The benefits and expectations of criminal justice interns: an Australian supervisor perspective Open Access

Criminal justice and criminology degrees in Australia are relatively recent offerings, emerging along with a large expansion of university offerings in the 1990s (Wimshurst, 2011). Recently, there has been a renewed focus across the higher education sector in Australia, including within criminal justice and criminology degrees, to address students’ vocational aspirations and “work readiness”. The recently released Final Report of the Australian Universities Accord (2024), which set national targets for higher education in Australia, emphasised the need for industry and tertiary education providers to work together to ensure that students develop work-relevant skills for employment (Department of Education, 2024, p. 19). Within the Accord, an emphasis was placed on work-integrated learning (WIL), particularly internships, as an opportunity for developing these skills.

Often overlooked in higher education policy discussions, the success of internships is heavily dependent on collaborations with degree-specific industry supervisors and workplaces (McRae, 2015; Smith and Betts, 2000). Whilst the experiences of student interns have been partially explored in the literature, relatively little is known about the benefits of internships for host organisations in the criminal justice sector, particularly outside the United States. This paper provides insights into the perspectives of internship supervisors within criminal justice organisations in Melbourne, Australia, capturing their perspectives on the benefits of providing internships and the qualities and attributes students are expected to possess on commencing their internships.

For the last 20 years, Australian universities have been encouraged to incorporate vocational skills into degrees to increase the employability of graduates (Peach and Matthews, 2011). As a result of such pressures, embedding an internship course as part of study has emerged as a key pedagogical intervention to improve the employability of graduates in both Australia (Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2015) and internationally (Chadha and Toner, 2017). Internships involve students undertaking (either paid or unpaid) work within a professional occupational setting related to their degree (Department of Education, 2024; Purdie et al., 2011).

Experiential learning through an internship or “placement” has long been established in accredited degrees, such as medicine, education and social work (Hay, 2020), in order to meet requirements for industry standards. Unlike the United States, the development of criminology and criminal justice programmes in Australia has not been informed by certification standards of an industry body, such as the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, recommending the embedding of WIL programmes in the US (Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, 1998, 2005). As a result of these standards in the US, it is estimated that just under 88% of criminology and criminal justice programmes in the United States incorporate an internship component as part of the degree (Stichman and Farkas, 2005). The prevalence of criminal justice internships as part of standard curriculums in other countries, including Australia, is less clear. Nevertheless, many criminology and criminal justice programmes in Australia have incorporated internships into their programmes in recognition of the critical skills, knowledge and experiences gained from work experience and links between WIL and employability.

Criminal justice internships occur within a variety of organisational settings, including law enforcement, corrections, courts and tribunals, innocence projects, not-for-profit entities and social services. Current research indicates a range of benefits for both students and organisations of undertaking criminal justice internships, although research remains limited.

Student surveys seeking to capture the benefits of criminal justice internships in Australia have found clear benefits in terms of increased work self-efficacy (Bates et al., 2013; Thompson et al., 2016), the acquisition of generic skills applicable to many industry types (Stratton et al., 2023), the development of a professional identity (Bates and Hayes, 2017) and increased levels of graduate employment (Bates et al., 2018). This is broadly consistent with findings within the United States, which find a broad range of benefits for students who undertake criminal justice internships, including the acquisition of professional specific knowledge and skills (Arter et al., 2016; George et al., 2015; Murphy and Gibbons, 2017; Ross and Elechi, 2002; Sgroi and Ryniker, 2002), increased work self-efficacy (Hiller et al., 2014; Libradilla et al., 2023) and increased employability of interns (Murphy and Gibbons, 2017; Ross and Elechi, 2002). The experiential nature of internships also fosters the development of a professional identity. Students learn workplace culture, including norms, expectations and challenges, which prepares them for careers within the justice system (Bates et al., 2018). This indicates that internships help students transition from academic identities to professional roles, contributing significantly to their future career readiness.

For internships to operate effectively, students, university coordinators and host organisations must share an understanding of the benefits of internships of host organisations and the capabilities and knowledge students should possess when undertaking an internship. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about the perspectives of industry host supervisors on criminal justice internships in Australia. Existing research on the view of criminal justice host supervisors has been limited to a small number of surveys undertaken in the United States.

Murphy et al. (2013) captured both student and supervisor perspectives on the benefits of criminal justice internships for students in the United States, finding that they prioritised different benefits, with students valuing professional development benefits such as opportunities to network whilst supervisors prioritised students’ academic development through increasing their knowledge of the criminal justice system. Further, Murphy and Gibbons (2017) evaluated the criminal justice internship programme at Western Oregon University, including the perspectives of both student interns and host agency supervisors, finding a majority of student interns had a positive experience during internships and that host organisations generally held favourable views of the internship experience.

In terms of expectations of interns, Williams et al. (2020) analysed supervisor evaluations of criminal justice internships at a historically Black university in the United States in order to capture favourable qualities of interns, finding that host supervisors valued good communication with clients, a professional appearance and punctuality as qualities favourable to the internship experience. Finally, Jones and Bonner (2016) surveyed internship students and criminal justice practitioners across the United States on the skills and knowledge each group deemed most important for success during an internship. Student interns viewed almost every skill and knowledge area as important, whilst practitioners placed greater emphasis on verbal communication skills, good work ethic, good work habits and initiative.

Outside of criminology and criminal justice studies, global surveys have demonstrated that internships are regarded by host organisations as a useful way to evaluate future employees or to provide a form of cheap labour (Grooters et al., 2022; Holyoak, 2013). Internships are also strategically valued by host organisations for the energy, fresh perspectives and technological skills interns can bring to the workplace whilst providing increased visibility to the organisation on campus and in the community (Sosland and Lowenthal, 2017).

Yiu and Law (2012) pointed out that the internship can serve different purposes for students, academic staff and industry, which are not necessarily congruent. This incongruency and the lack of conventions surrounding student skill development can inhibit the ability of an internship to meet the student’s pedagogical aims and university expectations and benefit organisations investing in the concept (Sosland and Lowenthal, 2017; Zehr and Korte, 2020). It is therefore crucial to capture the perspectives of host organisation supervisors regarding the purpose and benefits of internships to ensure students, universities and host organisations agree on the purpose of the internship model.

Overall, existing research on the views of criminal justice host supervisors and organisations is limited by an undue focus on the US context; there is therefore a need to document the views of supervisors of interns outside of the US to provide a source of international comparison.

This paper presents early findings from our investigation into industry supervisors’ experiences of criminal justice internships. These findings are part of a larger study exploring the relevance of WIL curriculum for criminology and criminal justice students. The absence of research in this area has left the impact of WIL on Australian criminal justice and criminology degrees largely unknown, with few insights about the value of student internships for criminal justice organisations and their experience of providing internship opportunities for students. By understanding the expectations and experiences of industry supervisors, universities will be better informed of the value of student internships for industry stakeholders and the knowledge, skills and capabilities required for students’ work readiness.

This research also contributes to the very small pool of international literature capturing the unique perspectives of criminal justice supervisors regarding the benefits of interns. As previously mentioned, the current research in this area is limited to a handful of surveys focused within the United States. This research can assist with cross-country comparisons regarding the benefits of internships in the hope of identifying universal practices and context-specific strategies that enhance the effectiveness of WIL programmes within a criminal justice context.

This study examined the perspectives of industry supervisors of criminology and criminal justice interns from undergraduate programmes at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. The Criminology and Justice Studies (CJS) discipline at RMIT, which has approximately 1,300 students, integrates WIL through a compulsory 50-day supervised industry internship in the final year. This project required a low-risk ethics application, which was approved by the RMIT University Human Research Ethics Committee.

Purposive sampling was used to recruit supervisors from seven of the 13 main host organisations providing internships within the CJS programmes. These organisations included government bodies (courts, community corrections, youth justice and border security), the not-for-profit sector and university-based programmes. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with supervisors who hosted RMIT interns within the past 12 months.

