Police Detective Vs Police Officer
First, lets get some of the basics squared away and explain how a police detective differs from a police officer. Its true that some duties and skills may overlap between the two roles, but they are different positions that require different levels of experience and expertise.
Lets use a random homicide as an example. Police patrol officers are the men and women called first to the scene of the crime. They assess the overall situation, gather evidence, protect the scene from contamination and work to identify victims, witnesses and potential suspects. In short, the work done by the officers lays the groundwork for a successful investigation, says Eileen Carlin, a 20-year law enforcement veteran and current state program coordinator for the Rasmussen College School of Justice Studies.
Police detectives are then called to the scene. They collect and evaluate evidence, interview witnesses, identify and question potential suspects, obtain arrest warrants and close cases. Essentially, detectives move a step beyond just getting a crime scene under control and identifying the basic facts of the situation. They need strong reasoning, personal communication and investigative skills to build strong cases against the people they eventually charge with a crime.
Ensure A Career As A Police Officer Is Right For You
As with any job, its important to take a hard look at what the position requires to determine whether the career path is really right for you. Not only is it important to consider the career in general, its also important to look at the education required, the on-the-job intensity that police officers might experience on a day-to-day basis, and other factors. Its also a good idea to consider advancement if you have an eye toward higher-level administrative or federal work, is becoming a police officer the best stepping stone? Here are some questions to ask before diving into training to become a police officer.
- Do I have the physical strength to restrain dangerous individuals or save innocent civilians?
- Can I effectively read peoples emotions and feelings, in particular when it comes to assessing an individuals credibility and danger to others?
- Can I make difficult decisions that often have no ideal outcomes?
- Am I comfortable taking on a leadership role, whether it be as a community resource or point of assurance during a crisis?
- Am I good at communicating with others, especially in high stress situations?
If you answered yes to these questions, you may be an excellent fit for a police officer career.
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Proof of work eligibility
- One of Canadian Passport, Study or Work permit, Canadian Birth Certificate, Permanent Resident or Citizenship Card. Scans and photocopies are not permitted.
Background screening
- Criminal history screen through third party vendors ISB and Triton. Screening for those delivering by car will also include driving history check. Once your documents are approved you will receive an email to begin your background screening. Status update: Background screen processing may be experiencing delays
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New Zealand Police Dive Squad
Around two to six divers are called to each job which can last from several hours to several days.
The squad spends most of its time on evidential searches. Sometimes these searches involve technically difficult underwater-video work which is later used as evidence.
Divers often video bodies in the sea or river to give doctors at autopsies an accurate view of how the body was found.
Videos also enable the officer in charge of a case to see exactly what the diver sees before anything is brought to the surface. The squad focuses on recovery rather than rescue.
The Police National Dive Squad has limited places and is made up of existing police officers who have regular duties in addition to their dive work and training.
Effects Of Diving On Health
The hazards of a diving career include a number of specific acute and chronic medical conditions, such as decompression illness and bone necrosis , and some that are being investigated as possibly being associated with diving. Compliance with accepted diving procedures reduces these to a small risk. However these may occur even if you do comply.
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How To Become Qualified As A Working Diver In Great Britain
In order to become a working diver in Gt Britain you must obtain a qualification approved by HSE that is relevant to and sufficient for the work to be undertaken.
Unless you already hold one of the approved qualifications, you will need to have your diving competence assessed by an organisation recognised by HSE. This may include training. Please check the following webpage for a list of diver competence assessment organisations – For costs of training courses please contact the organisations direct.
Diving is physically and mentally demanding. Some potential divers drop out of the training because they find they are not suited to working underwater. Good health is absolutely essential. At the earliest possible stage you should complete an initial medical questionnaire to see if there is anything in your medical history that might preclude you from a career in diving. Please see section below “Are you medically fit?”
Ready To Start Working Your Way To A Police Detective Badge
Your dream police detective career wont happen overnight, but you likely didnt expect it to. Detectives do some seriously crucial work in society. They need to be well trained and good at solving crimes. Now that you know how to become a police detective, youre a little closer to cracking some of those cases yourself!
You know whatll be expected of you, you understand youll need extra training and youre ready to wait until a department needs your skills as a detective. If youre ready to tackle the first step toward becoming a police detectiveeducation, then learn more about Rasmussen Colleges Criminal Justice degree programs and how they can help make you a more well-rounded candidate for law enforcement positions.
