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What are tips of investigating crimes , violence investigations , becoming a police officer ? How many years of college would it take?
Im a sophomore also very passionate about investigating crimes and putting people in check to do the right things . #business #police officer # crime #solve crimes #detective #FBI
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Stephen’s Answer
Jalissa,
Thanks for your interest in law enforcement. It's very important that the younger generation be ready to take on the jobs and duties of law enforcement officers. I can tell you the Russell's comments are definitely true of certain departments and some federal agencies. However law enforcement positions run the gamut of requirements and you'll find some positions that require nothing more than being 21 years old and having a GED, all the way up to specific college disciplines. I worked as a Police Detective during my 15 year career in law enforcement before my retirement. I was in a small city and was often the only Detective if not one of only two Detectives. Although it was a small city, we dealt with all of the same crimes the big cities have. The difference being I didn't have a narcotics division or homicide division or sex crimes division hand cases off to. I had to become multifaceted and obtain the knowledge that requires to be able to investigate all of these different crimes. It's very important in law enforcement and to some extent in life in general to always be willing to learn. You'll never know everything there is to know about law enforcement, because it will always be growing and changing. You asked how to solve crimes or how to investigate them, and I can tell you that there are some amazing things that I had the opportunity to do that I never would have thought of! I solved many more crimes with shoeprints than I ever did utilising fingerprints. Quite often cold burglaries are a police officers most frustrating and irritating call. But I was able to use these calls to prepare me for larger investigations including homicides robberies etc. I found myself crawling around on floors and collecting odd pieces of evidence that later became very important in cases. The trajectory of bullets and the things that bullets can do is quite interesting. I found that after passing through certain materials a bullet bounced off of a dry wall and landed across the room where it continued to spin on a DVD case. I also found times were bullets had ricocheted off of glass, bounced off of carpet, and landed on the other side of the room. I guess my best advice regarding how to investigate crimes is think of anything and everything that a suspect would have had to have touched or moved or changed in any way during, before, and after they committed their crime. Where they stepped, what they moved, and how they would have moved it will lead you to find the evidence that may still exist there from how they did things . Often times people think if someone is wearing gloves there are no fingerprints. While this is true gloves can leave a distinct mark on objects as well and if you later find a similar glove with the same marking, that can solve a case for you. The other thing that I can tell you is most important in police work is the ability to communicate. Interviews are one of my most effective tools in solving crime. Without solid interview and communication skills, the evidence that you find can become worthless. Utilising interview skills will also help you to know when you're talking to an innocent person. In summary, you'll want to gear your education around these sorts of interests. Of course having a good high school GPA and taking dual enrollment classes will not only help you land a career in law enforcement, it will slso help save you money on obtaining a college education. Focusing on a major that pertains to an area that you will utilise in law enforcement can also be important. These things can be the deciding factor between you and another candidate or they may make you qualify for a position that you become interested in later in your career. I definitely wouldn't tell someone that they only need to focus on things like criminology or sociology because there are so many things that a police officer has to do in their day-to-day work. Everything from being a counsellor to photography and videography to computer work and computer science, all of these things will be utilised. I once had a case that I solved because I knew that Microsoft Word stored documents in a cache file as you start to type them even if you never clicked save. After obtaining permission to search the computer, I found that the alleged victim had lied and generated evidence themself resulting in my ability to completely exonerate an individual who had been accused of committing a serious crime.
In closing, I'll tell you something that I told many many people, suspects, officers, fellow citizens, and others during my time as a Police Detective and a Police Officer. It is my job and duty to work just as hard to prove someone is innocent as it is to prove someone is guilty. The truth must always be a Police Officer's primary focus during an investigation, regardless of the consequences or how it may make people feel. I was very fortunate to work for an agency and Chief of Police that never pressured me to just make an arrest or to solve a crime regardless of information. I was never given a timeframe or told that we need to find that suspect without the tools and ability to genuinely and truthfully find the individual the committed a crime. I hope I've given you some of the information you're looking for! I wish you well and hope that your able to attain a position in law enforcement that you and your family can be proud of for years to come. Thank you for your question and your interest. Take care, and as cops always say to each other, stay safe.
Stephen Murphy
Detective (Ret.)
Hamilton Montana Police Dept.
Make good choices.
Always be honest. Your word is very valuable.
Take care of yourself so that you are able to care for others.
