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Careers: Police/sex crimes detective

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Expert: - 10/14/2010


Question
QUESTION: hi, i'm Liz. i want to be a sex crimes detective wen i become of age and i was wondering what kind of courses you think i should take in college to help me get there and will be most helpful in the aspects of getting the job, keeping the job, and doing it well. because some people say that getting a degree in english, or journalism will be more helpfull then a degree in criminal justice. but i didnt understand how that would make any sense. so please help me out.
thanks, Liz

ANSWER: Liz,

The "people" are correct.  You want to stay away from criminal justice.  All of these advertisements that you see on television make you believe that you are going to be in the middle of the action by simply going to theirs school.  There are tens of thousands of young people out there right now who are going to earn a degree in criminal justice and are not qualified to become police officers. Then what do they have?  A worthless degree.

Get a degree in something that interests you.  Once it comes time to apply for police work the police department is not going to care what your degree is in.

Just to make sure that you know that you have to spend at least several years in uniform as a patrol officer before you would ever be considered for detective.

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

QUESTION: u said "There are tens of thousands of young people out there right now who are going to earn a degree in criminal justice and are not qualified to become police officers". so what would make you qualified? is there something specific?

Answer
An aptitude for police work, a clean criminal and traffic record, ability to pass a lengthy background check, ability to speak coherently and to write long and involved reports without error or misspellings.  Also a medical exam and a strenuous physical test. These are just some of the things that go into hiring a police officer.

About 1 in 100 applicants are actually hired.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

Experience

Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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