Carter 1 Janelle Carter Professor A.

Jacobs ENC 1101 14, April 2014 Becoming a Homicide Detective Becoming closer to your chosen profession is a time that everyone waits for. Not only is it thrilling, but considering that all of your hard work will finally payoff is the best feeling of all. I plan to become a Homicide Detective. In case you werent aware, this job can be very intense. This is a job where youre around dead bodies and bloody scenes every day. A Homicide Detectives main goal is to get the bottom of who killed the victim; they do this by interrogating potential suspects, or by interviewing witnesses. I believe that this is the ideal job for me because I am not afraid to be around dead bodies and I get a kick out of getting to the bottom of things. However, there is much more than this required for the job. Becoming a Homicide Detective can be quite interesting, keeping in mind the training, activities you can get involved in to get the experience, along with the benefits which comes towards retirement. In order to become a homicide detective, they must first initially serve as a patrol officer for 2 or more years. Today 82% of all local police departments require at least a high school diploma, and 9 percent require a degree from a two-year college. Recruits with college or university experience are generally thought to have an advantage in hiring and promotion (Police,1). There are also a few basic requirements such as: being an U.S citizen, no history of any felonies, at least twenty one years of age, and meet the weight and eyesight requirements. They must also successfully complete two different types of training, which are academy training

Carter 2 and field training. The academy training is ran by either the state or police agency. While attending this training you are taught the essentials of police work, such as search, seizure, arrest, and interrogation. Cadets also learn how to secure a crime scene and interview witnesses, along with the basics of first aid and self- defense. Field training takes place outside the confines of the police academy. A recruit is paired with an experienced police officer know as a field training officer (FTO). The goal of field training is to help rookies apply the concepts they have learned in the academy to the streets, with the FTO playing a supervisory role to make that nothing goes awry. There are many ways one can get the experience of what it takes to become a Police officer or Detective. Many Police Departments offer opportunities for U.S Citizens 18 or older to ride along with them for a day or so. They also have a Program called the Police Explorers which is for kids under 18. Usual when individuals participate in the Ride Along they are up close and personal with any crime, that has been committed on that particular scene. For people riding along with a detective, a Homicide Detective especially, they would have to have a strong stomach and be able to look at dead bodies raw. They would also get a chance to visit Jails, witness interrogations, and even sit in a court room and hear a trail. Participating in things like the ride along to get the experience can actually benefit one, if he/she is thinking about pursuing a career in the criminal justice field. It might take a lot of courage especially at a young age, but it is worth it. Training seems like it is probably the hardest thing to accomplish; but once it is over and he/she have succeeded in it they will feel good about it. Police and Detectives normally start off making the same salary. The median pay in 2012 was 57,000 rounded per year, which is about 28.00 per hour (MacDonald, 2). Just like any other job if an individual has been working in a

Carter 3 profession for a while and are actually good at what they do more times than not they will get a promotion, which usually is a raise in salary for government jobs. Police and Detectives are alike in a few ways but different in many ways.They both obtain warrants and arrest suspects, write detailed reports and fill out forms, and pre pare cases and testify in court. A few major differences between the two would be that police officers enforce laws, while detectives investigate crimes. Police officers also respond to emergency and non-emergency calls, while detectives collect and secure evidence from crime scenes. This is just a few ways as to how they compare and contrast against one another. There are also many different types of officers that you can choose from for state and local law enforcement. Uniformed police officers have general law enforcement duties. They wear uniforms that allow the public to easily recognize them as police officers. State police officers, sometimes called state troopers or highway patrol officers, have many of the same duties as other police officers, but they may spend more time enforcing traffic laws and issuing traffic citations. State troopers are usually dressed in a brown uniform, with a black stripped line going down the side if the pants; they tend to wear the funny looking hats as well. According to an article entitled Police and Detectives, Transit and railroad police patrol railroad yards and transit stations. They protect property, employees, and passengers from crimes such as thefts and robberies. Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs enforce law on the county level. Sheriffs departments tend to be relatively small. Sheriffs usually are elected by the public and do the same work as a local or county police chief. Lastly, are the Detectives and criminal investigators are uniformed or plainclothes investigators who gather facts and collect evidence for criminal cases. Although each kind of Law Enforcement officer has to go through the same academy and field training, each agency also has its own additional personal police academy. Depending on

