Students interested in working on-campus while gaining experience in the field of criminal justice can look no further than the University Police Department.

Like any police department, CSU East Bay’s police department lets the campus community know when rules are being broken. While these officers sometimes fall victim to stereotypes of unfair police work, students generally appreciate the sense of security they provide.

The CSUEB campus police department offers an internship where students are trained to work alongside the officers.

“The program is offered as work-study or as a paid internship,” says Corporal Yolanda Harris, who is in charge of the program. “Some students work all of their college years and can work up to a month after graduation.”

The officers stay current and up-to-date with students’ school schedules, extracurricular activities, and anything else that might interfere with their time management.

“We check their GPAs to make sure they are in good standing and make sure they don’t have too much going on so the addition of this internship won’t overwhelm them,” says Harris.

Another key qualification is that students in the program cannot have any criminal background, since they may work closely with people’s personal information, which is a general standard for someone working in any police department.

Students participating in the internship are able to get a first hand look into what could be possibly their future—law enforcement.

Cpl. Harris knows this from experience.

“I was a journalism student at San Francisco State and after participating in a law enforcement program similar to the one here,” she said, “I decided to change my major to Criminal Justice. [The program] offers students exposure to what we as police do and also shows them a different side of law enforcement as they get to know each officer on a different level. They see that we are people too.”

The interns, who act as security and as a helping hand, can be seen in front of the University Union for campus events that they participate in, like Al Fresco, Soberfest and Bayfest.

They also help with traffic control, security checks on buildings and parking lots, security escorts, and general administrative work in the police department office.

“It’s a great opportunity because we get to work with real police officers,” says Kevin Story, a senior in the internship program.
Story is thinking about pursuing a career in law enforcement and is majoring in U.S. History.

“I get to learn the ‘ins and outs’ of a police force and all of the police codes now,” he said, “which is great for people with bad memories so you won’t have to learn it all later.”

Harris also said the officers are always willing to give recommendations and business referrals to students who complete the program and go on to pursue their respective careers.