ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The University of New Mexico is giving students a chance to get some real-life experience as a parole officer. UNM and the State Corrections Department gave students an immersive criminal justice class that has them riding with parole officers on real call.
Students in the Sociology Department at UNM got to see exactly what it’s like to walk in the shoes of a probation and parole officer. Thanks to a partnership between the university and the New Mexico Corrections Department, students got paired with an officer and shadowed them for a day.
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“I mean I was definitely excited, it’s one thing to read about different policies and read about what the people do in the field and it’s quite another thing to get to actually experience it in person and ask the people directly what their day to day is like,” said Melinda Mickey, UNM student.
The class is a 15-week program that covers topics including classification, reentry, probation, and parole. Students are hand-selected by the professor and will get a firsthand look into the daily responsibilities of an officer, including a ride-along. Fourteen students participated in Friday’s research experience. The professor behind the class says it’s about giving students a different perspective.
“I was hoping to be able to give students more of a field research learning experience. So to combine class-based learning with research,” said Dr. Paul Guerin, Sociology Department. “My vision would be that students would get to come again and go out with Probation and Parole officers and we’d even help them think about their careers.”
The Corrections Department says before the in-person experience, they also gave an educational presentation to students. They say they’re excited about this partnership.
“I see it as a potential opportunity for future probation and parole officers. There was a lot of interest by the students throughout my experience and I can foresee some of them considering a career with probation and parole,” said Wes Hatley, Region Manager with New Mexico Corrections Dept, Probation and Parole Division.
New Mexico Corrections Department says after Friday’s successful class, they’re hoping to continue the partnership for future semesters and add to the ride-along experience with officers. New Mexico Corrections Department says they’re also looking for new recruits. Anyone interested can visit their website to see a list of job openings.
