Law enforcement program offers jail experience to Mecosta-Osceola students

MECOSTA AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, Mich,. (WPBN/WGTU) - - A program giving high school students hands on experience in the law enforcement career field is expanding.

The Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School District’s Career Center has partnered with the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office for years.

Now, the district is also teaming up with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

Program leaders say this will give students more insight into how different county jails operate.

With this work-based learning program, nine students will take turns shadowing corrections staff for one eight hour shift each week.

Students get the opportunity to assist with many job duties such as bed checks, booking and inmate supervision.

A corrections student says job shadowing provides valuable benefits, helping her apply classroom skills in real-world settings and better prepare for the job.

“It kinda just prepared me for like what to look for in a jail. Obviously jails around our counties are a lot different than prisons in big cities. So I kinda feel like that gave me either I want that, because I don’t want more because I feel like that’d be a lot more to handle,” said Abbie Carson, a corrections student.

“That’s what gives these kids the real-life experience, getting into those jails, seeing what those corrections officers do, meeting the administration, meeting the sheriff. My students need to know what sheriff’s names are and things like that. You know they need to know those things; it’s really, really important for the pairings for student success to be able to learn in the classroom and put what they learn into the field,” said Joy Paquette, Public Safety and Corrections Director MOISD.

The program also helps the sheriff’s office get to know what students would be like as potential employees.

Paquette says while Mecosta and Osceola are the only two, they’re partnered with for work-based learning.

Students also go on field trips to other sheriff’s offices around the state such as Newaygo, Kent and Isabella counties.