Internship Showcase

October 15, 2021

Please take a moment to read about the experience of one of our outstanding Criminal Justice and Criminology Interns, Kirsten Barnes.

“During the summer, I participated in an internship with Athens-Clarke County Police Department. While there, I was able to gain so much experience. I was mainly with their Family Protection Center, which dealt with many types of cases such as: domestic violence, sex crimes, and crimes against children.

I was able to see many things during my time there. One of those things being search warrants. I was able to see how you write them and what information was needed in each one and how broad or narrow you must be. I also got to witness on many occasions the presentations of the warrants to a judge for them to be signed. Seeing this helped me understand more of what goes into the search warrants, and not just the basics and why you need them.

I also got to witness many forensic interviews. Most of the interviews I got to sit in on were those of children. It was very interesting to see the different ways you approach the situations. I even went to the jail and got to sit in on initial interviews with the suspects. This was great to see, you get to understand the tactics and the methods that can get you a confession.

My criminal justice classes touched base on many ins and outs of interviews, but seeing it allowed me to understand the lectures I was taught better. Another experience I had was getting to look through forensic photos and seeing how they document what they see at a crime scene. My experiences with ACCPD have led me to be sure of my career path and connect my lectures with the reality of the job. It has also allowed me to feel more secure in my future.”

Athens-Clarke County Police Department official website: https://www.accgov.com/200/Police