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Question
Commander Wagoner,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question(s).
I am interested in becoming a criminal investigator. I read the article you wrote "so you want to be a cop..."
And it sparked a question. Several times in it, you reference detectives collecting and analyzing evidence. I have been told that these are activities performed by a Crime Scene Investigator. Could you help clarify? also, is this the same at the state and federal level?
Thank you
Hi Patrick,
While we like to think that all police departments have crime scene technicians and laboratories to send all the evidence off to that is actually not the case. A little known fact to the public is that 85% of all law enforcement agencies in the United States have less than 50 officers. In those types of cases they generally do not have full-time crime scene technicians to handle the day-to-day evidence gathering and handling. This is when it is left up to the well-rounded and well trained detective to do their case from beginning to end. An example where this is also true a large department would be the Broward County Sheriff's office where I am originally from. As a traffic homicide investigator investigating a fatal car crashes we were responsible for photography, video, evidence gathering and processing, and all aspects of the investigation even though our agency had a full-time well staffed and highly trained crime scene investigation unit of sworn law enforcement deputies.
Most state agencies have some type of a crime scene unit that they call to respond to scenes needing processing, but again not all state agencies investigate crimes that require a processing. I will give you an example, the state of Florida has the Florida Department of law enforcement, in that department there are multiple sub groups most of which do not investigate crimes that require crime scene processing. The Florida Department of law enforcement crime scene unit generally is called out and works with County and local agencies that don't have those capabilities. Most of the time for serious crimes like murders or kidnappings or something requiring very detailed and careful handling.
I will tell you that for routine processing of many crime scenes even in large agencies the road officer or local detective called out will actually process the scene. Even on a department like the Broward County sheriffs office we would routinely dust for fingerprints and collect evidence at delayed burglary calls on a regular basis.
So if you are thinking of wanting to become a criminal investigator you will more than likely be trained in and learn how to not only investigate crimes but how to properly process and recognize evidence a crime scenes. And depending upon what agency you ultimately end up with you could be not only handling the case itself but also processing the scene itself for evidence as is the case with most agencies throughout the United States. This is mainly due to the smaller size of most agencies.
I hope that helps explain it a little better all have to go back and change my webpage to clarify the subject so that other people can get the benefit of your question.
Be well and stay safe,
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| Comment | I wanted to say thank you. I have been using this site for a while, getting answers to questions that I had. More specifically from you. You are among the rare few on this site that won't offer "I don't know" as an answer. I was actually upset when i saw your name removed from the experts list. I have also read some of the stuff you post on other sites. Thanks so much for your help! | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Chris Wagoner
Expertise
I have been a police officer for 30+ years! I am the Police Academy Commander at the Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville Florida It is a full service Law Enforcement and Corrections training facility. I can answer most questions concerning law enforcement procedures, law enforcement training and general questions about law enforcment. I can also answer questions about becoming a law enfocement officer. I have a booklet and web page I have written that answers many questions about how to become a police officer called "So you want to be a cop (police Officer) in Florida?", which is free, Google it.. All you have to do is ask. I teach the following subjects: RADAR/LASER, Law Enforcement Driving, Law Enforcement Firearms and Patrol Techniques, Officer Safety, WMD's for Patrol Officers, Application of Law, Communications skills, Dealing with the Mentally and physically handicapped, and many more subjects. I have worked as a subject matter expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and helped to write the police curriculum for the State of Florida. I like answering questions about how to become a police officer, and questions about why did an officer do this or that type questions. I also like answering any questions you may have about police work in general. I do not mind helping with homework questions or trying to answer your questions about legal subjects that I have knowledge of. You will never know the answer until you ask! If you do ask a question, PLEASE take the time to at least rate the answer. I do not get paid to answer these questions and do it on my own time. If you ask, please rate it when I answer. Thanks!!! If its a question about becoming a police officer, it may be answered here: http://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/ My "hobby" website - http://www.youtube.com/user/3rdID8487 Military Videos on YouTube and Facebook!!
Experience
I am a 30+ year veteran police officer, I am currently the Police Academy Commander of an Academy in North FLorida. I have been training police officers since 1993 and have trained them in all aspects of law enforcement, including firearms, Driving and legal subjects including patrol techniques and others and training all over the world. I have trained over 5000 officers worldwide in the last 16 years of training.
Publications
I am a published author in Accident Investigation from the University of North Florida, Institute of Police Technology and Management. Also have written and published on the Internet, "So You Want to be a Cop (Police Officer) in Florida?" you can Google it..
Education/Credentials
I have 2 degrees, in Criminal Justice.
Awards and Honors
Phi Theta Kappa, plus 50+ Departmental Awards over the years. FBI Directors award for assisting in a Nationwide investigation into Child pornography.
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