*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, . EDITORS NOTE: This article was originally published in 2015. It has since been updated. Insights from Carlin remain from the original article.
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Employment Opportunities For A Diver
Commercial divers are employed on contracts and work both interstate and overseas. Most find work as onshore construction divers or with the offshore oil and gas industry, state or territory fisheries departments, water authorities, fish farms or civil engineering firms. Employers of construction divers prefer applicants with a metals and engineering trade background . Although a trade is not essential, divers are expected to be proficient both manually and with tools. In the recreational diving field, opportunities are limited to people holding an instructor or divemaster qualification. Recreational diving instructors in metropolitan centres are busy during summer and may work interstate or overseas during other seasons. Most work outside of the busiest times is on a part-time or casual basis. Seafood-related work is also often seasonal. Demand for recreational divers in Australia is largely affected by tourism activity, particularly the number of people seeking diving instruction. Demand for offshore construction divers is strongly linked to the level of offshore oil and gas exploration.After retiring from active diving, divers often move to other positions in the industry, such as supervising, dive shop work or operating decompression and recompression chambers.
How Long Does It Take To Become A Police Officer
When choosing to embark on any career, its certainly helpful to know how long the educational process will take. For those wanting to work as a police officer, there is no clear-cut answer to the question of how long training and education will take. It really depends on your long-term career goals, as well as which path you choose to get there. Here are some of the most common timelines you might encounter when looking at becoming a police officer.
Nowthat you have a rough idea of how long each educational pathwayusually takes before being able to serve as a law enforcementofficer, lets talk about what to expect from each specific path.
Step 2
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Impress At Your Police Officer Interview
Many hopeful applicants will be offered an interview during the hiring process. This is an opportunity to get to know you on a personal level, and sometimes that can be enough to land you that coveted job. Here are some questions you might encounter during that interview:
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Get Accepted & Paying Your Way
Admission requirements can vary widely depending on the type of program and institution offering it. Another consideration is how to pay for this education and training. During your application process, keep the following pointers in the back of your mind to help you get into the best program to meet your needs and goals as a future police officer.
Entrance requirements
Entry into various degree programs in law enforcement will all require some general points, such as completing an application, paying an application fee and presenting proof of high school graduation.
The associate degree program might require:
- A personal statement
- Transcripts from any other college courses taken
The bachelors degree might require additional information:
- Transcripts from associate degree work
- Completion of certain prerequisites
- A resume of related experience
Application process & fees
Paying for Your Program
How much a training or educational program costs depends greatly upon the degree level you want to obtain. For instance, obtaining an associate degree will cost much less than a bachelors degree will. To learn more about financial aid options and how those will affect your financial bottom line, visit our online financial aid handbook:
Step 4
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What Lies Beneath: How To Set Up A Police Dive Unit
Accidents, crime, and terrorism dont stop at the waters edge. Vehicles go off the road and people fall off docks. Criminals hide evidence, stolen cars, illegal drugs, weapons, and even victims under the water.
As a result, many agencies near the water have marine units with dive or underwater search and recovery teams. In large cities and ports, the divers may be full-time or marine unit officers who work under the authority of municipal, county, state, or federal agencies, often teamed with fire, rescue, and emergency medical services.
In smaller departments, dive teams are usually staffed by civilians or volunteer officers from other units, or are joint operations in their state or county. In addition to sharing personnel and resources with other agencies and emergency responders, these teams often work together to provide regional service.
Collaborative Missions and Volunteer Divers
Dive Unit Operations
- ROV operations
- Ice operations
One example of a county-wide joint operation is the Pierce County Metro Dive Team of Tacoma, Washington. A collaborative operation comprising members of the Pierce County Sheriffs Department, the Tacoma Police Department, and the nearby Lakewood Police Department, all of the divers serve on a voluntary basis as an extra duty assignment.
