Alex Pfeil

My summer with Madison Police has been an extremely valuable educational experience. I was placed in the North District assisting the operations lieutenant with his activities. In this position, my daily duties would include helping the lieutenants with paperwork, assisting the detectives with investigative work, being an actor in various training scenarios, and riding with the patrol officers that work the various shifts. One aspect of Madison Police that made my experience so diverse was the decentralization of the department. This means that MPD is made up of five districts that divide the city. Having the ability to learn about the various types of crime across districts and see first-hand the ways in which officers work to combat it was a major learning opportunity.

The aspect of my internship that will have the greatest impact when I begin my own career in law enforcement was the opportunity to talk with and learn from the officers about their experiences in policing. Their insight and recommendations are something that I would have never been able to gain without this internship. This is an experience that has only helped to reinforce my decision to pursue a career in policing and I am incredibly grateful for it.