Responsibilities of a Crime Scene Detective

Many officers in uniform yearn to be detectives until they actually get that promotion. Little do they realize that the hours are long, sleep is minimal, and the responsibility of an officer of his stature is tremendous. Normally, detectives must have at least three years of law enforcement experience before they can apply to become detective. In larger jurisdictions, they may be assigned to a specialized unit such as homicide, burglary, auto theft, vice, or white collar. In many smaller police agencies, they need to be proficient in whatever crime they are summoned to investigate.

Upon arrival at the crime scene, the responding uniformed officer explains the event to the detective. The better the officer did his job, the better the knowledge the detective will have of the crime scene and the events that occurred there.

Every detective is unique. Some are rough while some are smooth. All the well-rounded ones have the practical knowledge of a street patrolman, an insight on the forensic sciences, the knowledge of a prosecutor, and an ability to put together bits of information, such as people, events, and evidence, in space and time in order to come up with an investigative scenario of the crime that took place.

A detective makes sure that all the duties of a patrolman have been completed at the scene. A good detective not only knows that the case is dependent on what the first responding officer did, but also remembers what it was like to be in the patrolman’s shoes. It is important that there is good rapport between detectives and patrolmen.

After being debriefed by the patrol officer, the detective performs the following duties:

• Determines if a search warrant is needed to conduct a search.
• Interviews the victim or victims repeatedly.
• Determines the status of the alleged offender. Is the offender in custody? Is he a minor? Has the offender been read his rights?
• Determines if the witnesses are only witnesses or are heavily involved in the commission of the criminal act.
• Reports the early status of the investigation to his superiors, uniformed officers, other detectives, and staff members.
• Determines if other law enforcement agencies should be contacted.
• Maintains control over the flow of information.
• Develops hypotheses regarding the incident based on evidence.

 

The more serious and complex the crime scene, the more time is required to gather and document evidence. In the case of a murder scene, the detective has the choice not to gather or touch the evidence but leaves this up to highly-trained crime scene personnel to process the scene.

No doubt the job responsibility of a police detective is overwhelming.

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