Black, Cold Water Conditions
Training Resources
What It Takes
Making the Case for a Team
Funding Sources
A Critical Year Round Detail
Faye Elkins
Class B C E And F Road Test
The road test will test the knowledge and skills required to safely operate a commercial vehicle. It will include a daily vehicle inspection test where you will be required to:
- inspect six randomly generated items from the schedule
- demonstrate and describe how each item should be inspected
- explain any potential defect
- describe what actions you would take upon identifying the defect
There will also be an in-cab check portion of the test where you must:
- point to or touch all items listed
- demonstrate and describe how each item should be inspected
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Training Institutions For Police Officers
Now that you know what options there are for becoming a police officer, its important to know where they are offered. There are many schools that exist to help you move into the law enforcement career of your choice. Here are the options:
Vocational/trade schools
These post-high school institutions focus their programs and curriculums on skill-oriented or hands-on training. This training can come in the form of what effectively amounts to an in-house police academy. Vocational and trade schools can provide the fastest way to obtain the training necessary to become a police officer and allow students to receive police academy training without attending the official police academy. Its also fairly affordable compared to earning a college degree. Keep in mind that graduation doesnt guarantee a job in law enforcement and may not result in an academic credential that provides opportunities for professional advancement.
Best for? Those confident in obtaining a job offer after graduation and want to serve as a police officer as quickly as possible.
Community colleges
Best for? Students who would like to earn a college degree along with their law enforcement training.
Military
Best for? Those who love serving their country or community will benefit from the rewarding experience that can come from military service.
Four-year schools
Best for? Aspiring police officers who want an extra way to stand out from the pack of applicants, as well as those looking for federal work.
Dive Team Training And Certification
Qualifications:
- Must be a member and at least a Trooper First Class
- Successful completion of the five-week New Diver Course
- Must obtain a medical examination annually to ensure fitness to perform Dive Team duties
- Successful completion of the annual Padi Dive Master Water Skills Test
- Successful completion of the annual Dive Team Swim test
Training:
- All divers must complete the five-week MSHP New Diver Course. All divers are Padi certified in the following courses: Open Water Diver,Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Master Diver, Five additional specialty diver courses, and Oxygen Provider for diving emergencies.
- All divers are required to complete Swift Water Rescue I and Ice diving training.
- 7 divers are Padi Tec65 Trimix certified to dive deeper depths for longer periods of time.
- Divers are assigned to 19 training days and 12 practice dives annually.
- Annual training courses completed include: panic proofing, “blacked out” entrapment scenarios, out of air scenarios, gas blending,underwater navigation, search pattern validations, lift operations, ice diving, heavy current diving in zero visibility, and administering the peer support program, DEFENSE.
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Apply To Become A Police Officer
Working as a police officer is a popular job, so it makes sense that each job opening has more than a few applicants. In fact, in some areas of the country, becoming a police officer can be a highly competitive process, with hundreds of qualified applicants vying for only a handful of positions. Given this, its very important to learn how to stand out from the pack of hopefuls and get the attention of those who call the shots when hiring time rolls around. The following resources can help you with everything from cleaning up your resume to understanding how to interview for the job you really want.
Step 7
Duties & Tasks Of A Diver
Divers:
- Inspect diving equipment before diving
- Build, check and repair underwater constructions such as harbour wall foundations, ship hulls, jetties, piers and pipelines, sometimes using cutting or welding equipment
- Use cables, floatation gear or ropes to bring underwater objects to the surface
- Carry out underwater exploration
- Carry out underwater search and rescue operations to recover bodies, stolen goods and other property
- Build and look after fish farms
- Supervise and teach others to dive
- Operate cameras for underwater filming
- Place recording instruments underwater
- Operate decompression and recompression chambers.
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Padi Underwater Crime Scene Investigator Course With Pro Scuba Center
In this course you will learn to look at every public safety dive as a potential crime scene until proven otherwise. Your approach to every dive will be the same with regards to scene assessment, appropriate dive procedures, and documentation. Safety and preservation of the scene and any recovered objects will become your highest priority. Consistently following these procedures will set you apart as a true professional in the field of Public Safety Diving.
The Fun Part
Knowing the services you will be able to provide exceed that of many other Public Safety Divers. Having the knowledge, skills and ability to truly investigate an underwater crime scene with confidence and know you are providing the best service possible. Helping provide the evidence that will help convict a criminal is one of the best feelings in the world!
What You Learn
- Introduction and familiarization with all aspects of land and underwater crime scene investigations
- Who is an Underwater Crime Scene Investigator and why they are needed
- Scene size-up, scene control and preservation, interaction and coordination with other agencies, witness interview techniques, media interactions, review search techniques on land and in the water, evidence protection and chain of custody, and report writing
- An understanding of the difference between a search & recovery dive team and an underwater investigative team
Prerequisites
To enroll in the PADI Underwater Crime Scene Investigator course, you must be: