Fairmont PD intern gains insight
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FAIRMONT-- Shaylynn Anderson, a 2020 graduate of Martin County West High School, is the summer intern for the Fairmont Police Department. Anderson has been with the department since early June and will remain with it through August.
Parker Stevens, coordinator of the program, said that Chief Michael Hunter initially started the program and then as he was promoted, Jaime Bleess took it over. As Bleess has been promoted to Sergeant, Stevens took over this year.
What's unique is that Stevens actually went through the program himself in 2019 so he knows first-hand the benefits of the program.
In the past, there have been two interns some summers. However, Stevens said the number of applications they've been receiving has been dwindling.
"We had three applications this go around, which is really low. When I applied a year and a half ago, we had 14," Stevens said.
This isn't all that surprising considering many industries are facing a shortage of workers and law enforcement is no exception. Hunter said that programs like this gives students the opportunity to gain first hand experience within the criminal justice system and the opportunity to start with a better foundation of understanding when it comes to the field.
While Shaylynn initially applied for the boat/water position with the county, Stevens reached out to see if she would be interested in the internship and she was.
After graduating high school, Anderson went to Iowa Lakes Community and Technical College where she obtained her Associate of Arts degree. Then she enrolled at Minnesota State University-Mankato, where she's studying Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement.
When asked if she always had an interest in the field, Anderson said, "I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do in high school, but I've stuck with this and haven't changed it."
She said what really drew her to law enforcement was police visits to school when she was a young student when they'd get to check out the police cruiser and ask questions.
"One time I missed my bus so I had to ride in the back of a cop car," Anderson said with a laugh.
On a serious note, she also said she was drawn to the field because she likes the idea of being able to be there for people when they don't have anyone else.
As for what Anderson does day-to-day, Stevens said most of it observing and doing ride
alongs. However, Anderson also partners with Fairmont Community Education and Recreation and its park program so she accompanies the children to the park in the afternoons.
"Next week she'll be observing the county attorney's office to see how they prosecute our crimes," Stevens said.
Anderson has also observed the jail and will spend time with both dispatch and probation to learn what's all done there.
While the position is unpaid, Anderson is able to turn her hours into credits.
"She's the second person to turn this into credits. I was the first. Otherwise a lot of people do it for the experience, not necessarily for the schooling," Stevens said.
The Fairmont Police Department is one of the only departments in southern Minnesota to offer an internship program, though some of them offer a reserve program. Hunter said he thinks they may see other departments create a program in the future to help develop future cadets for vacancies within law enforcement.
He also noted that it's great to see prior interns go on to have successful law enforcement careers, including several like Stevens who have continued to work in the area.
After going through the program himself, Stevens shared what he thinks some of the benefits of it are.
"I think it benefitted me because I went into my second year of college with over 200 hours of law enforcement experience, while everyone else was going in brand new."
Anderson is excited to gain more knowledge throughout the internship and recognizes that it will benefit her when she returns to school for her final year in the fall.
As for what's next, Anderson said she'd actually like to return to Martin County.
"At first I didn't think I wanted to work in a place where I grew up and know people, but being here has changed my mind a lot. Hopefully I can work here," Anderson said.