Laney McCormick sits at a desk and listens to people complain.

It may not be the most exciting job, but it's how she's getting her start in the law enforcement field.

As a cadet for the East Lansing Police Department, or ELPD, she sits at the front desk and tries to direct people to an appropriate officer.

Criminal justice classes at MSU weren't cutting it for McCormick, who wants to be a police officer, so she decided to get the necessary experience to enter the ranks.

"At MSU, all the classes were about theory and law enforcement today," she said.

For almost a year, McCormick has been a cadet at ELPD. The experience is completely different from the classroom, she said.

ELPD's cadet program has operated for about 15 years and is a starting point for people entering law enforcement.

The cadets go through intensive training and work the front police desk, East Lansing police Sgt. Carl Nowak said.

"We've had cadets here who have gone to the academy, jail, dispatch and other police departments," Nowak said.

McCormick graduated in May and is planning to go to the Mid-Michigan Police Academy in July.

"The cadet program has made me more confident," McCormick said. "I've got a better understanding of how (the department) relates to the public."

MSU police has a similar program that employs 10 MSU students as cadets.

They handle the university's security system, along with clerical duties and working with the public.

"They are monitoring a universitywide access controls and security system, which is probably the most important thing they do because of all the alarm systems on campus," said Denni Kraft, access controls system administrator.

Graduates of the MSU program have gone on to work at other police agencies, the U.S. Secret Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA.

Cadet programs are not exclusive to criminal justice majors. MSU's program employed a human resource management major to create the interview process for the department.

"She created and conducted the entire interview process," Kraft said.

Working as a cadet doesn't give students the same experience as police officers, but it does introduce them to the field, Kraft said.

Both MSU and ELPD have strict recruiting and interviewing processes in order to find cadets that fit well with their departments.

"We have an intensive application program and background check," Kraft said. "They can't have a criminal record, and have to be able to multitask and get along with officers and the public."

Before considering an applicant, ELPD officials look at Facebook.com after receiving applications, and have viewed photos with people under 21 drinking or using drugs in the past.

"That's usually an immediate sign of things," Nowak said.

ELPD will get about 50-60 applications once they've done recruitment at Lansing Community College or MSU, and a hiring board will narrow the selection to about 10 candidates, Nowak said.

Those candidates then ride along with an officer to determine how they will fit in with the department, he said.

"It's an excellent stepping stone in coming up through the department."

Ashley A. Smith can be reached at smithas7@msu.edu.