PARIS — Two high school graduates have started their studies at Husson University after interning at the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

John Houghton Jr., a 2007 graduate of Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, and Jonathan Lackee, a 2010 graduate of Dirigo High School in Dixfield, completed the 100-hour program this summer. Both are studying criminal justice at the Bangor university, which includes attendance in the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in the senior year.

Sheriff Wayne Gallant said Lackee approached him at a school presentation in the spring to ask about ride-alongs with the Sheriff’s Office. Gallant said he started the program this year to allow students to get a more expansive look at the office”s operations.

“They got a pretty good feel for the whole process,” he said.

The majority of the program has the interns accompany deputies, with 20 hours each dedicated to night and day patrolling. However, the students also spend 20 hours in office administration, 20 hours with the Criminal Investigation Division, 10 hours at the Oxford County Jail, and 10 hours at the Regional Communications Center.

Gallant said he aimed to make the internship admission process similar to a job application. Among other requirements, Houghton and Lackee had to complete integrity questionnaires, show proof of enrollment in a criminal justice program, attend an interview with Gallant and other members of the department, and pass a background check.

The interns also had to log their hours and keep a journal of their experiences, which Gallant said will help in the preparation of reports. In addition, the department required their punctual arrival and proper dress for the day’s activities.

With the high volume of summer calls, Houghton and Lackee were present at calls ranging from domestic abuse to car accidents to a shooting incident. They sat in on interviews conducted by detectives, helped with filing duties, worked with the maintenance of vehicles, and saw the process for booking and transport of prisoners.

“It was quite an array of things we made them do,” Gallant said.

Houghton said in an e-mail to the Sun Journal that he has wanted to serve the public ever since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He said he learned that Gallant was thinking about starting the program when his father got in touch with his high school companion Hart Daley, a criminal investigator with the Sheriff’s Office.

Houghton said the most memorable part of the internship was his first patrol with a deputy, and that the experience helped him decide that he wanted to go into police work.

“This was the first time I had been in a police vehicle and experienced the daily routines of an officer,” he said. “At that moment everything felt overwhelming.”

The program is unpaid, but Gallant said he hopes to cooperate with colleges to have interns receive credit for their work with the department. He plans to keep it going in the future, likely limiting the number of participants to two to four per year.

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