Gordon: Criminal Justice Internships, 7th Edition


Case Studies with Questions and Answers

4. Use of Technology

Technology Scenario:
Your computer skills have enabled you to be placed at an internship site your fellow interns would die for. There is a great chance you will be hired to a full-time paid position at the end of the internship. As a “computer whiz,” you are asked to create a department website, provide links to other criminal justice websites, and create profiles of the department members highlighting their volunteer and community-minded work and making it easier for citizens to contact them. Your Field Supervisor hands you all employees’ e-mail account information to be utilized when creating this site. Completing this assignment will put you ahead of all the other applicants when it comes time to hire a full-time employee. During the process of creating a website, you find that a department website already exists. You go to the site and find it is full of negative, hate-filled and racist derogatory comments about women, people of color, and fellow officers. It even bashes the town mayor and ridicules the Police Chief. A group who identifies themselves as “THE REAL COPS” (TRC) is identified as the creator of this website. During the course of creating officer profiles for the site, you uncover a connection. You find a social website that is tied to a high-ranking officer in the command staff. In this profile he lists membership in TRC. You also know this command staff member is responsible for hiring new employees. 

Questions

  1. What would you do if faced with this situation?
  2. Correct Answer

    • Discuss with internship coordinator.
    • Do I have to report what I have found?
    • The right thing to do is to report it.

  3. What are the potential negative repercussions of reporting what you found?
  4. Correct Answer

    • You may lose your chance of being hired.
    • You may become a witness in any legal proceedings.
    • You may lose your internship.
    • You may be seen as a “rat.”

  5. What are the positive repercussions of reporting what you found?
  6. Correct Answer

    • You will gain the respect of fellow workers.
    • You have uncovered a crime
    • your actions will help you in your career
    • you’ll be able to look yourself in the mirror

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