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Thread: Advice for new detectives?

  1. #21
    Revolvers Revolvers 1911s Stephanie B's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wondering Beard View Post
    This got my attention.

    I have never been LEO much less a detective, and outside of this forum I don't do social media, so my question is entirely out of ignorance: Why would a detective need to be good at social media and in which way? I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that it's not just about reading social media posts.

    If this question gets into specialized material that is not appropriate for a public forum, don't hesitate to remove my post. :-)
    Not a cop, but I did all sides of child neglect cases (defense, GAL, prosecution) for a bit. I can't tell you the number of times a parent was on the stand, saying that they don't drink anymore, don't party, don't do drugs. A deputy juvenile officer would be there, going on Facebook, to check their FB page and they'd find posts contradicting their testimony.

    People put a lot of stupid shit on Facebook and similar sites.
    If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.

  2. #22
    Gray Hobbyist Wondering Beard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BehindBlueI's View Post
    Because people put their whole lives on social media, including the crimes they commit. Facebook post of Johnny Mope wearing the same clothes and flashing the same gun as seen in surveillance video of the robbery. Johnny posting "I hit a lick" and fanning out a few hundred books about 30 minutes after the robbery. Using Facebook marketplace, Let Go, etc. to arrange for sales that are actually robbery setups. Gang affiliations. Who knows who, who's threatening who, and then who gets shot. Using the phone number they used on a social media sight to call in a delivery and rob the driver. "Those dumb ass cops don't know Man-Man shot Ray-Ray" type posts. Using Facebook messenger to coordinate a drive-by shooting. Using social media to arrange dope buys. To intimidate witnesses. To communicate false stories to tell at upcoming trials.

    And other stuff. That gives you an idea, though. Even as tech-retarded as I am I've managed to wrap up people based on their social media stupidity, location of their phone, etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by TC215 View Post
    I put a guy in federal prison for 15 years for felon in possession of a firearm based off a photo of him holding a gun that he posted to Facebook. Went to jury trial and we won, appeals court affirmed. SCOTUS recently refused to hear the case.

    Quote Originally Posted by HCM View Post
    Policing is a people job. People, especially younger people, put a tremendous amount of information about themselves on social media or in messaging platforms related to social media.

    It’s not just younger people though. I assisted in a case involving a subject who posted a video clearly threatening to kill his doctors and staff at a hospital. Unsurprisingly, he live streamed himself coming out to surrender when we did a surround and call out during the service of the search and arrest warrants in the case. It’s a brave new world.

    Like TC215 I’ve had prohibited persons posting photos of themselves firearms, people posting photos of narcotics etc. the photo itself is not necessarily enough for a conviction but it is good probable cause for search warrants.


    Quote Originally Posted by Stephanie B View Post
    Not a cop, but I did all sides of child neglect cases (defense, GAL, prosecution) for a bit. I can't tell you the number of times a parent was on the stand, saying that they don't drink anymore, don't party, don't do drugs. A deputy juvenile officer would be there, going on Facebook, to check their FB page and they'd find posts contradicting their testimony.

    People put a lot of stupid shit on Facebook and similar sites.


    That people could be that stupid shouldn't surprise me ... yet it always does.
    " La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
    "There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib

  3. #23
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    Late to the party. My comments are based on 20+ years as a federal prosecutor and presume your initial assignment as an investigator as opposed to a quasi UC role in Narcotics or Vice.

    1. Write every report thinking that it might be an exhibit in court. I know that is easier said than done. An investigator that" has good paper" earns the benefit of the doubt with other agencies, the court, prosecutors and even defense attorneys.

    2. Finish as strong as you start. The difference between a good investigator and a great investigator is how they handle the work and paper flow after the initial incident.

    3. Look the part on the street. They will be a cultural norm in your locale. Exceed it. In KC, I tell guys to strive for the Homicide look in that they always dress better in the field than any other detective unit. Indeed, people can often id which detectives work homicide simply by how they dress. As such, members of the public who refused to talk to the uniformed officer or lesser dressed detectives will speak to the homicide guys/gals and tell them who did what to who etc.

    4. ALWAYS be prepared for your court hearings. Read your reports, review the file. Know that the prosecutor OWES you the duty to prepare you by telling you what the hearing is about, what your role is expected to be and how to deal with anticipated issues. Do not be shy about asking for some prep time from the prosecutor.

    5. Look the part in court. without initial deviation-that means a blue or grey 100% wool 2 button suit purchased this year. 100 % cotton dress shirt in white or light blue that has been pressed at the cleaners. These items should fit well. (Prince Charles, Daniel Craig and Johnny Carson are guys whose suits always fit well.) Lace up black shoes that are well shined. Ecco makes shoes that take a shine, lace up yet have rubber soles such that you can run and fight in them as needed. Matching leather belt. NO big or plastic watches. 1 ring per hand max. 1 wedding band if applicable, 1 class or signet ring if applicable. (IMHO-Dressing up as a LEO could be its own thread.)

