Expert: Jack Toomey - 4/4/2009

Question
QUESTION: hello him 17 years old about to graduate form high school and i am seeking a career in criminal justice but the field i want to work in is VU. i was wondering if i need police training and about how long would it take till i can get my career going. thank you so much :)

ANSWER: Jasmine,

 I'm not sure what you mean by "VU" but I am guessing that you mean "Victim Unit"?  If so you need to know something.  There is a show on television called SVU which is pure fiction.  NOTHING on that show is realistic and NOTHING on that show happens in real life.  It is depicted as it is so people will watch.  In real life people who counsel victims are usually civilians who might not even be members of police departments.  Now I am not saying that police officers do not interact with their victims because they do.  But surely NOTHING like you see on television.  I get a ton of questions from kids who are confused with stuff they see on shows like SVU and CSI and are heartbroken when they find out that it is total fiction.

 If you want to be a police officer you are going to need to go to college, graduate, apply for a police department and then go through the hiring process.  About 10 - 15% of applicants are actually hired.  Then you will spend years and years on the street learning the necessary skills that are later needed in the detective unit.

  If you are not interested in the police department and I am confusing the term "VU" then let me know.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: well i meant VU but yea i love police work an this is my dream job. so i am willing to do anything to be a detective or forensic scientist


ANSWER: All right lets go over this again.

A forensic scientist and a detective are two different things which you probably realize.  Forensic scientists are not police officers/detectives.  They work in laboratories and require advance degrees in order to do that kind of work.

Now you tell me something.  How old are you?  What is your understanding of the term "VU" detective?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i am 17 years old. and like i want to be like one of those people from CSI that got to crime scene and solve crimes. things like that. catching the bad guys.

Answer
Ok Jasmine either you are not reading my replies or I am not making myself clear.  There is NO SUCH thing as CSI or SVU.  There are fictional television programs that are created to make people to watch.  When people watch the television networks make money.  It is that simple.  

What you need to do is to improve your command of the English language, study hard, go to college, and in five years you will have a better idea about what you want to do.

Again......listen and read.  There is no such thing as CSI just like there is no such thing as Batman.