Firstly I’m not a LEO therefore I can’t post this in the most appropriate sub forum (LEO Restricted forum), thus I figure it’s best here.
With that said, this truly isn’t a GD LEO type thread…basically it’s just a request for a little info from either those who are currently a Homicide/violent crime detective, have been in the past, or are qualified to make statements in regards to my question specifically.
Here is my question:
Generally speaking, what’s the fastest/best route in order to become a Homicide detective…keeping in mind that it’s important to inform on the most expedient process to this end.
I very well likely would have pursued this long time aspiration prior to now if I didn’t think that I would most likely spend quite some time (perhaps 5-10yrs) being a traditional cop working a beat. I know I’d love the excitement, and newness of it every shift, however I just don’t think I would really be good at what the overall job calls for…I’d get fired for not writing traffic citations, or arresting folks for minor possession charges. I’d prob. let every hooker I came across go as well fwiw
Nothing major or too detailed…just some qualified answers giving a general summary of what it takes, and how long.
My starting point should that matter would be I guess my 4yr degree from Auburn. My first guess would be for me to go back to UAB or the like to complete 2yrs more in Criminal Justice or very similar therefore really starting with a degree in Criminal Justice vs. Finance.
In my dept, being a homicide detective you need to be like an “old timer”, the reason why I say this is because in order for you (as far as I know) to be transferred to that unit you need to have a lot of experiences (being involved in plenty of cases) and be in the field a lot. Detective is a discretionary rank that is given based on your performance, example: they way you do your reports, investigations, they way you present yourself, professionalism, integrity, how efficient and proficient you are. Also in order for you to be a detective is like a a job interview, you have to sit down with the chief of detective with your report as to why you think you should be a detective and basically give him a presentation and from there he will make a decision.
This is what I have heard from co-workers and if others would like to chime in, can do so. Also in regards to your degrees, some will take that into consideration, others wont. I remember my first day in the academy where I was with people who had Masters and PHD’s and one LT came into the room and said: “You all think that because you have your fancy degrees, you are better than anyone? Well you can throw that piece of shit paper in the toilet because is worth nothing, only what you make yourself out in this job is worth it”
Weird how there isn’t any assigned course or steps in order to become a particular type of cop…or at least one that investigates only violet crime, or homicides.
Seems like nowadays just based on the show “First 48” or whatever it’s called quite a few homicide cops are young guys. I do agree that in the past or prior to that show, the vast majority of homicide cops I learned about were 40-50yr old men…or older.
I used to play ball with a friend who’s dad was one, and he is in all the “First 48” episodes from Birmingham.
Heh…depends completely on the department you work for.
In my dept, unless you are SUPER connected, have 15+ years on the job with at least 10+ years as a detective and did I mention being SUPER connected you are not going to be a homicide detective.
In the South, it is 90% who you know & how proficient you are on the kissing of another’s tail end. If your family has money, and you and them go to Church with the top law dog of your area and are willing to grease the wheels enough, you could find yourself in that position at a younger age (under 40). Otherwise it is a end of career job.
Please do not believe TV. A good number got the job for 99 reasons other than merit. Most folks who kill are dumb, and most get caught and tell on themselves. Very few Detectives are true Vincent Hannas. There are a few Detectives out there who if your file lands on their desk, you may as well give up. Just to give you an idea how it really works, one such local hound dog like that didn’t “fit in” and although he is one of the best in this area was moved to Doggie Control.
I wish you luck, but you should make the choice on the basis if you will or will not be happy working patrol because that is the most probable position you’ll get, and even that will probably require some string pulling. Regardless, if that is what you want to do, begin applying for both paid and reserve slots. The easiest way to get hired is by being known. Even if you have to volunteer for a year, it will help you in the long run, plus give you an honest look at the job before you make a career change commitment.
Yeah man for those things is hard and like others have said, you also need to have some type of a “hook” to put you there and also it is true that there is no such course or anything. Every dept is different and also with mine is they rather train you than you getting trained in the outside because they want you to work a Certain way. It is the same with our shooting range. If you were military previously to joining they tell you to forget whatever you have learned because you are learning their way.
A solid person.
A solid student.
A solid academy recruit.
A solid street cop that makes tight cases, writes outstanding reports, and is great on the stand.
A solid temp/beginner Det working minor people and property jobs, making tight cases and writing outstanding reports.
You’ll get the cases that you earn.
With the majority of LE agencies in the US being small agencies (50 and under), if you make it upstairs to case work you’ll likely be a generalist for your time there unless there’s a few of you and you split up into people, property, dope, e-crime, etc. Most agencies aren’t large enough, nor do they have enough homicides, to have a strictly homicide detectives.
