Learn About Homicide Detective Career Training Homicide detectives are plainclothes police investigators who gather facts and collect evidence about murders committed in their jurisdiction. They conduct interviews, examine records, observe the activities of suspects, and participate in raids or arrests. They work on murder cases until a suspect is arrested and convicted, or until the investigation is dropped and becomes a "cold case."
 Getting Started on a Homicide Detective Career If you want to become a homicide detective, you must first begin as a police officer, working for at least three years on patrol. During that time, you'll need to get top marks for your work and have your commanding officer put in a request for you to join the homicide division. The reports you write should be clear and concise, and your analytical skills must set you apart from other police officers. When you're up for promotion, you'll normally first take a competitive promotional exam. If you pass, you can then choose to become either a sergeant and manage other patrol officers, or to become a detective and do investigative work. A Day in the Life of a Homicide Detective The work of homicide detectives can vary quite a bit from day to day. When murders are committed, detectives go to the scene of the crime, talk with witnesses and check for evidence. The sooner they act on fresh information, the better their chances of solving a case. As a homicide detective, you must pay attention to the smallest details. Clues that others miss are the ones that can make or break a case, so it is your job to find them. When a body is found right away, there are many clues to be gathered. Other times, it's long after a murder that a body is found, and there are fewer clues to go on. In this situation, it's only with more modern DNA tests that a homicide detective may be able to crack a case. When not actively at the scene of a crime, homicide detectives review case files to look for clues or leads, or analyze the previous day's notes. Homicide reports always need to be clear and accurate, and each lead needs to be exhausted if a homicide detective wants to be successful. But homicide detectives can't be experts in all areas. They need to build relationships with colleagues with different areas of expertise. Depending on the case, homicide detectives may consult with medical examiners, forensic anthropologists, entomologists or ballistics experts, among others. Homicide Detective Education A successful homicide detective career is built on a solid foundation of the right kind of training and education. While police officers only need a high school education to begin their career, most who aspire to the higher ranks in the police department have a college education. A degree in criminal justice will give you a great background for a homicide detective career and the quickest route to promotion. Police agencies will sometimes pay tuition for officers to get degrees in criminal justice, police science, administration of justice or public administration. They may also pay higher salaries for those who earn work-related degrees. Many colleges and universities offer programs in criminal justice or criminal justice administration. Homicide Detective Career Salary and Statistics According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, police detectives earned a median salary of $58,260 in 2006 (the latest year for which salary information is available). But police detectives can make between $77,000 and $105,000 per year depending on where they work. Payscale.com states that the cities with the highest detective salaries are Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Dallas and San Antonio. The states with the highest salaries for police detectives are New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Florida, Texas and Virginia. The Demands and Rewards of a Homicide Detective Career Homicide detectives have many stories to tell, but their stories don't always portray the painstaking work needed to solve the ultimate puzzle. It's only with the proper training, years of on-the-job experience, and the humility and wisdom to learn from your mistakes that you'll develop an intuition and a system that works for you. As demanding as the job may be, many who work in homicide couldn't imagine doing anything else.  Related Articles: Sources: ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000243b.pdf; authorsden.com; blog.sacpd.org/?p=440; ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/overview.htm Criminal Justice Home
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Did You Know?- The police radio code for homicide is 187.
- After falling rapidly in the mid to late 1990s, the number of homicides began increasing in 1999, but now has fallen to levels below those experienced in the early 1970s.
- In the U.S., there were 7,020 homicides in 1950; 9,110 in 1960; 16,000 in 1970; 23,040 in 1980; 23,438 in 1990, 15,586 in 2000; and 16,692 in 2005.
- The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty has declined since the early 1970's.
- A homicide unit is made up of a lieutenant, sergeants (7, plus or minus) and homicide detectives (28, plus or minus). Depending on its needs, a precinct will have a number of "hot" homicide teams with a sergeant and his or her detectives, and one "cold case" team.
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