Expert: Dick Rogers - 8/26/2005

Question
Hello there my biggest dream in a career is to become a homicide investigator what steps to i need to take to put myself in the right direction? I am currently a young married at home mother of 2 and really want this badly just not sure where to start where to get training ect. Any info would be very greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer
Britanny, the only way to become a good homicide investigator is to become a police officer and learn the "streets" and learn the "people". Ideally, one needs the background of about 15 years police experience and some investigative experience, i.e., burglary detective, robbery, etc.  You have to have abundant knowledge of evidence rules, case law, court procedure and the myriad of things that make a good police officer.  There are no shortcuts...start looking for a good, rather large department (more interesting cases) and get ready to apply.  Hope this is of some benefit.