Criminal Justice Internships – An Overview

Criminal justice is a law enforcement system which consists of government institutions dedicated to control, prevention and mitigation of crime. Some of the practices of this system involve apprehension, prosecution, defense, sentencing, incarceration, and supervision of those suspected of or charged with criminal offenses. Many institutions now offer criminal justice degree programs under the title of Bachelor of Criminal Justice. The curriculum includes topics such as statistics, methods of research, policing, U.S court systems, criminal courts, corrections, community corrections, criminal procedure, criminal law, juvenile justice etc. In order to integrate theory and practice, criminal justice internships are of prime importance.

Benefits of Criminal Justice Internships

The students get on site job experience along with learning the complexities of various tasks. Criminal justice interns will acquire the know-how of the government environment, the value of networking, administrative roles, structures, and leadership styles. This helps the interns decide if a career in criminal justice is right for them. They develop skills of critical thinking and exploration. With budget cuts across all US government organizations, criminal justice internships will help you build a network that will help you in the future. You may get hired on full-time or at least have your supervisor as a reference for other jobs.

List of Criminal Justice Internships

Here are some examples of criminal justice internships:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative body. It is headquartered in Washington D.C and has more than 50 international offices around the world. It offers cutting edge work environment experience by offering the Honors Internship Program and Volunteer Internship Program. Each year, criminal justice internships at the FBI are offered in the summer for three months.
• The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for ensuring public safety against foreign threats and administrating impartial justice for all Americans.  It offers a highly competitive program known as The Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP). The program is unpaid and can be approached by contacting the school recruitment office. Paid positions are also offered for law students but are very limited. Moreover, a paid internship program is also offered for students from various disciplines.  The interns are required to provide 640 hours during the program.
• The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is an organization which facilitates international police cooperation. The agency is based in Lyon, France and comprises of 190 member countries. Students from member countries are offered a limited number of internships. The internships are paid and can be applied for throughout the year. Minimum duration of internships is 2 months and maximum duration is 11 months.
• The Center for Court Innovation, headquartered in New York, is directed at reducing crime and improving public trust in criminal justice. Unpaid summer and fall internship are open every year.
• Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is an American agency who carries out research and development for prevention of crime. It helps law enforcement and criminal justice agencies by providing grants. The Office of Justice Programs offer paid criminal justice internships to undergraduates and graduate students who are U.S. nationals. The internships are posted in fall each year for students who wish to be a part of the summer internships for the following year.

To find criminal justice internships that are available near you, please visit Indeed.com.

Check out some other government internships you may be interested in:

FBI Internships

CIA Internships