Participants were asked open-ended questions about the benefits of internships for their organisations and interns as well as their expectations and preferences for intern skills and training. The questions were developed with input from WIL coordinators to ensure relevance for improving internship programmes. Questions asked of participants included:

1. What are the benefits of taking on interns for your organisation?

2. What are the benefits for interns undertaking an internship?

3. What do you offer interns during an internship? Are there opportunities for training/development?

4. Are there particular knowledge, skills or abilities your organisation values in an intern?

The interviews were conducted online via Microsoft Teams, recorded with consent and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was performed using NVivo software to identify key themes, including the benefits of internships for both organisations and interns and host preferences for intern preparedness.

Common themes emerged regarding the value of internships, expectations for interns and strategies to better prepare students for the workplace.

Supervisors valued internships as short-term contributions to labour and long-term recruitment pathways. In general, the smaller (<20 employees) non-governmental organisations and university-based programmes valued interns primarily for their work contributions, whilst the larger (>20 employees) government criminal justice organisations viewed internship programmes as a recruitment pathway. For example, a community corrections’ supervisor reflected:

All supervisors from the larger government organisations saw internships as a unique opportunity to observe a potential candidate for recruitment upon graduation. As a border security supervisor explained, “it’s much better than just looking at a CV and doing a 15-min interview in understanding if someone is suitable”. For larger organisations, the use of internships as a recruitment source was seen as more beneficial than the day-to-day work contributions of interns as part of their placement.

These responses were consistent with research in other fields, which has found that employers assess interns as promising future employees (Grooters et al., 2022; Holyoak, 2013). However, this benefit has not previously been identified for supervisors of criminal justice internships.

Unlike larger organisations, supervisors working within smaller organisations noted the primary benefit of interns to their organisation as their capacity to produce work outcomes. A not-for-profit supervisor noted:

Similarly, supervisors within university-based programmes emphasised the value of students in contributing to the provision of services. One supervisor explained:

By contrast, a youth justice supervisor within a larger government organisation noted that “the work generally associated with taking on a student overall is probably more burdensome compared to what they are kind of giving back to the organisation”. This indicates that the value of work undertaken by interns may vary between organisations and their particular service needs.

All supervisors emphasised the value of internships in exposing students to the criminal justice sector and applying classroom knowledge to real-world settings. Four out of the seven supervisors interviewed used a variant of the phrase “putting theory into practice” to describe the chief benefit of undertaking an internship for students. These supervisors emphasised the importance of students becoming familiar with day-to-day duties within the organisation as a part of their learning process, including interacting with clients and colleagues, and the opportunities for “real world experiences” in the criminal justice system.

A not-for-profit supervisor framed the experiences for students as being “really important to gain insight into real people within the justice system, rather than just an abstract understanding.” The framing of internships as an immersion in the “real world” indicates supervisors recognise internship experiences as a form of experiential learning where certain insights can only be gained outside of the traditional classroom environment. The sentiments expressed by supervisors align with David Kolb’s description of experiential learning as a cycle of “grasping and transforming experiences” where learners can see and reflect on the real-world effect of their actions and test those experiences in new situations (Kolb, 1984, pp. 68–69; Kolb and Fry, 1974). This finding is also broadly consistent with US research capturing the perspectives of criminal justice internship supervisors, which has found “gaining practical experience” as the key benefit of internships perceived by supervisors (Murphy and Gibbons, 2017; Murphy et al., 2013).

To demonstrate the benefits of internships, many supervisors contrasted the limitations of class-based learning about criminal justice topics with the “hands-on” learning gained through working with their organisation. For example, a youth justice supervisor shared that the organisation’s interns:

This supervisor’s reflection aligns with findings from previous studies noting that criminal justice students gain increased understanding of the criminal justice system because of their internship experience (Bates, 2003; Beard, 2022; McBride, 2021; Ross and Elechi, 2002). In particular, concepts learnt in the classroom appear to be reinforced and better understood within a “real world” encounter with the system at work (Bates, 2003; McBride, 2021; Ross and Elechi, 2002).

