advice on making Detective

[cblackthorne]

Well I think your a complete idiot for quote number 2 but I personally made detective in exactly a year in my department. All I had to do was make a good reputation, stand up to idiot deputies who make comments like you about women on the force and of course kick *** and get shot saving my partner.

Then you made detective by process #1. It doesn't change the fact that #2 happened. Process #2 has nothing to do with male or female, it represents a specific case that happened at our department. It has to do with someone getting by on appearance and personality instead of professional qualifications.

I dont have anything against female officers. I have worked with many that have been great officers and would make great detectives. I have worked with some people, male and female, that should never have been patrol officers, much less detectives. I dont judge officers based on their gender, but I do judge them based on their performance.

In corporate America, people tend to succeed not based on skill and expertise, but more on personality. Law enforcement shouldn't follow suit, the stakes are far too high for that, but it happens more and more.

Thats why I posted process #2. Its not intended to say women can't be good detectives, but it does illustrate that some individuals can be promoted on personality instead of skill. No one wants to admit it happens, but it does. Ive seen it first hand and the department suffered for it in the long run.

Regards,
C

[AMT8951]

In my department becoming detective isn't really a permotion. It's a duty appointment for Patrolmen. There is not a pay raise involved, and there is no civil service test to take.
As a supervisor, I have to sit in on detective candidate interviews this afternoon. The things our dept looks for in a det canoidate is:
You must be active, preferably penal law stuff, rather than V&T.
You must have good attendance.
You should be able to come in at all sorts of wierd hours.
You should be intelligent, and well spoken.
You should be good at preparing written material.
Hope this helps!

[pyxie]

Then you made detective by process #1. It doesn't change the fact that #2 happened. Process #2 has nothing to do with male or female, it represents a specific case that happened at our department. It has to do with someone getting by on appearance and personality instead of professional qualifications.

I dont have anything against female officers. I have worked with many that have been great officers and would make great detectives. I have worked with some people, male and female, that should never have been patrol officers, much less detectives. I dont judge officers based on their gender, but I do judge them based on their performance.

In corporate America, people tend to succeed not based on skill and expertise, but more on personality. Law enforcement shouldn't follow suit, the stakes are far too high for that, but it happens more and more.

Thats why I posted process #2. Its not intended to say women can't be good detectives, but it does illustrate that some individuals can be promoted on personality instead of skill. No one wants to admit it happens, but it does. Ive seen it first hand and the department suffered for it in the long run.

Regards,
C

Well I'm glad you clarrified your statement it was a bad stand alone example. Ive personally experienced thoose who should not be in law enforcement and get by on looks and who they know.I think making detective should be earned through performance and In my department we dont get a paise raise just respect long hours call outs and better cars to drive, but Its something to aspire to.

[Gulf Po Po]

In my humble opinion, I feel that one should serve at LEAST 3-4 years in uniform, on patrol, on the streets, before they are even considered for detectives.

[pyxie]

I didn't have much of a choice sit and home and wine retire or start learning from the detective bureau how to be a cop cause patrol was no longer an option medically for me after getting shot on the road but I agree that my career as a detective would have started out better if i had more experience on the road and itself besides having a degree which only helped writting my reports.

[sgttom]

for most departments, you have enough time to "test" or interview for any upcoming openings. put your memo in and test - show your interest.

in the meantime..

write above average reports (do your best).
track your reports / cases
conduct your own follow ups - looks great when your evals mention
your own follow ups, case closures, etc.
volunteer to help with a case
follow up on a case with a detective
request to go to training (annual training or what not), select those courses
that will help you get to your goal does not have to be "pure"
investigative courses but stuff like interview / interrogations, search
warrants, report writing, crime scene / evidence, property - evidence
school, etc. - things to help you / you can do as a patrol
officer but applicable and appealing as a detective.
put yourself through some training on your own - follow the same
suggestions as above.

Before your interview:

Stop and talk to the DET. SGT, go get more information on the job, how many briefings, average case load, unit clearance rate, what a new DET would do.

In your interview:

dress to impress (yes, even when they know you). SUIT and TIE (cuz
this is what you're going to wear as a DET.
Be a "people person" - highlight brown nosing skills.
bring a resume (highlight your training).
copy of your eval(s)
copy of your "atta-boys" regarding your case work
You are available for on call / short notice (for those type of cases).

*** make a few copies to leave with each interview panel member ***

Be a FTO (field training officer)... this helps A LOT due to the type of training your receive and they type of training you provide to the recruit, harp on report writing and investigations.

GOOD LUCK!

[bullseye48]

Thanks

I want to thank all of you for the great advice on making Detective. I do appreciate all of the responses.

[Kieth M.]

And one more thing...and you may wish to work this up, as a part of your oral interview...

When you make detective, and some patrol girl/guy makes a case, for you - by digging a little deeper, working off your tip, or getting a suspect to 'open up', you make sure you write that cop/those cops a commendation, and see that they get the recognition they deserve.

[RwHJR3]

I just made Detective a month ago. I took Advanced Training courses at my local Community College to help out with investigative techniques. As for investigations itself while on the road, I made sure to take that extra step in being extremely in-depth with my reports and basically just going that "extra" mile in doing everything I did, to help put me in front of any other candidates. GOOD LUCK!

[missmycaprice]

DetSarg nailed it.
While on patrol, make a reputation for yourself by being thorough, accurate, and well-written. Failure in any of these areas will cause detectives to mock your reports, and their bosses, who listen to that chatter all day, will be on your oral board later.
Be aware that when you get to detectives, you will probably be spending a large amount of your time tryting to push a case from "probable cause" to "proof beyond a reasonable doubt", and realize that job is not too glamorous or exciting most of the time.
Anything you saw on TV about detectives- all lies.