Criminal Justice Internship Probation Experience example essay topic

Dallas County Adult Probation Denise Catherine Tobias 133 North Industrial Blvd Dr. BarrumDallas, TX 75207 REPORT #7 Evaluation and Consolidation of Goals Your final report should be a complete report of your internship experiences under the title "How I Evaluate Myself as a Future Criminal Justice Worker", and may not exceed five typed pages. Describe the extent to which the theoretical knowledge included your course work at the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University contributed to your field practice experience during your internship. Cite at least two SHSU courses. Show what you have learned, indicate how your ideas have changed or been supported, and why. List your strengths and weaknesses and grade yourself on job performance. How I Evaluate Myself as a Future Criminal Justice Worker The quest for knowledge and understanding drives individuals to explore the unknown and live out the thoughts that once consumed their minds.

Experience and formed opinions are the end results of these journeys; assumptions are either reinforced or shattered, but either way the truth is a little bit closer than before. Dark and gray areas consume the field of criminal justice; only personal experience can serve as a light. Participating in the internship program offered through the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University has become that light. Throughout this semester the knowledge acquired from SHSU criminal justice classes combined with the experiences gained from the Dallas County Adult Probation Department has produced an exceptional understanding of fact and theory pertaining to the field of criminal justice. Courses such as Criminology 262 and the Fundamentals of Criminal Law 264 contributed to the personal triumph gained from involvement in the internship program and allowed individual strengths and weaknesses to arise. Criminology 262 is a core criminal justice class at Sam Houston State University.

Criminology itself is the systematic study of the nature, extent, etiology and control of lawbreaking behavior. The core components revealed in this course are definitions of crime in nature as harm causing behavior, the descriptions and classifications of criminals, the analysis of crime, profiles of everyday victims and offenses, and the origin of crime. The field of probation relies heavily on these components in order to understand and properly categorize offenders, stay aware of offender's mental and emotional status, and attempt to predict the future of criminal offenders. The various theories presented in Criminology 262 help shape the Dallas County Adult Probation Department and serve as model types used to minimize the risks associated with sentencing alternatives. The agency assesses the same theoretical categories provided by Criminology 262 such as sociological, biological, and psychological explanations of crime in an attempt to better deal with offenders. The internship experience has supported the previous notion installed through Criminology 262 that one single theory cannot explain crime.

The combination of each theory and perspective enabled an opinion of individuality to form. In opposition to the core components embedded in the course, the personally constructed opinion that criminal offenders cannot be categorized and must exist on individual levels was formed from the internship experience. The Dallas County Adult Probation Department deeply reflects the knowledge obtained from Criminology 262 and immensely contributed to the field practice opportunity provided through the Sam Houston State University internship program within the Criminal Justice Department. On the same note, the Fundamentals of Criminal Law, or CJ 264, is another course offered at SHSU that notably contributed to the internship opportunity. Interning within the courtroom setting of the Dallas County Adult Probation Department affirms the teachings provided by this particular course. Working side by side with the Dallas County Court Judges provides the opportunity to witness the enforcement of the Penal Code.

The Fundamentals of Criminal Law focuses on the understanding of the Penal Code and offers a variety of scenarios plausible to different laws. The objective of the course is to aid students in recognizing offenses and the range of punishments that coincide with them. The Dallas County District Attorneys plea bargain with offenders in an attempt to walk on common ground and pinpoint a punishment that best suits the offense; part of the plea bargain may include dropping the charges to a lesser included offense. The probation department comes into the picture and either complies with the agreement or recommends altering the conditions to better suit the situation.

The Fundamentals of Criminal Law course has affirmed every expectation concerning the Penal Code. The ideas implemented through this course are fully supported by the experiences made available through the internship program. As with any life experience individuals tend to excel in certain areas and struggle in others. Participating in a field practice opportunity with the Dallas County Adult Probation Department presented itself with many obstacles. First of all, the mindset of criminal justice workers is a learned characteristic... it comes directly from years of experience. Individuals working in a criminal justice field such as probation tend to be skeptical of the offenders from the start.

The notion of inherent good ceases to exist within the agency, thus a very trusting person is labeled weak in this area. A second weakness uncovered is that of making recommendations to either revoke or amend a probation violators conditions. Although this duty rests solely in actual officer's hands, the attempts to test the waters almost always resulted in failure. On the other hand, conducting Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports has become a prevailing strength. The comfort and familiarity surrounding the PSI's is second nature due to the fact that they are conducted on a daily basis. Another strength discovered within the field experience is the ability to detect offenders that will most likely fail on probation.

Probation is not a right, it is an alternative to incarceration and the conditions surrounding it are anything but a vacation from prison. In talking daily with offenders while conducting PSI's it is evident that many offenders either do not have to money to pay their fees and fines or are mentally unable to comply with the terms of probation. If given the good fortune to assess all the strengths and weakness presented along with all the knowledge gained through the field practice experience the grade of "A" would come to mind, however, the knowledge gained is alone enough satisfaction. All in all, the ideas surrounding the criminal justice system were affirmed by the field practice experience.

Many open doors have resulted from the venture into the field of probation. As an advocate and future employee of the criminal justice system the skills and intellect gained from the college of criminal justice at SHSU along with the internship opportunity with the Dallas County Adult Probation Department will serve as a path to a successful career. The talented individuals and extraordinary situations encountered on the journey will not be forgotten.