Many supervisors referred to students’ acquisition of certain “soft skills” through their internship experience, including the development of communication, teamwork and time management skills. Research indicates a strong association between soft skills and students performance during internships (Franco-Ángel et al., 2023). One university-based supervisor outlined some of the soft skills valued in that organisation:

The emphasis on the benefits of a workplace experience for students was highlighted by supervisors who argued that some features of the criminal justice system can only be appreciated experientially. A court supervisor noted in reference to interns encountering clients in the system: “that kind of exposure is just invaluable for how they look at the world and the way they approach their future career”. Experiential education scholars have frequently emphasised the unique pedagogical value of “hands on” learning (McCarthy and Southeastern, 2010). This includes the development of skills and insights that are incapable of being taught in a traditional classroom setting (George et al., 2015; Ross and Elechi, 2002).

Supervisors thought that students benefited from needing to navigate potentially distressing situations, particularly in assisting decisions about future careers, as these situations highlighted the need for resilience and adaptability for some justice employees. Supervisors also recognised that negotiating the presence of potentially distressing or traumatic material is a common feature of working in the justice system. The not-for-profit supervisor explained in relation to the lives of vulnerable people encountering the justice system that “it can be pretty confronting and a lot to take on, and I think that’s important to learn”.

The youth justice supervisor emphasised that exposure to confronting matters, such as anti-social behaviour by clients, was important to balance perceived, overly distorted academic perspectives on how the system works.

These reflections reflect long-standing concerns and contestations about the merits of university degrees in the sector and tensions between social justice objectives and employability in criminology and criminal justice degrees (Kitossa and Tanyildiz, 2022).

Despite these tensions, all supervisors also noted that direct experiences within the criminal justice sector would be beneficial for interns seeking a trajectory towards employment in the sector post-graduation. Three supervisors noted the potential networking opportunities available to students both within the organisation they are placed at and in allied organisations. One supervisor noted that she often acted as a reference for many students for careers outside of the sector, and an internship experience was highly valued by employers.

These perspectives from supervisors align with existing evidence that undertaking criminal justice internships in Australia increases the chances of post-graduate employment for criminology and criminal justice students (Bates and Hayes, 2017; Bates et al., 2018). As noted above, most supervisors within host organisations see the criminal just internship as a pathway to recruitment, indicating a direct relationship between undertaking an internship and future employment with an organisation.

Most organisations provided some form of internal formal training for new interns, which supervisors regarded as highly valuable. Formal training within organisations was framed by supervisors as an opportunity for interns to learn skills that university education cannot provide. Formal training was usually in the form of e-learning courses and training seminars supplemented with a period of “shadowing” different teams or areas of work within the organisation for a period of 1–2 weeks. As a court supervisor explained:

A youth justice supervisor described the benefits of their formalised induction programme as follows:

Notably, two supervisors noted that they placed interns through the same induction and training programme as entry-level employees. This kind of authentic exposure to the sector was viewed as helpful for interns to decide whether the field is an appropriate career option for them. Previous research has highlighted the importance of the internship experience in allowing criminology and criminal justice students to appreciate the duties, expectations and challenges associated with a particular career, improving their ability to assess whether to enter the profession (Murphy et al., 2013; Sgroi and Ryniker, 2002).

Supervisors had varied expectations regarding students’ skills, knowledge and experience. Some supervisors noted that there were no expectations for students to have technical knowledge; others had very specific expectations in terms of subject matter knowledge given the design of RMIT University courses. The youth justice supervisor explained:

This is consistent with the survey administered by Jones and Bonner (2016), which found that criminal justice practitioners in the US generally viewed agency-specific knowledge as a valuable prerequisite for student interns. As in our findings, Jones and Bonner (2016) found that the type of agency influenced preferred knowledge types; for example, law enforcement and prosecutor practitioners rated law enforcement and criminal investigations knowledge as important, whilst juvenile justice practitioners valued knowledge of institutional corrections.

