Introduction

As I’m getting older and soon to be a senior in college at Salisbury University, I have really been thinking about what I want to do with my life after I graduate from college and have to step into the real adult world. When I first came to Salisbury University, I had no idea what I wanted to do after college. Within my first semester as a freshman, I had changed my major three different times and had all different kinds of minors. At first, I was a Psychology major and wanted to be a therapist. I then switched it to Sociology because I wasn’t enjoying my major in Psychology, then after communicating with one of my professors, he recommended that I try out Communications, which I soon learned to love. My minor in Communications was Journalism for the longest time, until it came to the second semester of my junior year, when I discovered I could not see myself as a journalist. 

I have a few people in my neighborhood who work in Law Enforcement, sheriffs to be exact, that I decided to have sit-down conversations with. They told me that while they were in college, they had no idea what they wanted to do until they rediscovered their interests in being a cop. This brought me back to memory lane to when I was a child and would get extremely excited when I heard the sirens of cop cars going down the road and how quickly I would turn my head to look at them. At that time, I wasn’t sure why I was so interested in police work besides the fact that the uniforms, cars, and the thought of helping people would always catch my attention. 

Years later, as a 21-year-old, I found myself sitting in the passenger seat almost every day inside of a Maryland State Police patrol car as an intern. I was finally able to watch the career that I had thought about for so long happen right in front of me. This experience has shown me that the law enforcement career is much more than just responding to calls and enforcing the laws. This career is built around communication, responsibility, service, and, most importantly, being a family. My internship with all of the troopers at Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack E has allowed me to experience all of those important responsibilities through observations of specialized units, ride-alongs, report writing, citations, as well as exposure to the process of court cases. This internship has also allowed me to discover that the communication skills that I have studied as a Communications major at Salisbury University have a huge place in law enforcement. The purpose of me writing this paper is to explain and show how my internship with Maryland State Police and the troopers has changed my understanding of law enforcement with communication, made me want to pursue a career within law enforcement, how it has shown me the difficulties and hardships of the job as well as the repetitiveness, and has also taught me how policing can effect with the ability to communicate with others without causing a scene. This internship has shown me how all of the troopers work as a family and how to always remain professional even when the unpredictable happens. 

How I entered the internship with a career already in mind

When entering this internship, I was not confused about whether or not I wanted to be a state trooper; I knew I wanted to be one. I entered it with the hope that the experience would really show me if I wanted to be doing this for the next 20+ years of my life. As I have said before, it has always been a huge interest of mine, even when I was a little girl. Hearing about the experiences my neighbors in law enforcement have explained to me helped me develop and sharpen my experience even more. After seeing things firsthand, there is a major difference between just hearing things and actually seeing things in person. The Maryland State Police has given me that opportunity, and I could not be more grateful for that. 

The majority of my internship involved riding along with the troopers, and I was able to ride with at least 17 different troopers. Actually sitting in the patrol car gave me a completely different perspective rather than just seeing them driving by down the road and watching them do traffic stops from afar. Now, I actually know how the reporting goes down. I was actually able to see what happens during their shifts and how the time frame works. For day shifts, it is 6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., late shift is 2:00 p.m.- 12:00 a.m., and night shift is 10:00 p.m.- 6:00 a.m. I was able to see them respond to all kinds of calls, traffic enforcement, the long paperwork, and them having to deal with situations that cause the troopers to have to make difficult decisions. 

One of the things I realized while doing my internship is that the job is not how it is portrayed on TV; it is not always exciting. They have their quiet periods, and their responsibilities can be repetitive. Their traffic stops can be the same as the others, and their paperwork has to be done 100% correctly after the incident is over. This was very important for me to see because movies and shows only focus on the dramatic parts of the job, and my internship has shown me that being a professional trooper isn't about the dramatics; it is about being prepared for what may happen next while also completing the responsibilities that need to be done in that moment. That realization was one of the most important parts. 

What I have learned that I didn’t know before

One of the biggest lessons that I have learned, and why communication is so important within this career, is that it controls just about every part of law enforcement. 

Since the start of my internship, I already knew that officers needed communication skills. My communications major at Salisbury University has already taught me a lot about what I need to know about clearly delivering information and presenting it in a way that others can clearly understand. However, my classes did not show me how exactly these skills would help me work inside of a police agency, but the internship did. I learned that communication within law enforcement does not only have to be useful, but timely and accurate. 

Communication over their radios is a huge example of this. Dispatchers and officers need to communicate their information quickly without leaving anyone confused. During my ride-alongs, I became quite familiar with their radio codes such as 10-4, which means a message was understood and received, as well as 10-76, which means en route. Before doing my ride-alongs, I had believed their communication over the radio was conversations, but now I understand how actual conversations would make the job much more difficult. But with law enforcement, communication can be done within a second. 

Something I did not fully understand before my internship was how communication with the officers, lieutenants, and dispatchers would eventually become communication on a written report, and how all of the information must remain accurate across all of the forms. But after completing my internship, I have seen how important that truly is. 

How written communication can affect a case

Another important lesson I have learned about communication is how important writing reports is. Before starting this, I knew that officers had to write reports, but I did not understand how those reports were so important once that incident was over. 

Once the reports were written, they would eventually be read by supervisors, prosecutors, judges, attorneys, and sometimes by people who were not present at that specific time. With that being said, the officers have to communicate what happened clearly enough that the other people can fully understand what happened. 

In my classes, I had learned that all details matter because not all readers will be physically present at the time that the situation happened. Although they serve a completely different purpose, police reports have the same responsibility. My internship experience has truly helped me realize that within this career, communication is not just about being a good speaker, but a good writer as well. 

That is one of the reasons why I now understand how my communications major and law and journalism minors can be a useful preparation for beginning my career in law enforcement. Originally, I thought I would have to choose between police work and communication, but I now know that communication is one of the important skills that connects the two with one another. 

How communication can change from situation to situation

Another thing I have learned about communication from this internship is that communication works in many ways. Someone who receives a ticket from speeding is a huge difference from someone who was in a serious car wreck. Someone who is pulled over for speeding may be calmer than someone who is stressed because of a car accident; therefore, information will have to be explained a lot differently. 

In my college courses, I have learned many theories about communication, like the Communication Accommodation Theory. This internship has brought that theory more to real life for me because I was able to see it firsthand. This is very important in law enforcement because troopers interact with so many different people and scenarios in their careers. 

Not only has this internship taught me that communication is important to get information out, but it is also important that it is understood from both sides and that everything stays calm and professional. That is something I would have never truly understood if I had never sat in a patrol car. 

What surprised me from my internship

One of the biggest things that surprised me is what I have seen from being with the troopers: how much responsibility is needed that you cannot see from the outside of things. 

For example, from the outside, a traffic stop may seem very simple, but in reality the trooper needs to take caution and pay attention to what is happening, be able to fully communicate with the driver, follow all procedures correctly, and be able to explain everything in court if a case is needed. There is so much more behind every situation that the public will never truly see. 

Some cases can be simple, like speeding and headlights being out, while others can be way more complicated and serious. The way more serious cases, like domestic violence, impaired driving, warrants, and drugs, have way more procedures attached to them as well as long hours of paperwork and reporting. Cases like those need very serious documentation of evidence to make sure everything is correct. The documentation and reporting have surprised me and proved to me that the trooper's responsibility is not over as soon as the call is over. 

That was surprising to me because beforehand I had believed that the trooper's job primarily was about what happens in the work field; I now know and understand that everything that happens after an incident or situation is just as important. 

Another thing that had surprised me about the internship was how many troopers are a part of Salisbury Barrack E. I truly loved and thought it was very welcoming that everyone seemed to be like one big family there. Everyone had each other's back, and when backup was ever needed, there would be someone right away, even from other departments. I was also surprised to see how often the state troopers would work with cops from the city police and deputies from the county department. 

