UNM Gallup Internship Strengthens Pipeline into Gallup Police Department
UNM Gallup celebrated criminal justice graduate Amy Anderson after she completed an internship with the Gallup Police Department and received a Certificate of Student Internship at a luncheon. The college says the program deepens ties with local law enforcement, gives students hands on technical experience, and will be expanded to support McKinley County workforce needs.
A new collaboration between UNM Gallup and the Gallup Police Department culminated on November 12, 2025 with a luncheon honoring criminal justice graduate Amy Anderson and the presentation of a Certificate of Student Internship. The celebration highlights a growing partnership that brought a student into front line public safety work and signaled the college had concrete plans to broaden similar placements for other students seeking careers in policing and criminal justice across McKinley County.
During her internship Anderson worked on a range of departmental tasks that UNM Gallup cited as examples of practical learning. Those activities included statistical work to support reporting and analysis, fingerprinting operations, participation in detectives work, ride alongs with officers, and role play scenarios used in training. The variety of duties gave a single student exposure to both technical and operational sides of police work, providing résumé ready skills as well as direct experience in procedures used by the department.
For local residents the partnership matters on several fronts. Practical internships create a pipeline of locally trained candidates who already understand area protocols and community dynamics, which can shorten onboarding times and reduce recruiting costs for municipal departments. Hands on experience in statistical analysis can also bolster the department s capacity for data driven policing and crime analysis without immediate additional hires, while ride alongs and training exercises contribute to community transparency by involving students from local institutions.
From a workforce development perspective the college s expansion plans respond to longer term trends in public safety education that emphasize experiential learning. Rural and small city departments such as Gallup often face tight budgets and higher costs to recruit out of region. Partnering with a local college can yield a steady flow of interns who may convert into full time employees or who can fill auxiliary roles that support public safety operations. That reduces vacancy pressure and offers a more predictable talent pipeline for municipal leaders planning workforce and budget decisions.
Policy implications include the need for clear internship frameworks and supervision standards to protect both students and the public during ride alongs and investigative tasks. Expanding the program will require joint planning on liability, training, and evaluation metrics so that student placements deliver measurable benefits for departmental capacity and student career outcomes.
UNM Gallup s announcement positions the college and the Gallup Police Department as collaborators in a practical approach to public safety workforce development. For McKinley County residents the initiative offers a locally rooted path into criminal justice careers, potential improvements in department analytics and operations, and a model for how educational institutions and municipal services can coordinate amid constrained public budgets.
