CINCINNATI — As police departments across the country face recruitment challenges, the Cincinnati Police Department aims to build its future force through a revived and expanded Understudy Program aimed at preparing young adults for law enforcement careers, WCPO reported.
Launched as a pilot in 2023, the program now includes 24 paid interns who rotate through various units of CPD while pursuing college degrees, according to the report. The initiative is designed to give participants practical experience before they are eligible to join the police academy at age 21.
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Participants say the program provides crucial early insight into the profession.
“The things that they teach at the academy, some of that is not going to be new to us,” said 21-year-old Justin Sedgwick, one of the original 12 understudies. “We’re going to know it already, we’re going to have a feeling for it already, so it’s going to be very natural for us.”
Sedgwick is one of nine current interns expected to begin police academy training in April. Three others have already graduated and five are currently enrolled.
Melia Newburn, also 21, joined the program in early 2025 after learning about it from a University of Cincinnati professor. She said the chance to observe CPD’s day-to-day operations helped her understand the reality of police work beyond classroom instruction.
“You can move around and you’re an intern, so you’re not really a police officer,” Newburn told WCPO, “but they’re learning to become a police officer.”
Participants rotate through patrol, investigations, traffic and specialized units such as the Crime Gun Intelligence Center, gaining experience that CPD leaders say is often missing from traditional recruitment paths.
Lt. Shannon Heine, who helps oversee the program, said it revives the spirit of the department’s former Police Cadet Program, which ran from 1955 through 1970 and again in the ‘90s and early 2000s before being cut due to budget constraints both times. The new version is now fully funded by city and federal grants, with Cincinnati recently applying for a $175,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to support its growth, according to the report.
Heine said the program gives young people a realistic view of the profession before they fully commit.
“[They] get to see the inner workings of what it takes to be a policeman, what the real surrounding is in a law enforcement environment and really what those calls for service are like and what the background is and what work goes into it,” Heine told WCPO.
With CPD currently about 100 officers below full staffing, the program has become a key part of its recruitment strategy, and a way to build deeper connections between future officers and the communities they aim to serve.
What do you think are the biggest benefits or potential drawbacks of using paid internships to recruit future police officers?
Police1 readers respond
- Benefits: It provides opportunities for early training and mentorship. It also improves recruitment and retention. Drawbacks: 1. Strain in budget resources 2. Liability (the department may be exposed to safety and legal risk).
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