Police Detective
Why Is Police Work a Job of Tomorrow?
The country is growing more security conscious, thereby increasing the demand for law enforcement officials, especially in areas of high population density. In fact, in the 2006 fiscal year, federal, state, and local government spending for police protection, corrections, judicial activities, and legal activities increased by 5.1 percent from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. The trend in increased spending for law enforcement is expected to continue well into the future as the population figures continue to multiply, making it more necessary to have bigger police departments to properly patrol the crowded communities. Employment opportunities for police detectives are expected to grow 11 percent by 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Police detectives make an average salary of $58,260 annually.
What Does a Police Detective Do?
Police detectives are typically not uniformed, instead acting as plainclothes investigators in order to blend in with the community and gather facts about the particular crimes they have been assigned to investigate. Although the cases may vary greatly, the responsibilities that detectives tackle are largely the same. They are assigned to specific crimes and are charged with the duty to learn as much as possible about the crime’s cause and effect. Detectives find this information by conducting interviews, examining records, observing the suspect’s activities, and taking part of raids and arrests. Detectives typically work on the cases to which they are assigned until the case is either solved or dropped. In addition to these responsibilities, police detectives must also keep meticulous and detailed records of their work and findings in case the material must be presented in court.
What Kind of Training Do I Need to Become a Police Detective?
Police detectives must have at least a high school diploma, although an increasing number of police departments are beginning to require a college associate or bachelor’s degree in criminal justice as well. The competition for employment is predicted to heighten in the coming years, so those with a higher education are more likely to advance in the field than those without one. Many agencies will pay for their employees to earn a degree in criminal justice while they are employed. Criminal justice degree programs cover judicial processes, law history, and other related topics. An associate degree would take two years to earn, and a bachelor’s degree would take four years to earn. After completing the necessary education to apply for a law enforcement position, prospective police detectives must also undergo job-specific training at a police academy, which typically lasts 12 to 14 weeks.