What truly amazed me from the internship

Not only did the troopers at Barrack E amaze me, but the specialized units did as well. 

I always knew that there were several specialized units within the department, but I did not know that there could be so many. 

I was about to learn about the K9 unit and was able to work with Trooper Romeo and her dog, Fenna. Romeo had explained to me the different kinds of K9’s and what they do. Some track missing people, some track drugs and alcohol, some can search and sniff a car to find illegal things, and some can track explosives. K9’s are so important for law enforcement because not only can they search a car, they provide specialized capabilities that technology and humans cannot do. 

A K9 truly helps the safety of the officers. 

My favorite day was when I got to ride along with aviation; I was able to ride in the Trooper 4 helicopter. At first, I was a little nervous because it had been years since I flew in a helicopter, but I knew I was safe because I was with professionals who have been working with aviation for many years. The helicopters are used for many things, like search and rescue, hoists, and medical transports in a quick manner. The Aviation Command shows how law enforcement provides more than just the traditional patrol vehicle. 

A person may see a trooper driving down the highway but does not realize there is a huge system behind that, like the dispatchers, investigators, aviation, crash team, CED, and so much more. 

Am I sure or unsure about my career?

After completing my internship, I am more than certain that I either want to be a Maryland State or Delaware State trooper. This is very surprising to many people that I want to do this because they know it is not the safest career and that it is very difficult to get into, but I know I can do it and I want to prove myself. If I had only seen the exciting and good parts of law enforcement, I would have left my internship without truly understanding it. I saw their responsibilities, the paperwork, the unpredictability, and the demands, and it’s safe to say I still want to become a state trooper because of that.

My internship with MSP did not give me the unrealistic idea that the career will be all fun and games; it gave me the realistic idea of what I am signing myself up for, and I am very excited to see what my future holds for me. 

I understand there will be days that I am tired, communicate with difficult people, have extreme responsibilities, and every day I will learn something new, but I know I want to do that, and it makes me even more confident in my decision. 

What I am most proud of and most disappointed in myself

What I am most proud of is that I signed up for an internship in a career that I truly want to do. For years, joining law enforcement was always just a thought, but after my internship, it allowed me to stop imagining it and to actually experience it. I showed up ready to learn from people who have true experience and how they interact. I am proud that I took the opportunity that Lieutenant Corbin gave me very seriously. 

What I am most disappointed in myself is that I should have asked more questions. When being surrounded by troopers, I at first felt like I should stay quiet and observe what they do. Obviously, observation is important, but doing an internship is the best way to learn and ask everything that you need to know. If I could redo my internship, I would have brought a notebook and written down important notes that they told me, so that way I can remember for whenever I go into the academy. 

At first I was afraid to ask questions because I was new, but I quickly became comfortable and asked all of the questions that I wanted to know about. 

Conclusion

My internship with the Maryland State Police Barrack E gave me so much more experience and knowledge than just riding along in their patrol vehicle. It gave me the understanding of the career that I have always been so interested in and wanted to pursue ever since I was a little girl. I was able to learn that communication in law enforcement is more detailed than I would have ever imagined because of the communications through conversations, radios, reports, and interactions with people who are experiencing stressful situations. I was very surprised by the responsibility that this career has and how many units are involved in the public's safety. Rather than the internship making me question if I truly want to be a trooper or not, it has made me want to become one even more once I graduate college. What I find to be most important about law enforcement is that it is not defined by the most dramatic situations, but by the millions of small acts and extreme teamwork that the department has. 

Now, from my experiences of being in the passenger seat, I understand that the uniform means more than the excitement I gained from being a child, but how it represents trust, responsibility, service, and communication. 

I cannot thank the Troopers from Barrack E enough for allowing me to be a part of their team for the summer, and I still plan to continue doing ride-alongs with them throughout the year.