Law Enforcement Investigations Reports: One Of The Important Duties Of A Criminal Investigator

By Melissa Ross


If you are looking for an interesting career, and love television crime shows, you might consider becoming a criminal investigator. You probably will not get rich, but you probably will not be bored either. You will have a job helping to put away bad guys and getting justice for victims. You could decide to work locally or do investigations on a national scale. There are any number of requirements for working in this field, but none are more important than attention to detail, the sort of detail that goes into the daily enforcement investigations reports.

It is the investigator's job to collect evidence and analyze it in order to determine what the methods and motives are behind a crime. They develop lists of likely suspects and determine what the relationships are between victims and perpetrators. Many investigators become specialists in particular crimes. They may exclusively handle homicides, narcotics, or gang related activities for example.

This is not always a nine to five job. Crimes occur at all hours of the day and night. An investigator may have to leave at a moment's notice when he gets a call to come to a crime scene. Typically investigators are assigned to one case at a time. They work the case until it is solved or dropped. While they are working a case, they are required to write a daily report outlining the activities that took place in regard to the ongoing investigation.

Not all investigators work locally. There are many involved in trying to solve cases in the national missing persons database. These investigators gather information from medical examiners and coroners and try to match it with information found in the database.

Cold cases are another area of the investigative process that always needs attention. Cold cases are old crimes that have never been solved. With today's technology, it is possible for investigators to use DNA to go back and try and tie a suspect to one of these crimes.

You will have to prepare before you can even apply for a job as an investigator. You must join a police force first. You can't do that until you are at least twenty-one and have graduated from high school. If you have an interest in working at the federal government level, you must first obtain a four year college degree.

You must take police training at a recognized academy. In order to get into an accredited academy, you have to pass a number of physical and written tests. There is a rigorous background test you must pass. You will receive extensive firearms training. After you graduate from the academy you can apply to join a police force. After several years, you will be allowed to apply for the job of investigator.

Criminal investigation is a growing field. It has increased about ten percent in the last ten years. Individuals with college degrees, military experience, and proficiency in a language in addition to English are the most sought after. Salaries are in the $63,000 to $100,000 range.




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