the summer the campus is still lively there are just not as many students. When the brothers started, they learned the ropes from McGraw and Institution Security Officer Kemoy McGowan by shadowing them. They would go out on calls, patrol the campus, and helping with other responsibilities.
“My favorite part was definitely getting to work with Chief McGraw and Kemoy McGowan, because it was interesting to learn from them and hear their perspectives on things,” Kai Rotcavich says. “They’re both very good at their job, (and) they both have very different ways of teaching, so it was interesting to learn from both of them.”
“I learned a lot about my major, and what actually takes place inside a police station,” Carter Rotcavich says. “I would advise anyone looking for an internship, to apply for the internship at the Cape Cod Community College Police Department, it was very fruitful.”
Kai says toward the end of his internship he was allowed to go on calls by himself and learned the dispatching software on the computer.
Both brothers had some interesting experiences out in the field.
One day when Kai was heading to work, he saw kids running over to Burger King. The Barnstable County Sheriff's Office had a youth program going on at 4C’s, and a girl went missing. Remembering what he saw earlier, he headed to Burger King to check it out.
“And, sure enough, the girl was right there at the Burger King,” Kai says.
Both brothers helped to pull over a driver on Ring Road. During a lunch break, Chief McGraw and Kai even bumped into U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her husband at Dunkin Donuts.
Kai described his internship as “very rewarding” and suggested that students should try internships during the summer when there is less schoolwork and they can give it all their attention.
After they graduate from 4C’s, the brothers plan to attend Bridgewater State University to earn their bachelor’ degree. Kai plans to work in law enforcement, and Carter aims to be a police officer in southern New Hampshire, where their family is from.
Chief McGraw says in the past there was a maximum of two internships at a time.
“We have none right now,” he says, “so we’re always looking for interns, and the more we get … we'll find a place and we'll definitely keep them busy.”
Criminal Justice majors can apply through professors Darren Stalker or John Zukes. The internship schedule can be flexible.
Chief McGraw helps interns make or improve their resumes during their internship to prepare them for applying for police jobs. McGraw also has interns fill out a real police application; it’s 50 pages long and interns have to fill it out in 10 days, the typical deadline.
That way, McGraw says, “When you actually go to apply for police you have all that information already basically in a rough draft.”
More information is available by Chief McGraw at [email protected].
(From left to right) Kai Rotcavich and Carter Rotcavich proudly hold their certificates of achievement after completing the required 150 hours (Kemoy McGowan).
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