Criminal Justice Students Learn about Federal Law Enforcement with Park Rangers
03/24/2015
By Ed Brennen
Nanishka Pulsifer spent four years attending high school next door to the Lowell National Historical Park’s police headquarters and even she couldn’t quite figure them out.
“The only time I saw them was in the park, but I never really understood what they did,” says Pulsifer ’14, a graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in criminal justice and police science.
Thanks to a new component of the UMass Lowell Police Department’s internship program, criminal justice students like Pulsifer are not only gaining a deeper understanding of the police work done by U.S. National Park Rangers in Lowell, they’re discovering a new potential career path in federal law enforcement.
“I knew I wanted to work in federal government but I’d never considered the National Park Service because I never realized they were federal agents,” says Pulsifer, who spent two days last semester shadowing rangers Michael Choquette and Traci Shorb. “Now I’m definitely interested. It’s a viable option.”
UMass Lowell Police Chief Randy Brashears launched the internship program in 2011 as a way to give criminal justice students a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work in law enforcement, from investigations and dispatch to patrol ride-alongs and community policing.
The connection with the National Park Service came about last year when UMass Lowell Community Resource Officers Joe Brown and Jeff Connors struck up a conversation with Choquette and Shorb during a routine patrol downtown.
“It’s a great opportunity for our students to explore the opportunities that are out there,” says Brown, who helps select five interns each semester for the 140-hour, three-credit program. “It reflects Chief Brashear’s commitment to the university and to the students.”
The real deal
Students begin the National Park Service portion of their internship at the newly relocated police headquarters on Market Street, where their visit includes a brief interview about career aspirations and a hands-on introduction to the rangers’ arsenal of weapons.
“When I saw their guns I thought, ‘This is different,’ ” says senior Ebony Trott, who quickly gained new respect for the rangers during last semester’s visit. “A lot of people think they’re not really police and they’ll say insulting things like, ‘You’re just a ranger, go catch Yogi Bear,’ cracking jokes. Really? That’s crazy. Why would you disrespect them?”
Students then climb into the backseat of the rangers’ unmarked Ford Explorer for an afternoon ride-along through the city, observing traffic stops and routine patrol work.
Senior Kyle Yost had been on ride-alongs with the UMass Lowell police but never saw a traffic stop. He witnessed four during his afternoon with Choquette and Shorb.
“I found it extremely beneficial to my career objectives,” says Yost, who has been accepted into the accelerated Five-Year B.S./M.A. Program in criminal justice and plans to become a Massachusetts state trooper.
Making a federal case
On the second day of the internship, students have the opportunity to sit in on federal court proceedings at U.S. District Court in Boston. As federal agents, the rangers prosecute their own cases, even traffic stops.
“Getting an inside look at the federal court system was eye-opening,” Yost says. “Observing officers question witnesses, testify themselves and present evidence to the judge was interesting. It won’t be long until I’m the one in front of the judge presenting the facts as an officer, so I found the experience quite helpful.”
Brown says it’s gratifying to see students exposed to such a broad range of law enforcement.
“We always laugh because most of us have been on the job here for at least 22 years, and I think I’ve been to federal court once,” he says. “And these guys aren’t even on the job yet and they get a chance to go down and see what federal court is like. So that’s awesome.”
Senior Kim Fairweather, who is also in the five-year criminal justice program, says she came away from her National Park Service visit with a better understanding of her opportunities.
“There are a lot more options than I knew about,” she says. “Without the internship I probably would have missed out on potential career paths.”