Talk:Detective

Request for disambiguation
pesudonyms for detectives? i.e. gum shoe Is a gumshoe a device for a detective or is it synonymous? If somebody finds out, make Gumshoe a disambiguation page between Detective and Gumshoe (video game). --SuperDude 00:35, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

UK
"In the United Kingdom & Ireland, police detectives are generally permitted to carry an issued firearm"

I think thats wrong... and it doesnt have a citation. I think it should be deleted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.36.92.18 (talk) 20:14, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Detective-career route in Europe
I just read in this article:
 * In European police systems, most detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. 

I live in the Netherlands and did not know about this. So, I checked, and found out that in the Netherlands, people can apply for a training and a job as a police detective after they had basic police school and worked in the uniform service 3-5 years.

I believe it is also in Germany possible to go from uniformed police to 'Kriminalbeamter'. This made me wonder which European countries apply what is called in this article 'European police systems'. Can somebody make this part more specific? Detectives are highly paid

Johan Lont 10:38, 17 August 2005 (UTC)
 * But what you have said does not conflict with the statement that most detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. The article doesn't say that it's impossible to transfer from uniformed service. Are detectives in the Netherlands all recruited from uniformed officers, or just some of them? You don't say. It's my understanding that the majority of French and German detectives have not previously served as uniformed officers, but it's possible that this may have changed. -- Necrothesp 17:46, 17 August 2005 (UTC)
 * I actually meant to say that working in the uniform service is a prerequisite to be accepted in a detective function. However, I based that on only one source: a 'Frequently asked questions' section on an official Police-recruitment website (www.politie-werving.nl). Regional police forces handle their own recruitment, so perhaps some are hired directly as detective.
 * I have no personal knowledge about this. Next time I meet a policeman, I'll ask (perhaps when I get a speeding ticket).
 * In Germany, each Bundesland seems to have its own rules and police laws. I did not find much information on that subject.Johan Lont 08:34, 23 August 2005 (UTC)
 * To be a detective in the UK you need to have served as a uniformed officer for several years. So thats another force.

So far, we have the Netherlands, Germany (where the Kriminalpolizei article has the following "Kripo candidates are mostly regular state police officers who have done well in police school and in their first years of street duty. After rigorous screening and examination, a small number are chosen to receive a technical education in criminology at a police college. Those completing the course then serve a three-year apprenticeship before attaining full status as an investigator. Transfer to the Kripo from federal police bodies is possible but rare." and the UK where its a pre-requisite. Upon further examination, French_police also has nothing about its own specialist Detective unit. As such the line "In European police systems, most detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. " sounds a little bogus, and unless someone comes up with some evidence I will delete it.--Jezarnold (talk) 21:57, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

gumshoe
Can someone explain the origin of the term gumshoe and put it in here? I came to this page typing in gumshoe and didn't find anything about the term other than that it redirects here. I already knew it meant detective but really have no idea why....csloat 11:00, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

"It turns out that the original "gumshoes" of the late 1800's were shoes or boots made of gum rubber, the soft-soled precursors of our modern sneakers... At the turn of the century "to gumshoe" meant to sneak around quietly as if wearing gumshoes, either in order to rob or, conversely, to catch thieves. "Gumshoe man" was originally slang for a thief, but by about 1908 "gumshoe" usually meant a police detective, as it has ever since." 

factual inaccuracy
"In a policeman's career as a uniformed officer and as a detective, a detective develops an intuitive sense of the plausibility of suspect and witness accounts. This intuition may fail at times, but usually is reliable". This is blatantly false. Numerous tests have demonstrated that trained detectives (and college students, joe schmoe, etc.) do no better than chance in determining whether a suspect is lying or telling the truth -- only very rarely do certain people (and this is regardless of employment) register a real ability to recognize liars or truth tellers (usually by a greater than average, unconscious grasp of microfacial expressions). Turn to Vrij, "detecting lies and deceit" (among other authors) for more information on the tests about police accuracy in spotting liars.mu_basho

I would agree with the above. I am a professional investigator, and the assertion made by Mu_Basho is true. In fact, some tests have shown that police officers and detectives fare worse than other test groups because they have a tendency to assume persons will lie to them. I think this statement should be changed as it is innaccurate.

Would it be possible to change or qualify the suspect statement? It certainly needs revision. It doesn't say that police are better or worse at detecting lies (this is definitely false), but rather an intuitive sense regarding the plausibility of statements. It's all rather hazy, but there are techniques that are applied in police training to do this. However, this needs to be qualified. Any ideas? Blaise Joshua 16:27, 24 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't think it even needs to be there. It doesn't need to be said and it could qualify as original research. -- Necrothesp 09:51, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. I've taken it out. Blaise Joshua 12:29, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Investigator
The redirect from "investigator" is misleading: there exist investigators in clinical trials which are doctors - not detectives. (although sometimes they might be detectives, too...)--Sixtynine 12:48, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Fictional Detectives
That section contains a ton of Law & Order kruft and it really needs cleanup. I added totally-disputed-section.  C0N6R355 talkcontribs 15:35, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

US-centric
This is an incredibly US centred article. The mention of district attorneys and the FBI without qualifying that they are US only is quite rude and inaccurate.84.92.120.61 19:36, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Selection and training section was removed
I noticed that the selection and training section was removed. Is this vandalism? --24.167.191.204 03:46, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Another term
Aren't detectives also sometimes referred to by the name "dick"? (This is a serious question)156.34.213.119 00:09, 2 October 2007

Yes though I wouldn't recomend telling any detectives that.