Supervisors noted that there should be greater emphasis on “real world” skills and knowledge prior to working in their arm of system. A law enforcement supervisor felt that in-depth legal knowledge was often lacking in interns commencing within their organisation:

Notably, supervisors did not view these as inherent capabilities, but rather as concepts and skills that should be the responsibility of higher education to address in preparing students for the workforce.

Another desired capacity was for greater ideological “balance” in the teaching of criminal justice concepts and reflecting on criminal justice institutions. For instance, a youth justice supervisor noted a greater need for viewpoint diversity regarding what “justice” means in the system:

Supervisors expressed a common favourability towards other attributes such as students’ understanding and passion for the organisation and sector, an ability to “act professional” as well as suitably advanced verbal and written communication skills. As a community corrections supervisor explained:

This is broadly consistent with surveys of host supervisors in the United States, which have consistently found communication skills and professionalism as favourable qualities in criminal justice interns (Jones and Bonner, 2016; Murphy and Gibbons, 2017; Murphy et al., 2013; Williams et al., 2020).

The supervisors shared similar preferences for personal qualities such as resilience and confidence, which were frequently praised by supervisors. Some supervisors had observed that these qualities had declined, however, amongst student interns in recent years. For instance, the community corrections supervisor commented that psychometric testing provided to students upon entry into the agency indicated a declining level of resilience in recent years. Another supervisor attributed the decline to internships offered during and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supervisor reflections are consistent with documented increases in psychological distress and worsening mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic amongst both domestic and international students in Australia (Dingle et al., 2024). It is unclear from existing research how long-term the psychological impacts of the pandemic will be felt amongst student cohorts, indicating a need for tailored responses by universities to address declines in resilience and confidence amongst students.

In a similar vein, some supervisors felt that students who did not have previous work experience (particularly due to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic) often had trouble managing workplace expectations and “acting professionally”. For example, one supervisor noted she had experienced students contacting her outside of work hours, inappropriately filling out timesheets, and not presenting to work due to illness without notifying the organisation.

The participant supervisors varied in their perceptions of the benefits of taking on interns for their organisation. As indicated, for larger government organisations, the most commonly cited benefit was as an opportunity to screen interns for future recruitment. This is reflective of broader literature, which finds interns in business, psychology, law, tourism and other disciplines commonly transition from their placement into employment in host organisations (Helyer and Lee, 2014; Shoenfelt et al., 2013; Silva et al., 2018). This finding was also reflected in the national WIL scoping study by Patrick et al. (2008), which noted in its interviews with Australian industry stakeholders that:

In contrast, our study found that supervisors within smaller host organisations, including not-for-profits and university-based programmes, primarily viewed the internship placement as beneficial for the work contribution of interns. However, this is likely a consequence of the structure and little recruitment within these organisations.

Criminal justice supervisors viewed the benefits of internships for students as largely educational. Most organisations emphasised the unique opportunity for interns to put theory into practice, which fits within a model of experiential learning where prior knowledge is applied through concrete experience, giving rise to reflection and further insight (Kolb, 1984). Supervisors noted numerous key insights gained by students during their internship, including better understanding of the day-to-day operations of a particular criminal justice agency and the acquisition of key “soft skills”. Supervisors further emphasised that internships allow students to determine if a particular career path is right for them.

Supervisors noted a variety of favourable qualities for future interns, ranging from an understanding or passion for the sector to key professional skills, particular subject matter knowledge and personal qualities of resilience and confidence. Notably absent, however, was any discussion of the development of greater work self-efficacy, despite this quality being frequently cited within the literature on criminal justice internships (Bates et al., 2013; Raelin et al., 2011; Young and Strudwick, 2022). This may be because host organisation supervisors are not well suited to judge the development of this attribute.