If you want to be a detective, I hope you like typing and computer work in general, most of your time will be doing that.
Last but not least: Have a back-up plan for your LE career. The overwhelming majority of people who start a LE career don’t retire from it.
Another pitfall is you can work your ass off and earn your spot under one administration (think Sheriff’s Dept) then if there is a change at election time & the new boss already has pick or guys/gals who helped him get elected for say a Detective slot, you’ll get bumped and they take your job. It is really quite dirty how some things go down like that.
Departments that have dedicated homicide detectives have homicide rates that merit dedicating those resources.
Expect to spend at least a few years working a beat. Savor it; its the best training for aspiring detectives. Branch out into different units like gangs and drugs. Once you make detective, expect to ride a desk. Understand that the majority of homicides involve the following factors:
Drugs
OC/Gangs
Domestic Violence
AODA
Mental Health
Get comfortable with these topics, and with dealing with people with these problems.
A good approach would be to join a large department that has multiple homicide squads. More people doing the job means people leave more often. But the down side to that is there are more people testing for that job as well.
Also dont worry about patrol. I dont write traffic tickets unless Im at a car wreck. I also dont arrest the hookers very often as they are a GREAT resource for information.
Im not a detective but I work in one of the most violent areas of Phoenix so I meet the detectives pretty often.
My advise would be to stay on patrol for at least 5 years. then get to a detective slot. Any detective slot. Do a really good job there then try and get over to one of the violent crimes units like robbery, assault, kidnapping, or best yet night detectives.
Get use to the smell of decomposing bodies.
Our night detectives, we call them night dicks, are kinda like the JV homicide squad. They handle all the violent crimes that happen throughout the night and even some of the homicides. They also help out the homicide squads when they are short handed.
Also you should know that himicide detectives tend to make a lot of money because they work a shit load of overtime. We had one this weekend where my partner and I found a murdered dude. The homicide detectives got called in on their day off and where there for about 18 hours.
I’m with a large dept with almost 5000 sworn officers and it’s much different down here. You don’t have to have 10+ years on to be a homicide investigator. It boils down to how good of a patrol officer you already are. While experience does count, there are guys with little time on that can and have generated very detailed and thorough reports and have moved up quickly. As they say, “The devil is in the details” be it a petty crime like burglary of a motor vehicle to a legitimate sexual assault case.
We don’t get an investigator pay increase so patrol officers and investigators are pretty much on par comparing people with the same amount of time on.
We also have what is called an investigative first responder. They are uniformed patrol officers that handle smaller cases with good leads. Those guys close a lot of cases and file charges. That in itself is a stepping stone to a true investigator position.
I would be out of my lane responding to the substance of your question but there is something to be said about this attitude. In my academy, we had several guys with this mentality and rather than keeping their mouths shut, felt like everyone should be endowed with their opinions. Only one of these people graduated the academy and he isn’t finding work anywhere. The go or no go from academy staff weighs a lot in my area even if you graduate (our academy was tough and had a 70% attrition rate).
Having a goal in mind is great but if you don’t really like the path required to get there, is this really what you want? Yahoo answers is full of dudes who want to be “SWAT” wondering if they have to do that pesky patrol thing first. Get to know some le dudes in your area, find departments that offer ride alongs, and figure out if this is what you really want before you waste a chunk of your life and other’s time.
And if you do choose to pursue le, I feel I’m not out of my lane giving you academy advice from my point of view. A lot of the recruits were a mess and maybe that’s a generational thing but I consider that unacceptable.
Mindset. Contact sports when I was younger and the nature of my former work have cultivated my mindset to allow me push my self to breaking point and beyond sometimes. PT or defensive tactics or whatever with an ankle sprain, knee injury, etc… Suck it up and do it, your body is stronger than your mind. Unless a doctor tells you that you are going to create a permanent long term injury by pushing through or the injury is severe enough to cause actual immobility, you can fight through.
Be in shape. There is no excuse to show up out of shape n day one. If you don’t know what to do, go talk to academy staff. The key is functional fitness. We train to failure. There is no speed walking/slow jogging on a treadmill while reading the latest romance novel (or whatever the hell those people read).
Let your family know that you may be a ghost for the next X amount of time. Get that cleared BEFORE beginning this. This is especially true for folks with kid. There is enough stress to begin with, family stress will push people over the edge.