Carter 4 the size of the agency usually determines what type of training; they are similar but different in small ways. Most of the time if the agency is small, the applicants attend a state or regional academy. The training includes classroom instructions in constitutional law, civil rights, state laws and local ordinances, along with police ethics. Recruits always receive training and supervised experience in areas dealing with patrol, traffic control, use of fire arms, self- defense, first aid, and emergency response (Gaines,244). Most large agencies would recommend an applicant to continue going to school after high school; not necessarily to get a Bachelors degree, but to take courses and training related to Law Enforcement. There are many junior colleges, colleges, and universities who offer criminal justice courses. There are all different types of training depending on the interest of agency for him/herself. If one is looking into joining a federal agency a college degree is required; U.S fish & Wildlife Service is an agency that requires the following. The U.S fish & Wildlife Service job is to protect animals in the wildlife from people like hunters. It has been proven that you would have to be a U.S citizen with no convicted felonies to be considered for the job; also having to take numerous amounts of academic tests. In comparison to federal agencies, state or local requirements for federal law enforcement agencies are the same. However, they can be a bit stricter when it comes to education and training. Most of the time, agencies such as Secret Service and FBI require a bachelors degree. They also suggest that you have work experience relating to the job, and/or a combination of the two. An example would be an FBI agent, they must be college graduates with at least 3 years of professional work experience. (Jolliffe,9) Just like in any job, there are certain qualities or what are mainly known as soft skills that an applicant must have in order to be considered for such a job. Usually the qualities that one is suggested to have for a certain can actually benefit you; preventing you from getting into a

Carter 5 career that doesnt fit your interest all the way. For police officers there are a few qualities that are recommended for the job. The first one is communication skills. Police and especially Detectives must be able to speak to victims in order to get to the bottom of crimes. If they are not able to interview witnesses or interrogate potential suspects, then they will not be successful in their job. Perceptiveness is also a very important skill for Police Officers; being able to anticipate ones reactions is required for this job. Not being able to have good judgment and know when an individual will try to hit you can leave you injured and that wouldnt be a good thing. Lastly, physical stamina and strength are also two major important qualities in the police force. Police have to be in good shape, especially for daily rigors of the job. Suspects try to run all the time, and if youre not physical fit in any sort, this will be a difficult job. These are just a few of many qualities required to be a Police Officer or Detective. In Conclusion, I know that this will not be an easy path for me to follow. I am aware that I will be discriminated against since I am a women. I will not let anything or body get in the way of me a pursuing my desired career. Watching shows like first 48 and Law & Order: Criminal Content are only a few shoes that give me motivation. I have a passion for getting to the bottom of things and also giving grieving families justice. Maintaining good grades has always been a priority for me. Getting my Bachelors degree is really what Im striving for; so being able to get promoted to a Homicide Detective will be easy. I will continue to work hard and make everyone proud. With that being said, I will remain positive, and continue to think that doing the impossible is always possible.

Carter 6 Works Cited Page Gaines, Larry K. CJ^2. Belmont,CA: Linda Schreiber Ganster, 2013, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Jolliffe, Darrick, et al. Testing the Cambridge Quality Checklists on a Review of Disrupted Families and Crime. Criminal Behavior & Mental Health. 22-5 (2012): 303-314, Academic Search Complete. Web 13 Apr.2014 MacDonald, Nancy. The New Upper Class. 126.15 (2013): 23.Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Apr.2014 Police and Detectives bls.gov.U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2014 Web. 25 Mar. 2014