So what do i need to do if i want.....?

Question

im interested in becoming a detecive. so what do i need to do to acctually become one.?

Answer 1

Go to college, preferably a four year degree, pass your state's POST licensing exam, apply for a police department, then spend 3-5 years working the streets, get promoted to sergeant, then apply to be an investigator.

Answer 2

Go to school...college would be best. Go to the police academy. Get hired...pass a background investigation. Work many, many years getting good at being a policeman. Take tests required by your department, and with some luck and hard work,you are there.

Answer 3

What he said. Departments don't "hire" detectives...they're promoted from within from the rank & file. How quickly you climb the ladder depends on how good you are (in theory), or who and how much you brown-nose.

Answer 4

Most police departments hire their detectives from within their ranks. So you would have to work as a patrol officer for a while. How long depends upon the department. You could be hired as a criminal investigator with a federal agency if you have a college degree and meet the other requirements that the agency has. Then they will provide you with law enforcement / investigator training. The best advice would be to consider what departments you might be interested in, and call one of their recruiters to ask about how many years you have to work before you are eligible to apply for a detective slot, etc. Check out http://www.peaceofficerjobs.com for excellent information and advice about becoming a law enforcement officer.

Answer 5

Usually this is not something you start in. Generally the process is have good grades in the Police Academy, do a great job on the street, show an aptitude for investigation and then, after several years, you might be able to get a temoprary detail with a Detective Unit.

You do  a good job for them and it may become permanent. Now this is just general for a large deparetment. Small departments still want someone that has been doing a great job but many small departments " try out " officers for say 6 months at a time to see what their work is like.

After most of the ones that wanted to try it have been through it, then they will likely settle on someone or two guys to do it. Once everyone gets a shot at being called out for misdemeanors in the middle of the night on your weekend off....you generally dont feel like being a Detective anymore.

I happened to get in at a good time and was actually in Detctive/investigation for about 6 years of my time there. Although we did not have many homicides, we did have 6 and I happened to be in there for each of them so I did get some experience on that end. After awhile, only the BIG stuff is interesting and like all other jobs, the common stuff can be a little less interesting.

I dont think our department has ever had anyone in there for more than 6 years. Not a good idea since you can get into a rut.