Do police detectives have to have partners?

[MaryRobinette]

The simple question is 'Do police detectives have to have partners?' If the answer is yes, the the follow up is, "For their physical safety or for more effective investigation?"

Now, here's the background to why I'm asking. I'm writing a near-future science-fiction murder mystery and am have an AI that serves as a virtual partner for every detective in the department. Can the AI realistically take the place of a flesh and blood partner?

Think of it like the having the world's best dispatcher dedicated only to you (but also aware of what's happening with every other officer on their beat). You have a question, the AI can answer it. It's intuitive, can make good deductions, can hear and see what you see. And has a sense of humor.

I have tried researching this novel, and think I have avoided all of the problems in the thread on mistakes in movies. I'm sure I've made others, but would really appreciate any light you can shed on this little dilemna.

Thanks!

[SeVere]

Many Detectives do not have partners, however, depending on what the detective needs to do he/she will bring back-up i.e. another detective or team.

A partner implys regularly working and being assigned together and going out to handle the same jobs.

An in-custody job where patrol has made an arrest and needs detective follow-up does not always require two people.

Many detectives only want a partner if they get along well because if the relationship is only "hi and bye," they would just as soon ask for someone to go out with them if they need back-up for an interview, arrest, etc. rather than have someone ride with them all day long.

[Group9]

The Hollywood depiction of the one detective who doesn't want to work with anyone is not really a myth. At least, not in my agency. We have several agents who like working alone, only bringing along another agent in situations where our policy requires it, usually just taking along whoever happens to be available.

Some of them are perfectionists who just don't trust anyone else to do as good a job on their investigation as they themselves will do. Others are just plain anti-social, I suspect.

I on the other hand, always had a partner and preferred doing just about everything in an investigation jointly with him or her. It gives you somebody to bounce ideas and theories off of, if nothing else. And, in interrogations, having a regular partner allows you and the other person to work out a regular routine for more effecive questioning, and more confessions.

[MaryRobinette]

Oh, thank you so much. I've tried writing a partner in and he was just getting in the way. May I ask what circumstances would prompt someone to want back up for an interview? I can guess at the ones involving possible suspects, but... actually, let me just ask a broader question rather than pestering you folks with specifics. Is there a good primary source for accurate information about being a detective? I can find titles, but I can't judge accuracy.

Thanks again.

[Group9]

One of the most accurate books I have read is Homicide
by DAVID SIMON. It is about a year or so in the lives of several Baltimore Homicide detectives. They made a TV series out of it.

I used to work with one of the detectives it follows, Tom Peligrini, after he was transferred from homicide to narcotics. It is about as good a depiction of how a big northeastern city detective unit works as there is.

[vadep]

I do not work with a partner....

Occasionally I will have another detective come with me on an interview, but it's usually because of officer saftey reasons.

[MaryRobinette]

Thanks for these responses. I'll order a copy of "Homicide". It occurs to me that the reason movie detectives have partners is for the banter and so we can hear them think.

[retdetsgt]

Only our homicide detectives are partnered up. That's because there is so much work to do on a homicide, it would be tough for one person. On my dept., partners are permanent and take turns being the "primary" detective on cases.

[rdp]

I like doing things myself even though someone is usually with me.

It is my case and too many cooks ruin the meal.

Safety and policy are the two that dictate when another officer must be present.