Thanks for your interest in law enforcement. It's very important that the younger generation be ready to take on the jobs and duties of law enforcement officers. I can tell you the Russell's comments are definitely true of certain departments and some federal agencies. However law enforcement positions run the gamut of requirements and you'll find some positions that require nothing more than being 21 years old and having a GED, all the way up to specific college disciplines. I worked as a Police Detective during my 15 year career in law enforcement before my retirement. I was in a small city and was often the only Detective if not one of only two Detectives. Although it was a small city, we dealt with all of the same crimes the big cities have. The difference being I didn't have a narcotics division or homicide division or sex crimes division hand cases off to. I had to become multifaceted and obtain the knowledge that requires to be able to investigate all of these different crimes. It's very important in law enforcement and to some extent in life in general to always be willing to learn. You'll never know everything there is to know about law enforcement, because it will always be growing and changing. You asked how to solve crimes or how to investigate them, and I can tell you that there are some amazing things that I had the opportunity to do that I never would have thought of! I solved many more crimes with shoeprints than I ever did utilising fingerprints. Quite often cold burglaries are a police officers most frustrating and irritating call. But I was able to use these calls to prepare me for larger investigations including homicides robberies etc. I found myself crawling around on floors and collecting odd pieces of evidence that later became very important in cases. The trajectory of bullets and the things that bullets can do is quite interesting. I found that after passing through certain materials a bullet bounced off of a dry wall and landed across the room where it continued to spin on a DVD case. I also found times were bullets had ricocheted off of glass, bounced off of carpet, and landed on the other side of the room. I guess my best advice regarding how to investigate crimes is think of anything and everything that a suspect would have had to have touched or moved or changed in any way during, before, and after they committed their crime. Where they stepped, what they moved, and how they would have moved it will lead you to find the evidence that may still exist there from how they did things . Often times people think if someone is wearing gloves there are no fingerprints. While this is true gloves can leave a distinct mark on objects as well and if you later find a similar glove with the same marking, that can solve a case for you. The other thing that I can tell you is most important in police work is the ability to communicate. Interviews are one of my most effective tools in solving crime. Without solid interview and communication skills, the evidence that you find can become worthless. Utilising interview skills will also help you to know when you're talking to an innocent person. In summary, you'll want to gear your education around these sorts of interests. Of course having a good high school GPA and taking dual enrollment classes will not only help you land a career in law enforcement, it will slso help save you money on obtaining a college education. Focusing on a major that pertains to an area that you will utilise in law enforcement can also be important. These things can be the deciding factor between you and another candidate or they may make you qualify for a position that you become interested in later in your career. I definitely wouldn't tell someone that they only need to focus on things like criminology or sociology because there are so many things that a police officer has to do in their day-to-day work. Everything from being a counsellor to photography and videography to computer work and computer science, all of these things will be utilised. I once had a case that I solved because I knew that Microsoft Word stored documents in a cache file as you start to type them even if you never clicked save. After obtaining permission to search the computer, I found that the alleged victim had lied and generated evidence themself resulting in my ability to completely exonerate an individual who had been accused of committing a serious crime.
In closing, I'll tell you something that I told many many people, suspects, officers, fellow citizens, and others during my time as a Police Detective and a Police Officer. It is my job and duty to work just as hard to prove someone is innocent as it is to prove someone is guilty. The truth must always be a Police Officer's primary focus during an investigation, regardless of the consequences or how it may make people feel. I was very fortunate to work for an agency and Chief of Police that never pressured me to just make an arrest or to solve a crime regardless of information. I was never given a timeframe or told that we need to find that suspect without the tools and ability to genuinely and truthfully find the individual the committed a crime. I hope I've given you some of the information you're looking for! I wish you well and hope that your able to attain a position in law enforcement that you and your family can be proud of for years to come. Thank you for your question and your interest. Take care, and as cops always say to each other, stay safe.
Stephen Murphy
Detective (Ret.)
Hamilton Montana Police Dept.
Stephen recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Russel’s Answer
You must be a student and
dedicated to keep your GPA above 3.3. If the FBI is your goal then the "hard science " major and MBA would be your goal. To become a Police person then all levels of group and personal psychology should be your major - but understand your competition will be in any major city former military with degrees.
Study police job requirements
Study FBI job requirements
Loollook at immigration enforcement
dedicated to keep your GPA above 3.3. If the FBI is your goal then the "hard science " major and MBA would be your goal. To become a Police person then all levels of group and personal psychology should be your major - but understand your competition will be in any major city former military with degrees.
Russel recommends the following next steps: