JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Minot State University students Landon Halseth, Colton Schuster, Kerrington Lee and Aubrey Rakes, from left to right, serve as Community Service Officers with the Minot Police Department.

From taking statements from parties at crash sites to writing incident reports, the Minot State University apprentices working with the Minot Police Department say they are gaining a wealth of law enforcement experience.

Four students joined the department last August as part-time Community Service Officers through a two-year partnership between the university and city that is designed to aid with police workload while creating a potential pipeline of future officers. The department’s two animal control officers and parking control officer, who are regular members of the department’s staff, also hold designations as Community Service Officers.

Apprentices Landon Halseth, Colton Schuster, Kerrington Lee and Aubrey Rakes agree it’s not an easy part-time job but it is definitely valuable and educational.

“What we’ve talked about in the classroom, it’s so nice to see it visually,” Lee said.

Law enforcement always has interested Lee. She took a forensics class in high school in Stanley and participated in mock trials, which encouraged her further.

Schuster, of Minot, said he originally was a cybersecurity major at MSU with an interest in working in law enforcement but later switched to a criminal justice major.

Rakes, a Hazen native, said her interest in law enforcement was influenced by her parents, who both had worked in security forces in the military.

Halseth, of Minot, felt a similar influence. His father, who works in law enforcement, spent about 20 years of his career with the Minot Police Department.

Now getting a first-hand taste of law enforcement, Halseth said he enjoys the variety of the work.

“It’s different every time you show up. It’s always nice to be exposed to doing new things,” he said.

The students’ experiences have ranged from helping with police cadet activities and role-playing at simulated police exercises to tracking down the owner of a rescued cat and getting vehicles towed.

Assisting at vehicle crashes has been one of the most interesting aspects of their work, they said. They might snap photos, take statements from those involved, help exchange insurance information or conduct traffic control.

Halseth said crashes can be chaotic, and he’s seen the importance of officers knowing how to manage those situations. Schuster added the interaction with the public is a highlight of the work he gets to do.

Not all interactions are positive as the students take the brunt of people’s frustration and anger just as the officers do at times. Traffic tickets set people off more than anything else, they said, but they are learning from experienced officers how to handle these situations.

“The biggest thing for me coming into this job, and I knew it, was controlling my emotions, to just stay calm,” Halseth said. “They’re trying to make you mad, telling you how bad you are at your job. You’ve got to ignore it.”

Lessons have come out of the experience, too.

“You can’t make everyone happy. Coming from a people pleaser, I want to make everyone happy. You just can’t,” Rakes said.

As the apprentices heighten their knowledge, certain tasks can be accomplished on their own. Often, though, they work alongside Minot’s police officers, which they said has been one of the best training opportunities. Just watching a licensed officer, including during ride-alongs, offers insights into the job.

The students also have appreciated officers’ patience with their mistakes during the learning process. Writing reports particularly has been a challenge because of the level of detail required, they said.

“If we have any questions, they’re always willing to help us and explain things. Or if we make some errors, which happens sometimes, they’re really good at explaining what to do differently,” Lee said.

Sgt. Jared Foley, who works with apprentice scheduling, said the department would love to have enough apprentices to have two on duty for eight hours every day. Currently, apprentices each work 20 hours a week.

The program will run through this summer and into the next university term. Foley is hopeful the city council will continue the program and that opportunities will exist for students completing their apprenticeships to help train the next apprentices.

“It’s been a great program,” Capt. Jason Sundbakken, administration commander, said. For the police, the apprenticeships have helped ease the workload for an under-staffed department and created an employee feeder program at a time when hiring officers has been challenging around the country.

Sundbakken also said there’s fewer uncertainties around hiring apprentices who later apply for open positions. They would bring an existing knowledge of department operations and a proven skill set.

After several months in the program, the apprentices said they still have a lot to learn. However, the apprenticeships have reinforced the students’ desires to work in law enforcement. They all want to join the Minot Police Department when they finish their coursework.

Sundbakken said it can be hard to determine how well a new program will work or if it will be successful. However, it has been rewarding to see how open the students are to learning and how quickly they have picked up on new information.

“They’ve really stepped in, in places that maybe we didn’t even see them stepping into,” he said. “This has been really, really successful. It’s probably been more than we expected it to be.”