For me personally, I only had my fiance to worry about and she was on the same page so it made my life easier. I DECIDED to be a 90% test taker. That doesn’t mean I gave less than 100% for anything else. I choose this because with my ability level, I quickly realized that I could do a quick review of 30 - 60 minutes prior to our many, many, many section tests and score about a 90 average. To do consistently better, I would need to review all the material with a fine tooth comb and take several hours. I decided to begin balancing my family life now, rather than waiting until I was on the job. This worked for me and while I struggled a few times (things come up in life that you have to handle), the overall strategy was win. My relationship did not suffer while a lot of others’ did. And I actually ended up with the highest score of my graduating class. Not saying this will work for you as everyone is different but try to find balance where you can.
Study diligently. I can’t begin to tell you how many folks racked up test fails for taking it easy every now and then. Eventually these folks put themselves in a high stress position in which they couldn’t fail any more tests. Only one of these people graduated my class (his issue was balancing time with his son).
Have money saved. Financial issues plagued a couple of our guys. Plan ahead, you do not need this stress in addition to everything else going on.
Stay out of trouble. No parties, no or very limited drinking, no road rage, no speeding, etc… This is not a joke, we lost people due to these or a combination of these reasons. Your chosen career requires a higher level of maturity, now is the time to make the changes.
Keep your damned mouth shut. This is not the time to show everyone how clever you are or how cool you were in high school and all the crazy things/drugs you did. This goes hand in hand with #8.
Treat every day as a job interview. Because that is exactly what this is.
Check you ego at the door. A lot of conflict will go away if you look upon your fellow recruit as no better or worse than you regardless of individual backgrounds. The instructor cadre are God until you graduate. You may not agree with everything they teach but stick with #7 and do what you are told … and do it to the best of your ability.
Life’s not fair. If ever in doubt whether to speak up when you feel wronged, see #7. No one gives a crap that your feeling were hurt, move past it.
Be honest in your AAR/course eval if necessary or make an appointment with the member of the training cadre you report to if you feel that wronged. But usually, the solution is to put it out of your mind and move on.
Maintain your integrity. Enough said.
This is just a quick, highly unorganized list. Maybe when I have a bit more time I will do a more through write-up. As I said, this is based on only my observations as a recruit.
In my agency, it has a lot to do with longevity, seniority (badge/radio #), experience on patrol, experience in collateral duties (traffic investigations, K9, SWAT, etc), and how long you have been a detective in other fields (narcotics, gang, etc).
Having a college degree, speaking spanish, having training in forensic investigations, and being a solid officer will get you to where you want to be.
If you arent willing to put in the 5-15 years of work, dont bother.
One other point that you should take into consideration, before making a choice is that LE is not a “job” it is a career. You have to work your ass off to even step foot on the street as a fully sworn police officer in most places. This is no small accomplishment. Once you are a sworn police officer you (should be, mentally) beyond the point of thinking “I can just quit and do something else,” or “I can get a job else where.” LE is not a job, it is a life altering choice and while it is not for everyone, it is most certainly different than any other “job” you can or will have.
Damn! PM me where you work! Most the agents in my agency are GS-12 to 13’s with an extra 25% of AP pay added on. I thought that was as high as any “cop” could really ever get without being a administrator/manager of some kind.
You don’t need a CJ degree to do police work. You’d be MUCH better off with a degree is finance or busisness administration as these will get you a job in LE and beyond.
Our detectives don’t make any extra money over patrol. Our pay is based on time on. However it is not uncommon for a homicide detective to just about double their pay with overtime. Ours don’t all make 150k but I bet they all make at least 110 every year.
Apricotshot is spot on. The 25% that he is referring to is known as LEAP (Law Enforcement Overtime Pay), and it is the feds way of compensating 1811’s (special agent designated careers) for working a 50 hr work week. This does not come close to what most locals are able to make in overtime. Although 1811’s also get a location adjustment to their GS scale, this is usually nowhere near enough to make up for the added cost of living.
For example, a new agent assigned to LA would make a base salary of $43,441 (GS-10, step 1 on the Law Enforcement Officers’ salary table) + locality pay of $11,798 (LA’s locality adjustment of 27.16%) + LEAP of $13,809 (25% of base + locality) for a total salary of $69,048 their first year. This is about what LAPD makes after just 1 year on the force (Police Officer II). Now, keep in mind the experience level and education (most have masters or professional degrees) needed to get an 1811 job with FBI, ATF, DEA, USSS, etc. Even at the GS-13 level (top of the non-adminstrative pay scale for most agencies) you are only talking about $100-120K.
LAPD Detective I’s with 4 years of patrol experience pull about $90K base, but their OT drives them closer to $110. At Detective III level they are making $120 base with OT that can approach $150K. Then there are LT’s and CPT’s that can go north of $150K base. Bottom line, the locals get better compensated for cost of living.
Then, you get the fun of moving every 3-5 years with most agencies unless you want to stay at one of the Big Nasty FO’s…:bad:
