Project: Homicide Detective?

impaler19120

The other guy gave you a nice long answer. However, I don't think he was ever a Homicide Detective. I was, for over 12 years. And he is pretty wrong in most points.

I became a Police Officer with a High School education, right out of the service. My department promoted patrol officers to detective through merit. I was a good street cop for over ten years. The department in the next city promotes detectives based on a civil service test. If you have been a patrolman for a number of years, you can take the detective exam. If you score high enough, you get promoted.

I had NO special training to be a detective, like most departments then (and still today) it was on the job training. When I went to Homicide, I was an experienced detective, but again, I received no special training, and none was required.

While working as a police officer, I went to night school and eventually earned a masters degree. But that played no part in my work assignment to Homicide. I have lots of friends who are Homicide Detectives (in many different places) I know some who have advanced degrees, and some who are high school graduates.

Detectives all make the same salary. It does not matter if you work a line squad (general assignments) or SVU, or Homicide. Most departments in the northeast pay well, and an average detective's base salary is probably at least $80,000.00 in the Northeast part of the US. Police don't make that much money in the south and southwest. The big financial benefit of working Homicide is overtime. You get paid time and half for hours worked in excess of 40 hours a week. Homicide detectives work long hours after their shifts are over. They also have to appear in Court frequently, even when they are working night shifts. So, they make good money in both investigative and Court overtime. My best year was more than $10,000.00.

But, for all that money, I spent a lot of time away from home and for over 12 years missed out on lots of family life. I regret that now. But, I did provide well for my family.

drdr

Homicide detectives are chosen based on performance as a patrolman and a detective in another area. To be a detective you have to be a regular patrol officer for a certain number of years, which varies by jurisdiction. The larger the organization, the more specialized units will be employed. Generally, you will need recommendations from supervisors. A bachelorâ€™s degree may provide an advantage.

To become a police officer, the standard requirement for most major police agencies seems to be a minimum of 60 undergraduate hours (from an accredited college), although some allow substitution of military service, and a Bachelor's degree may be preferred (generally required for federal special agent positions). Some agencies have age limits, for federal jobs it is 21 minimum and 37 maximum. Any major is acceptable, but Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Sociology, or Psychology may stand you in better stead. Smaller agencies may have a high school requirement. The agency normally provides training, but some states may have private academies (like TX). There are more applicants than there are positions. Those meeting the minimum requirements may not compare well to the best qualified applicants. Many agencies have increased pay levels for higher education, and higher education facilitates promotion.

You must have no felony arrests, and many misdemeanor arrests are also disqualifying. And, a domestic violence conviction will be disqualifying. Any prior drug use of any sort may be disqualifying, although exceptions are possible in some agencies. There may be a written exam, medical exam, polygraph test, physical fitness test, drug test, minimum eyesight requirements, psychological evaluation, oral board examination, and full background check. As I said, there are always more applicants than there are positions, so it may take many application submissions to get an acceptable job (at least it did for me). Contact the agency directly or look for their website, which will list their employment qualifications and requirements.

Salary varies by agency, with those in the South generally paying less. The larger the city and the higher the cost of living, the higher the pay.

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