Programs developed by the City of Port Angeles Police Department are designed to teach safety and crime awareness to the community.

College Intern Program
The Port Angeles Police Department, working in collaboration with Peninsula College in Port Angeles, established a college intern program to assist students in obtaining an Associate of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. The internship is a field practicum designed to relate the student's classroom studies with occupational and work experiences. Interns are required to perform a minimum of 250 hours work with the Police Department during the course of the internship to earn 5 credit hours toward their degrees.

Application to the Intern Program is open only to Criminal Justice majors at Peninsula College. All applicants are required to complete and submit a Port Angeles Police Department application and be fingerprinted and photographed. A department board will interview applicants who successfully complete the required background investigation and the board will make a recommendation to the Chief of Police for final review.

Although the interns provide assistance to the department as volunteers and enjoy a learning opportunity from working closely with department personnel, they are not law enforcement personnel and are not treated as such. Interns are not allowed to operate department equipment or vehicles nor act in any capacity other than observer when assigned to patrol or dispatch duties. Interns assigned to the Records Division will learn and practice computer skills related to entry of police records. Interns are assigned to Patrol Division for 185 hours, Detective Division for 40 hours, Records Division for 8 hours, Communications Division for 8 hours, and must attend at least one meeting of the Law Enforcement Advisory Board. The remaining time is attributed to the preliminary interview and exit interview and performance review.

School Resource Officer
The School Resource Officer (SRO) first appeared in the 1950's. School Resource Officers have since become increasingly popular and necessary in many parts of the country. Placing a SRO is a preventative measure allowing students and teaching staff to focus on learning and teaching rather than safety and security.

A Port Angeles Police officers fulfills SRO duties primarily at Port Angeles High School, which welcomes 1,700 students and teachers to its thirty-nine acre campus daily. The SRO also provides services on the campuses of Choice School, and Stevens Middle School. While the SRO performs traditional law enforcement services at the schools, he occasionally fills the rolls of classroom educator, counselor, and advisor.

It is the belief of the Port Angeles Police Department and School District #121 that the School Resource Officer Program helps to maintain a respectful and beneficial relationship between law enforcement and young adults.

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"PORT ANGELES - THE AUTHENTIC NORTHWEST"
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