Questions about becoming a criminal investigator..?

[bplumer08]

I'm looking into becoming a criminal investigator, I plan on going to school to earn my bachelor's in criminal justice. But is this really a realistic career? I searched job openings in my area for criminal investigation just to see what hours were offered and what the pay was like around here, and there is NOTHING listed for it, I even searched other states near by and saw nothing. So is this one of those careers that is close to impossible to get a position in? I'm confused and really hope that thats not the case. If so, is there any other career in the filed that does similar work to criminal investigation? My DREAM job is to become a homocide detective, but I don't know much about the process of becoming one, and I would prefer to not be a street cop first but I'm pretty sure thats the required. Any info at all would be extremely appriciated!! Thanks!!!

[Citicop]

You don't see any openings for it because NO ONE just "becomes" a criminal investigator.

You apply at a police department, get hired, attend the academy, go through field training, and spend 3-5 years (minimum) in patrol learning the basics of law enforcement.

After all that, if a detective or investigator position comes open in your department, then you can put in for it and maybe you get selected.

Usually, a position in homicide requires a few years investigating other crimes first to teach you the basics of investigation.

There is no guarantee that you will ever make one of those spots. If you don't want to work in patrol, then Law Enforcement may not be for you. You don't want to wind up miserable for 20 years because you didn't get the investigative spot you wanted.

The only way to be assured of an investigative job right off the bat is to apply and get hired in a Federal Agency.

As a side note, a Criminal Justice Degree is not necessary to get hired into Law Enforcement. Any degree is just as good as any other. If you are really not interested in anything else, CJ is a fine major. But Chemistry, Literature, Biology, Art History, or Political Science are all just as good as far as a police department is concerned.

-Citicop.

[Cat_Doc]

My DREAM job is to become a homocide detective, but I don't know much about the process of becoming one, and I would prefer to not be a street cop first but I'm pretty sure thats the required.

You will have to start out as a street cop unless you go directly into a federal investigator position. And, if you desire to become a homicide detective, you should try to spell the title correctly.

[bplumer08]

You will have to start out as a street cop unless you go directly into a federal investigator position. And, if you desire to become a homicide detective, you should try to spell the title correctly.

It was a typo, but thanks for pointing it out anyways.

[Kimble]

My DREAM job is to become a homocide detective, but I don't know much about the process of becoming one, and I would prefer to not be a street cop first but I'm pretty sure thats the required.

As already posted, you're kidding yourself if you think you can become a detective/criminal investigator without first working as a street cop (granted federal agents aren't always street cops before becoming feds, but many are, and most others come form other professions such as the military, intelligence, business, etc.).

There's a reason for this. Let's say a department decides to give you a job as a homicide detective with only a bachelors degree in criminal justice, and no other experience as a cop. Day one, you get assigned your first case. Where do you start? Do you think the police academy will train you to be a homicide detective (if so, think again)? You think your bachelor's degree will have you seasoned to investigate someone's death? How are you going to start your interviews? How are you going to identify evidence (and what are you going to do with it once you've identified it)? What if you need help on the scene, how will you properly radio to other officers for back-up? How will you tell them where you are, seeing as how you haven't worked the streets and may not have a physical address for where you are? How will you deal with the victim's family, who will likely want to know about your investigation because this is THEIR loved one who's dead?

Being a criminal investigator isn't a job you can just learn in a classroom, and honestly, your CJ degree doesn't even qualify you to be a street cop (you'll still have to attend and graduate a police academy like those without a CJ degree). You have to be on the streets, learning how to talk to people (all sorts of people, rich and poor, criminal and law-abiding, and even people who may want to kill you). If you seriously don't want to start a law enforcement career as a patrol cop - learning how to do this job right from the ground up - then you're not serious enough about wanting to be a criminal investigator. Not every street cop stays on the streets their entire career, but they all start there for a very good, logical reason.

[bplumer08]

I'm looking into becoming a criminal investigator, I plan on going to school to earn my bachelor's in criminal justice. But is this really a realistic career? I searched job openings in my area for criminal investigation just to see what hours were offered and what the pay was like around here, and there is NOTHING listed for it, I even searched other states near by and saw nothing. So is this one of those careers that is close to impossible to get a position in? I'm confused and really hope that thats not the case. If so, is there any other career in the filed that does similar work to criminal investigation? My DREAM job is to become a homocide detective, but I don't know much about the process of becoming one, and I would prefer to not be a street cop first but I'm pretty sure thats the required. Any info at all would be extremely appriciated!! Thanks!!!

Seems like I got some wrong information on the whole crminal investigation deal. It sucks, but thanks for the reality check! I [I]would be a cop, I just as a 5ft 110lb female am a little intimidated by the idea of being on the "streets" by myself. Call me a wuss, I don't care. I like the whole idea of being behind the scenes and working with the criminal once their already under custody and interviewing and basically just investigating the case and figuring out the crime. I know I could be really good at it, I've been fasinated with forensics since I was a child. But, oh well. :(

I did some more research and came across a crime scene analyst. Again, I don't know much about the profession. Is it the same as a crime scene investigator? If someone could give me some info on either of the two it would be greatly appriciated.

[Cat_Doc]

Yep, you seem more suited for a crime scene technician. But, unlike the fakey-wakey CSI show, don't get caught by a homicide detective attempting to interview the suspect behind the scenes if you enjoy breathing and pain free body parts!

(The physical harm and death implications are a bit of an exaggeration...you'd probably just be terminated from employment.)

[Kimble]

I don't think you're a wuss anymore than anyone else who's not interested in being a cop, but you got to face the fact that being a detective IS being a cop. It's not like on TV, you are a cop, you carry a gun, make arrests, possibly get into fights with people who don't want to be arrested, etc. Same dangers as being a street cop, only you don't wear a uniform and conduct follow-up investigations on the initial reports taken by patrol officers.

To address your other questions:

I did some more research and came across a crime scene analyst. Again, I don't know much about the profession. Is it the same as a crime scene investigator? If someone could give me some info on either of the two it would be greatly appriciated.

Understand that the TV "crime scene investigator" doesn't exist in real life for the most part. The show makes three separate jobs in the real world into one job on the show (for entertainment sake): detective, evidence technician, and forensic scientist. These are not the same job. Evidence technicians collect the evidence on scene (this may be a detective, but in some departments they are non-sworn civilian positions), detectives interview suspects/witnesses and carry out enforcement actions, and forensic scientists work in a lab and analyze evidence. Here some more details on these positions, and how they work in the real world (as opposed to what you may be used to on TV): http://www.realpolice.net/forums/cri...-show-csi.html

Hope this helps.

[pabgyanghao]

You don't see any openings for it because NO ONE just "becomes" a criminal investigator.