My Internship Experience with the Abu Dhabi Police Department
Abu Dhabi Police department is a bureaucratic organization situated in Abu Dhabi Emirate and it is mandated with the responsibility of maintaining security, reducing crimes and to ultimately achieve a safer society. It is in Abu Dhabi police department that I secured an opportunity to serve as an intern for a duration of 192 hours. Currently, this police department is run by the minister of interior and the Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen Shiekh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahya. Abu Dhabi police department focuses on preserving stability, eliminating any sense of fear and to achieve justice among the general public. The core values in this police department are honesty, integrity and respect for human rights. The Abu Dhabi police department largely utilizes the aspect of technology in carrying out their activities; this positions it among the most reputable police departments in the world.
During my internship program which run from May 13, 2013 up to June 4, 2013, I was working both in the night and day shift , and I was able to gain diverse and immense knowledge since I was rotating through the six different departments. These departments are: The Department of psychology crimes, The Support Services Coordination section, Department of organized crime, the Investigative branch, Branch Security Information and also the Criminal Laboratory of Electronic evidence. In the 192 hours that I worked as an intern in the Abu Dhabi police department, I was supposed to learn from the experienced officers in the different departments. In addition, I had been assigned a supervisor in each of the six departments. Abu Dhabi police department being among the best police departments worldwide, I still find it a great privilege having given this chance that exposed me to vast experience on what I should expect in my future career.
The Abu Dhabi police department serves both the internal (members of the organization) and the external (members of the public) clients. The external services offered are the major reasons why the police department was set up; it aims at attending to the members of public’s security needs. Additionally it also offers services to the internal section mainly through reinforcement in situations whereby a member of the force is in need of help. It is equipped with efficient Ambulance and fire services that respond to emergency situations. My major learning technique involved shadowing various police officers when they are carrying their duties, asking questions and mostly learn through observance. I was happy since the majority of the officers were very cooperative and very willing to assist me in my endeavors.
The Support Services Coordination Section dealt with various human services such as offering support to victims of domestic violence, psychological support to women who have been subjected to crime, children and also the elderly. There is also the department of psychology Crimes and Organized crimes which mostly involves specialized crime investigation units. The department of Investigative Branch deals with investigating crimes that usually do not fall within the bracket of specialized crimes. Forensic investigations, for instance when a crime is committed but there is lack of evidence or the evidence has been destroyed, especially computers or other electronic equipments, generally falls under the department of Criminal Laboratory of Electronic Evidence. At the police facilities, the public safety is ensured by the Branch security department.
My day-to-day activities involved keen observance on how the various officers were carrying out their duties. From time to time, the officers would give me simple errands so that they ensure that I was grasping on the practical bit in the process of offering ones services. I used to shadow different officers and according to their numerous remarks, I think, with just more time to have an experience of how the real world operates in regards to the police department, I will also garner the skills required and be equal to the task. I was an obedient intern all along my internship period. I attended all the scheduled shifts whether during the night or the day. In some days, I was forced to combine both the night and the day work shifts. This was among my major challenge during my internship period in the Abu Dhabi police department; I was not used to working round the clock as I was expected by supervisors. However, I complied with all the instructions that I was given.
During this period, I learnt that this job requires a lot of diligence. You have to know what to say and what to keep as a secret; this is because you deal with people’s personal information that should be handled confidentially. Being a fast learner, I was able to earn the trust of the officers I was shadowing and they later started to offer me with more jobs that mostly involved filling forms and reports. They acknowledged my efforts and commended how I was handling all the assignments that were bestowed to me. This was among the major encouragement that I derived from my experience as an intern in Abu Dhabi police department. It was a great feeling knowing that you are doing things the right way.
However, although I enjoyed and learnt a lot of things regarding both my career life and also my social and personal growth, my journey also involved many challenges. For instance, in two occasions, I was shadowing an officer who was interviewing victims of violence in the Department of Support Services Coordination Section, they were going through a lot of psychological torture, one was a young child who had been badly burnt by the house help. I was never before exposed to similar interviews and therefore it was greatly affecting me psychologically upon seeing people who had underwent ugly experiences in the course of their lives. I think it was because I have a soft spot for people who have been subjected to unfair treatment and I am always willing to offer my help.
At the time of my Internship, the Abu Dhabi police department was having seven interns who all seemed eager to learn. I related well with most of them and we had good times sharing experiences and ideas freely since we all fell near the same age bracket. I am now confident that I know how the various departments in the police functions, the protocols involved and also how to deal with petty crimes and filling various report books.
In general, I feel that my internship experience with the Abu Dhabi police department was very educative, encouraging and was a great channel of exposing me to real-life situation where I can apply the theoretical concepts that I have learnt in class. It was indeed an informative opportunity that helps me approach future opportunities at the perspective of a person who knows what a given job entails. Overall, I believe that I was up to the task and I did my part as an intern very well and I would appreciate if I get to work with the same police department.
