They're not cops, but they're out patrolling the city streets nonetheless.  Earlier this month, six criminal justice students from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) joined the ranks of the Green Bay, Wisc., Police Department as Community Service Interns (CSI).  Though they have no sworn powers, they are an added layer of support for department, assisting officers in addressing community needs.

According to Lt. Colleen Belongea, who oversees the program, the students are interfacing with community members, giving them the kind of attention that police officers sometimes cannot because they are busy with criminal matters.

"Very rapidly, the interns are building strong partnerships within the community," said Belongea.  "We can't always do the meet and greets, so that is where the CSIs come in."

Armed with Green Bay Police Department ID tags and police radios, the students head out into the streets in teams of two, making their presence felt in neighborhoods and talking with residents about any issues or concerns they have.  According to Belongea, this helps criminal justice students get a real-life taste of what community policing is all about.

"[The students] get to work on their professional communication skills [and] they get to look at problems that are in the community," said Belongea.  "And it gives the interns a lot more resources [for] when they become law enforcement officers as to how to solve these problems."

This kind of experience is valuable to the students, said Michael Albertson, a criminal justice instructor at NWTC. 

"It really gives them a chance to practice some of the academics that we have talked about," Albertson said.  "It begins to put these things into real life situations."

According to Albertson, the students who participate in the internship program are in their third semester of criminal justice studies at NWTC.  At that point, they have already taken a course in community policing strategies, he said, which prepares them for the work they will be doing with the Green Bay P.D.

Belongea said all interns must be currently enrolled in college, carrying a minimum of nine credits and they must have a C average or better.  Also, they need to have a good driving record and no prior criminal violations, she said.

The intern-teams are each assigned to a different neighborhood, where they talk to citizens and make observations for where improvements could be made to that area.

Although the program only began on October 4, the interns have already built relationships with neighbors and have done their fair share to help the department, Belongea said.

"They've been embraced [by the community]; people have been glad to see them," Belongea said.  "Their expectations went from [being] the eyes and ears of the community to 'what more can you do to help us out?'" 

As far as the department is concerned, the interns are a great help in maintaining a positive relationship between the police and community members, Belongea said.

"It helps law enforcement," Belongea said.  "It gives the students the ability to go out and address issues one-on-one with citizens, [so] the citizens feel as though they are getting a customized service," she said.  "It gives the citizens the ability to have input as to what is going on in their neighborhood."

Also, the interns listen to residents' concerns, bring those issues back to the station and conduct research to see if they can find a solution to the citizens' problems.  This helps the students develop their problem solving skills, Belongea said.

Beyond bonding with community members, which is what the interns are currently working on, the students will be asked to take on various additional projects, including modifying behaviors in area parks.  According to Belongea, that is the next challenge they will tackle.

"[The parks are] a social ground for kids to learn some social skills and some kids don't have [good] social skills," Belongea said.  "We'd like to take those kids and tell them the things that they did wrong."

Belongea explained the CSIs will talk to children who they see misbehaving in the city's parks and even take them home and relay information about their behavior to their parents.

Although the students are out in the parks and streets directly interacting with people, Belongea believes they are not in danger.

"We've talked about officer safety and what situations to get yourself into and what situations to keep yourself out of," Belongea said.  "[And] they have a radio that directly connects them to the police frequency."

According to Belongea, if the interns witness a criminal act, they are instructed to steer clear and report the incident to the department immediately.

Rules and regulations like that are laid out for the interns during an orientation session, which covers the dos and don'ts of the internship.

So far, six CSIs have gone through the internship orientation and are currently working for the Green Bay P.D.  In the future, Belongea hopes to grow the program to about 18 students.

"I would like to see the program continue to evolve and I would also like to see, in the future, the CSIs be able to take some enforcement action," Belongea said.

For now, though, they are taking things slow, focusing on smaller initiatives before they expand their expectations for the CSIs.

As the program stands now, however, Belongea believes it has a lot to offer interns, the department and the community.

Resources:

Belongea (920) 448-3189