Before I got the internship, I had to take a polygraph test. The setup was pretty much like what you see in movies only not as scary. There wasn't a two sided mirror or a ton of people watching me; honestly I do not think I am interesting enough to garner that attention. Don't get me wrong, I was nervous and my hands were sweaty and those things they put on your fingers do feel really, really heavy in the moment. But, I actually thought the whole process was rather interesting.
Anyway, my first day was June 21, 2011. The first day I went through the normal steps. I got a tour of the building. My boss showed me a little what he does and what I would be learning to do. I ran errands and it was all surprisingly fun! I actually had a great day. It was really interesting learning what crime analysts do. And for those of you who don't know what they do; this is it. They find patterns and trends in crime. They make maps for police and detectives to show when and where the offender will be next. They also answer civilian reports about crime in their neighborhood. And even though, crime analysts do much more than just that, for now that is all I will share.
Congrats on the internship. I never made it to a polygraph but I've been through the investigation process for some federal and local agencies that were pretty intrusive. How long did your background check take? God they take forever at a federal level!
ReplyDeleteHi Alex. What a great opportunity you have to work for the Scottsdale Police Department. I bet it was interesting taking the polygraph. I would have been nervous also, especially since you had no idea what questions they would be asking. I'll be interested to see how your internship develops. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWow the Police Department? Cool. Are you part of the PP/PA program at ASU or something else? I understand the confidentiality thing, I have to do that as well working for the USPS. There a lot of political things that steer our operations that are only circulated within. The public always hears whatever the media is given, which is never the whole story. Anyway, have fun...I bet it is!
ReplyDelete-Marlene Sweeney ASU PAF484
Congratulations on the internship! I would love working for that department. I'm a Criminal Minds junkie lol... I felt you're excitement when I read this blog. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Looking forward to future updates.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your internship with the Police Department. It sounds fantastic and I am just a little bit jealous. I have always been intrigued by police work. Keep us posted on the exciting things that you will be involved in.
ReplyDeleteTheresa
Hey Loren! I can only imagine how long they take at the federal level! It actually was not too bad for me. My initial interview was about a half hour and then my background check probably took about 8-10 hours total. And, there was a lot of rescheduling and coming in at different times, but it ended up going well so... :)
ReplyDeleteAlex
Hi Marlene! I am in the PA program!
ReplyDeleteAlex
Alex, I think this is an awesome and interesting internship! When I was in high school and during my first couple years of college I thought I wanted a career in crime scene investigating, but in my jr/ sr year my interest in non-profit work began to take over.
ReplyDeleteThe interview process is much different than I have experienced. I have never had to take a polygraph test. What type of questions did they ask and are they really as accurate as people say they are? I'm excited to read more about your experience as you become more involved!
-Alycia
Alex,
ReplyDeleteWow, that field sounds really interesting and it is great that you could get an internship! I have a friend who applied for an intership with the Phoenix Police Department in their forensics unit and she said it was really intense.
Thanks for sharing!
Jackie Cuccia
URB 484
A polygraph test?! That sounds exciting but the situation they set it up in sounds incredibly intimidating.
ReplyDelete