Some criminal justice majors at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) are trading the classroom for the police department this semester.
A partnership between TAMUK and the Bishop Police Department is working to encourage students to take an interest in law enforcement. Students like senior Abraham Sanchez fell into the pursuit after changing his original major.
“I was a bio-med major but I realized it wasn’t for me. My dad is a detective and now I’m hoping to be a police officer,” Sanchez said.
Students will get hands-on experience with a full range of assignments law officials take on on a daily basis.
“We’ll assign them to patrol for a few weeks, CID to highway interdiction to narcotics,” Bishop Police Chief Edward Day said.
This is the third year of the partnership. Day said he hopes the hands-on experience leads to a recruiting opportunity for not only the Bishop PD but other law agencies locally because recruiting in smaller communities can be challenging.
“We don’t have everything that bigger cities have to offer like housing and accommodations. Sometimes when you have officers that work in a community that they’re not from, there’s a disconnect. If we can get people from the community to work in the community, that’s a win for everybody,” Day said.
But Sanchez said starting his career in a small town like Bishop has its benefits.
“What I like about the smaller towns is you see people over and over. The more you see people and say hi the more they trust you,” Sanchez said.
Another recruitment challenge is the negative stigma in recent years that has come with the badge.
“We like to not only show the community that we’re humans but use these interns as an opportunity to bridge that gap and show them that behind this badge is a human heart,” Day said.
And that negative stigma is something Sanchez has witnessed firsthand.
“I get nervous sometimes mentioning my major because when I say ‘hey I’m going to do criminal justice’ people ask why are you going to do that? You’re nice. I don’t see you being strict,” Sanchez said.
But Sanchez said he likes to see what goes on behind the scenes and what he sees keeps him motivated to serve the community.
“Everyone here is real close. I met half of them already, they’re all awesome. I’m getting the hang of things,” Sanchez said.
There are currently two Javelina students taking part in the internship program with another one on the way. The internship will end at the end of the fall semester. Chief Day said he hopes the internship will lead to recruiting opportunities in the near future.
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