Essex County Prosecutor's Office Continues Criminal Justice Internship for High School Students

High school students involved with the six week-long summer internship presented by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office visited their local hometown police stations this week in order to get a behind-the-scenes look at what occurs at the local level of community police. 

The internship, presented by the Prosecutor's Office, allows high school students who have an interest in a career in law enforcement experience the environment in which law enforcement officials work as well as participate in a jury trial, attend New Jersey State Trooper Youth Week, and meet members of local law enforcement agencies across New Jersey and the U.S.

Officer Kevin O'Connell, 57, of the Bloomfield Police Department, was in charge of showing interns and Bloomfield High School students Aimee Alvarez, 17, and Roger Petroche, 17, the duties that a Bloomfield police officer may experience for the day. O'Connell said this was his tenth year participating in the internship, mentioning that he also attended the State Trooper Youth Week in 1973.

"What we try to do is give them a whole feel of what it's like being in police work," said O'Connell. "We take them around headquarters, show them different departments, take them out on the road, areas of town. They realize what is involved in the day. We try to explain that it's a lot more than locking up bad guys. A lot of it's dealing with the public, accidents, etc."

Alvarez, who aspires to work for the FBI one day, said she was enjoying the internship, saying that this was a great chance to see what it's like to have a career in law enforcement.

"I think it's great. We do something new everyday and we also see something new everyday also," she said. "We're not just in the courthouse; we're in our own local police department." 

Petroche is looking forward to attend the New Jersey State Trooper Youth Week in Sea Girt, hoping to use the visit in his favor when applying to be a state trooper in the years to come.

"I really want to be a state trooper," he said. "When I saw this opportunity come to me, I saw that there was one week that we were going to do down at Sea Girt and I feel like the State Trooper Youth Week is going to be a big advantage for me. I'm going to get a chance to see what I'm going to do in the future."

To be eligible for a spot in the internship, participants must reside or attend school in Belleville, Bloomfield, East Orange, Irvington, Montclair, Newark, Orange, South Orange/Maplewood, or West Orange.
 
Participants must also require strong academic standing, complete their junior year by June 2011, two letters of recommendation, and a letter of nomination.