police detective
how can i be a police detective when i grow up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.206.235.204 (talk) 19:15, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

______________________________________________________________________________________________

You have to have two years of police work, then you "may" get promoted to detective. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Detective M. (talk • contribs) 23:51, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Your best bet is to study criminal justice in an accredited college. Most police departments in the US prefer candidates with at least a 2 year associate degree, and graduating with a criminal justice or pre-law degree will not hurt your chances for selection. After graduation, you can apply directly to attorney general, district attorney or prosecutor's offices for a strictly investigative career, or take a police test and join as a uniform member of a police department and work toward appointment as detective. Good luck, it's a great profession. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Caolan marshal (talk • contribs) 07:34, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Police Detective
I was wondering if all police department require 2 to 5 years of uniformed police work.If not does anyone know which ones?Also,do private investistigators work with the police force?I am a highschool student,and I wish to be a Police Detective,so if anyone can help please do so.Oh,and I live in the U.S.,but any information on European countries would be appreciated.--D3t3ctiv3 (talk) 15:23, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Lloyd Johnson
I'm Lloyd Johnson, I'm the best goddamn detective in this city. What the hell are you doing? I got my ass on the line! I can't tell that girl's parents what's happened to her!! I got myself, working 24/7, and I ain't got shit, I got 20 field operatives scourin' this fuckin' city, and they ain't got shit, and I got an entire police unit goin' crazier than a spastic in a magnet factory!! What the fuck!! Do your fuckin' job!! I'm Lloyd Johnson goddamnit, where's my coffee? Lloyd Johnson DEMANDS his COFFEE!!!!
 * Is this supposed to be funny? Please don't vandalize talk pages with ridiculous nonsense. Rifter0x0000 (talk) 10:51, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Exams
The article gives completely contradictory information with respect to exams. It says in the first sentence: "In most American police departments, a detective position is often appointed, rather than a position achieved by passing a written test." Which in itself doesn't quite make sense, and is unsourced besides, but just further down we have this contradiction: "Detectives obtain their position by competitive examination covering such subjects as principles, practices and procedures of investigation; interviewing and interrogation; 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; and police department methods and procedures." The second makes more sense but neither is sourced. Incidentally, re the private detective statement following: "Private detectives in the U.S. 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 and must have experience with a weapon as well." Requirements for a private investigator's license vary by state. Some states, such as Texas, require experience as a police investigator to receive a private investigator's license. Rifter0x0000 (talk) 10:51, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Expert Needed
I'm not sure how to begin but it seems to me this article could use some help from subject matter experts in law enforcement. A thorny problem for any expert here is that the scope of the article is very broad and the particulars of the situation would seem to me to vary widely by jurisdiction, i.e. requirements for detectives, whether police or private, might be wildly different in smalltown, USA, New York, New York, or London, England. The article makes a lot of unsourced and contradictory statements, like I mentioned in the previous section of this talk page. I am thinking an expert might at least be able to unsquirrel some of that and shed some much-needed light in the article. Rifter0x0000 (talk) 11:50, 1 January 2010 (UTC)


 * For example this article should expand on content such as this: A detective is considered an investigator - there are also detective specialists that are promoted to detective, hold that rank, get the pay, but remain in their non-investigatory unit - there are detective specialists for instance in the NYPD Emergency Service Unit (equiv. to a SWAT unit), and Aviation.

Investigatory detectives are also assigned to Highway Patrol to investigate accidents where someone is seriously injured and likely to die, or DOA.

Detectives start out as police officers and choose a career path that leads them to a "shield" - in the NYPD when a "White Shield" (police officer) gets transferred into an investigatory unit, such as Narcotics - s/he does 18 months of investigatory work and is then promoted to a "Gold Shield", Detective 3rd Grade. They can work their way up to eventually a 1st Grade shield, it is VERY hard to get that - this is NOT a civil servant exam promotion, but an internal department promotion. Detectives and Police Officers are still the same - no subordination above or below one another - although a detective at a crime scene has control over the scene, opposed to ordering an officer, they direct the officer to certain tasks.

Detective 3rd Grade makes a sergeants salary - 2nd makes a Lieutenants salary, 1st makes roughly a captains salary.

In the NYPD Sergeants and above may be the commanding officers of detective units overseeing the squad - usually these bosses were previously detectives who were promoted through civil exams. Source(s): Retired NYPD Highway Patrol (White Shield)

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Picture
A fictional detective (Sherlock Holmes) isn't a good representation of actual real life detectives, especially one from the Victorian era. The picture needs to be removed and/or changed 92.18.223.128 (talk) 14:07, 27 May 2011 (UTC) I will be a detective and will save you all

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Fatimah Gutierrez

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US Section is inaccurate
The section on detectives in the United States needs serious work. It presets information (much of which is incorrect) as if it is standard and accurate across the country. There is very little standardisation across the country, except for that detectives must start out working as patrol officers, something the section doesn't really communicate well. Additionally, a degree in Criminal Justice specifically isn't required, or even really recommended by most departments. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.162.6.173 (talk) 13:37, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

"🕵️" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect 🕵️. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Zerach (talk) 20:26, 10 October 2019 (UTC)

"JUNIOR DETECTIVE" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect JUNIOR DETECTIVE. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. -- Tavix ( talk ) 21:12, 11 October 2019 (UTC)

Profession?
In some jurisdictions being a police detective requires more than three years of training (England and Wales) whilst in certain Asian countries it just requires secondary education and less than a year of training.

When writing in general should we classify it as a profession? — Preceding unsigned comment added by AverroesII (talk • contribs) 13:36, 2 December 2021 (UTC)