Australian research has identified that a good supervisor/supervisee fit promotes an optimum learning environment for students in a WIL context (Bates et al., 2007; Bates, 2004, 2008; Coll and Eames, 2000). It was clear, however, that some supervisors’ expectations about the kinds of skills, attributes, qualities and knowledge students should have on commencing their internships were not always realised. This mismatch can be addressed by ensuring there is a sufficient preparation phase prior to the student undertaking the WIL placement (Bates et al., 2007; Bates, 2008). Another reason for the mismatch in knowledge could be due to the specialist nature of the knowledge that is delivered in electives, rather than core courses within the programmes. For example, the RMIT CJS programmes on occasion deliver electives such as community-based corrections, border security, miscarriages of justice and youth justice systems; however, this is often dependent on staffing and student demand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the nation had to restrict programme offerings, meaning students may have missed out on the opportunity to develop more specialist knowledge that the sector is seeking and expecting students to have. Increased consultation with the sector could also help criminal justice and criminology programmes to be more aligned with industry expectations.

In our research, organisations prioritised internships for different reasons. The larger organisations prioritised internships as a recruitment source, allowing them to observe potential candidates in action, whereas the smaller organisations valued intern contributions to the day-to-day operations. This clear divergence suggests that the motivations of criminal justice organisations for providing internship opportunities should be considered in terms of the consequences on students and educators. The distinction between large and small organisations in the criminal justice internship destinations also aligns with government and nongovernment sectors, creating different opportunities and barriers in providing internships for students.

Supervisor reflections were particularly insightful in regard to the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of criminal justice interns, with noted declining levels of resilience and professionalism challenges. Whilst there has been literature published reflecting on how criminal justice internship programmes adjusted to the pandemic (Shine and Brown, 2021; Ware et al., 2023; Wheeler and Waite, 2023), this study appears to be the first to indicate ongoing effects of the pandemic on the qualities of criminal justice interns.

Our findings suggest a need for universities to provide targeted pre-placement training modules to assist in the development of resilience, professionalism and relevant soft skills prior to criminal justice students undertaking their internship. This would better align pre-placement programmes with the expectations of host organisations regarding the preferred qualities of interns. Findings also suggest a need for ongoing industry consultation regarding the preparation of criminal justice students in order to ensure success during their internship.

In regard to future avenues for research, our findings indicate a greater need for research capturing student-intern perspectives on their capacity to meet the expectations of criminal justice supervisors and how universities can best prepare them for the internship experience. Further research is also required to determine best-practice interventions for improving resilience and professionalism challenges amongst criminal justice students, particularly post-pandemic.

There are a number of key limitations of this research. This is a very small qualitative study, meaning results should not be generalised for all criminal justice organisations that offer internships to students. It should be noted, however, that the findings of this research are broadly consistent with the wider academic literature.

There is potential for bias amongst the research participants, due to the dual role of some of the authors who not only participated in this research but who coordinate the WIL programme and have regular contact with some of the participants. Three of the paper authors are employed as WIL coordinators within the university WIL programme. Further, four of the authors supervise a university-based simulated workplace, the Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative, which takes on student interns. One strategy we employed to eliminate bias was to employ the most recent member who joined the WIL team to conduct the interviews. The shorter the professional relationship between researcher and interviewee generally indicates less potential for bias and more honest conversation between interviewee and interviewer (Howard et al., 2015). Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that this is a limitation of this research.

This study is the first to explore the perspectives of criminal justice internship supervisors in Australia. It found that supervisors generally valued internships for both the organisation and the students. Larger organisations saw internships as a recruitment pathway, whilst smaller organisations appreciated the work interns contributed. Despite these differences, supervisors agreed on the benefits for interns, including experiential learning, skill development and career exploration. Internships were also seen as enhancing employability by providing sector experience and networking opportunities.

Supervisors expected interns to show interest in the sector, professional skills, subject knowledge, resilience and confidence. This study highlights the need for further research to enhance the quality of interns to meet industry expectations better.

Universities should offer targeted pre-placement training to help students develop resilience, professionalism and soft skills, aligning with host organisation needs. Ongoing consultation with the industry is also recommended to improve the preparation of criminal justice students.

Future research should focus on student perspectives regarding their ability to meet supervisor expectations and how universities can better prepare them. Additionally, studies should explore interventions to address resilience and professionalism challenges amongst post-pandemic criminal justice students.