Detective

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A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. Private detectives usually operate commercially and are licensed. They may be known as private investigators (P.I.s or "private eyes"). Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records.

Detective as a designator of rank or status

In some police departments, primarily in North America, Detective can be the lowest rank among investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below Sergeant). Some departments have distinct levels of detectives, depending on their experiences and skills. New York City Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, for example, both have three grades. Most larger police departments have rank structures for their investigators that parallel the "street" police, such as Detective Sergeant and Detective Lieutenant.

In the British police, "Detective" is used as a prefix before all ranks in the Criminal Investigation Department and Special Branch from Constable to Chief Superintendent. Detective Constables do not outrank uniformed Constables, however. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Detective Constables were usually referred to simply as "Detective", but this is no longer the case. Many Commonwealth countries also use the prefix.

Detectives and their work

Becoming a detective

In most American police departments, a candidate for detective must have served as a uniformed officer for a period of one to five years before becoming qualified for the position. Prospective British police detectives must have completed at least two years as a uniformed officer before applying to join the Criminal Investigation Department. In European police systems, most detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. In fact, many European police experts cannot understand why British, Irish, American and Commonwealth police forces insist on recruiting their detectives from the ranks of uniformed officers, arguing that they do a completely different job and therefore require completely different training, qualifications, qualities and abilities. The opposing argument is that without previous service as a uniformed patrol officer a detective cannot have a great enough command of standard police procedures and problems and will find it difficult to work with uniformed colleagues.

In addition, in some US police departments, policies exist that limit the term that an officer may serve continuously as a detective, and mandate that detectives must regularly return to patrol duties for a minimum period of time. This is based upon a perception that the most important and essential police work is accomplished on patrol, and that the skills, experience and familiarity with their beats that patrol officers maintain are essential for detectives to maintain as well. Investigations, by contrast, often take weeks or months to complete, during which time detectives may spend much of their time away from the streets. In this thinking, rotating officers also promotes cross-training in a wider variety of skills, producing both better detectives and uniformed officers. Such policies also serve to prevent "cliques" within detective bureaus that can contribute to corruption or other unethical behavior.

Detectives obtain their position by competitive examination, covering such subjects as:

Principles, practices and procedures of investigations
Principles, practices and procedures of interviewing and interrogation
Local criminal law and procedures
Applicable law governing arrests, search and seizures, warrants and evidence
Police department records and reports
Principles, practices and objectives of courtroom testimony
Police department methods and procedures

Private detectives are licensed by the state in which they live after passing a competitive examination and a criminal background check. Some states, such as Maryland, require a period of classroom training as well.

Organization of detectives

The detective branch in most larger police agencies is organized into several squads or departments, each of which specializes in investigation into a particular type of crime or a particular type of undercover operation, which may include:

Techniques of detectives

Street work

Detectives have a wide variety of techniques available in conducting investigations. However, the majority of cases are solved by the interrogation of suspects and witnesses, which takes time. Besides interrogations, detectives may rely on a network of informants they have cultivated over the years. Informants often have connections with persons a detective would not be able to approach formally.

In criminal investigations, once a detective has a suspect or suspects in mind, the next step is to produce evidence that will stand up in a court of law. The best way is to obtain a confession from the suspect, usually in exchange for a plea bargain for a lesser sentence. A detective may lie or otherwise mislead and may psychologically pressure a suspect into confessing, though in the United States suspects may invoke their Miranda rights.

Forensic evidence

Physical forensic evidence in an investigation may provide leads to closing a case.

Examples of physical evidence can be, but are not limited to:

Fingerprinting of objects persons have touched
DNA analysis
Luminol to detect blood stains that have been washed
Bloodstain pattern analysis
Footprints or tire tracks
Chemical testing for the presence of narcotics or expended gun propellant
The exact position of objects at the scene of an investigation

Many major police departments in a city, county, or state, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, maintain their own forensic laboratories.

Records investigation

Detectives may use public and private records to provide background information on a subject. These include:

Fingerprint records. In the United States, the FBI maintains records of people who have committed felonies and some misdemeanors, all persons who have applied for a Federal security clearance, and all persons who have served in the U.S. armed forces
Records of criminal arrests and convictions
Photographs or mug shots, of persons arrested
Motor vehicle records
Credit card records and bank statements
Hotel registration cards
Credit reports
Answer machine messages

Court testimony

Unless a plea bargain forestalls the need for a trial, detectives must testify in court about their investigation. They must seem reliable and credible to a jury, and must not give the impression of personal vindictiveness or cruelty. A detective's background often comes into question in courtroom testimony. A famous example came in the murder trial of O. J. Simpson, when Detective Mark Fuhrman of the Los Angeles Police Department testified for the prosecution. Attorney F. Lee Bailey first asked Fuhrman if he had ever used the "n-word" (see Nigger) Fuhrman denied this. In court, Bailey produced taped interviews with Fuhrman using this offensive word.

Famous fictional detectives

The detective story has been a popular genre in books, radio, television, and movies since the early 19th century. In many police drama series, detectives are depicted as being something of an elite, with most uniformed police officers deferring to them. Most famous fictional government detectives work for local or regional agencies.

Element of detective work are also featured in famous "federal" characters, such as Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and Ian Fleming's James Bond. (The first two Bond film adaptations featured more investigative work than their successors.)

Police detectives

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles in the television series Midsomer Murders
Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle, played by Michael Kitchen in the television series Foyle's War
Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd, played by Trevor Eve in the television series Waking the Dead
Detective Frank Pembleton, played by Andre Braugher in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street
Detective Lennie Briscoe, played by Jerry Orbach in the television series Law & Order
Detective Andy Sipowicz, played by Dennis Franz in the television series NYPD Blue
Detective Vic Mackey, played by Michael Chiklis in the television series "The Shield"
Sergeant Joe Friday, portrayed by Jack Webb and later by Ed O'Neill in the television series Dragnet
Lieutenant Columbo, played by Peter Falk in the television series Columbo (and also some television movies)
Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, played by Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect.
Detective Chief Inspector Morse, in the novels of Colin Dexter and played by John Thaw in Inspector Morse.
Detective Sonny Crockett, played by Don Johnson, and Detective Ricardo Tubbs, played by Philip Michael Thomas, in the television series "Miami Vice"
Detective Inspector Jack Regan, also played by John Thaw, and Detective Sergeant George Carter, played by Dennis Waterman, in the television series The Sweeney.
Thompson and Thomson, from the comic The Adventures of Tintin, created by Hergé
Inspector Gadget
Inspector Koichi Zenigata, from the anime and manga series Lupin III, created by Monkey Punch
Detective Harvey Bullock from the comic book series Batman and cartoon series Batman: The Animated Series
Plainclothesman Elijah Baley from Isaac Asimov's Robot series.
Detective Dick Gumshoe from the Gyakuten Saiban series.
Detective Max Payne from the self-titled video game series and soon-to-be movie.

Private detectives

Jake 'J.J' Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown
Adrian Monk, played by Tony Shalhoub on Monk.
Auguste Dupin, created by Edgar Allan Poe
Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, both created by Agatha Christie
Jim Rockford, created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell, and portrayed by James Garner in the television series The Rockford Files
Thomas Sullivan Magnum, played by Tom Selleck in the television series Magnum P.I.
Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler
Sam Spade, created by Dashiell Hammett and portrayed on film by Humphrey Bogart
Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle
Simon Templar, the book, movie and TV character created by Leslie Charteris
Shawn Spencer, played by James Roday on Psych.

See Detective fiction and Crime fiction for more details.

Nancy Drew