    Congratulations.

    YMMV
    Last edited by vcdgrips; 08-06-2019 at 05:31 PM.

  4. #24
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vcdgrips View Post
    3. Look the part on the street. They will be a cultural norm in your locale. Exceed it. In KC, I tell guys to strive for the Homicide look in that they always dress better in the field than any other detective unit. Indeed, people can often id which detectives work homicide simply by how they dress. As such, members of the public who refused to talk to the uniformed officer or lesser dressed detectives will speak to the homicide guys/gals and tell them who did what to who etc.
    This is huge. Especially with the push to "soft uniforms" and fucking polo-khakis for detectives. You don't command the same level of respect looking like you are about to play 18 holes or ride your pony around with a mallet as you do with a traditional suit.

    Use Ebay and find a little old lady who tailors. You can get *very* nice suits that fit you correctly cheaper than cheap suits from JC Penny that looked their best on the rack. I wore Hickey Freeman and Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece and have less than $200 total in the majority of them. They were probably last worn at somebody's funeral, maybe even the guest of honors, but they are excellent suits in both look and comfort.

    I always wore a jacket whenever I left the office. Another advantage of nice suits is they breathe and aren't sweltering like cheap-ass glued together suits.
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by LtDave View Post
    You do not want to use a personal cell phone for recordings, photos or work calls.
    Ding! Ding! Ding! I have co workers with 25 years of investigations experience that can't remember this and are taking photos of evidence of $100,000+ larcenies with their personal phones. In my state all that is public records. So far it has only bit Tactical guys when attorneys have subpoenaed their personal phone records to show the weren't paying attention on their state mandated DWI and DV recertify training. My agency doesn't provide phones unless you are on call. I got a burner phone for work, but that was burdensome. Now I have a burner line on my cell phone in case I just have to call someone from a scene. I delete it when I start getting problematic phone calls on that line. Not as safe as a burner phone, but better than nothing. No work photos or recordings on a personal phone though.

    As far as social media/cell phone data goes, it is huge. Social media giants are cracking down on UC accounts. If you get one, learn how to keep it.

    When in doubt, get a warrant. "Owner's consent", in my neck of the woods has been on the way out for 20 years with decisions slowly chipping away at the concept as DAs and judges are realizing that people other than the owners may have a reasonable expectation of privacy to the contents of parcels/bags/vehicles/real property. And yet when a gunshot victim, a convicted felon, drives himself to the hospital and in plain view in the car he drove to the hospital (registered to his dad) was body armor, a mask, and several loose rounds of ammunition you call out an on call detective who tells you to get dad's consent to search. Dad wants to protect mi hijito and declines permission to search and the car drives away. Guys who should know better but who don't want to come out (but get the on call pay and 2 hours call out pay for answering your call) frequently pull this around here.

    If you don't have them already, get copies of your jurisdiction's' Uniform Jury Instructions . It will make writing warrants and complaints much easier and clearer for whoever signs off on your cases, saving you work and building your reputation. Digital copies on a work phone work well, along with cheat sheets of statutes, SOPs, etc.

    pat
    Last edited by UNM1136; 08-07-2019 at 10:27 AM.

  6. #26
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    Why not have a regular or traditional type camera in your kit?

  7. #27
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    I'm also late to the game, but had a great run as a detective working Intelligence, Narcotics (not undercover), an FBI O/C Task Force and then Major Crimes for a total of 18 years.

    This is a repeat of a bunch of advice, but here goes:

    1. Work hard every day on your communication skills with folks, especially those outside your comfort zone. If you don't connect to victims, witnesses, suspects, prosecutors and other LE folks, you'll be dead in the water very quickly.
    2. Work hard on learning excellent interview and interrogation skills. I like the Reid method, but there's lots of other things to learn in that realm. Some of it is "caught and not taught", but hard work, your successes and your failures will teach you if you let them.
    3. If your writing skills are not excellent, then get them to a level of excellence. Take a course if you have to, but learn to write clearly, concisely and with razor precision. Look for examples of great affidavits for search warrants, arrest warrants, case reports, etc. and learn from them. Be very cautious about using boiler plate language that you've cut/pasted unless you want to have the experience of having it stuck in your nether regions one day in court.
    4. Dress well - buy good suits, sport jackets, shirts, ties and shoes and have the clothing tailored around guns, etc. Have shirts starched and laundered and shoes shined. Get good dress gun belts like Kore Essentials or the like. Keep your hair cut well and this will light some off, but be clean shaven, every day. (Look at the most successful business folks and you see no facial hair on the majority) Learn how to tie a tie! You know you're doing it right when one day you walk into court and get mistaken for counsel, instead of a cop.
    5. Build a network of people and resources as fast as you can. Get a card from everybody you can in government agencies, business, nonprofits, etc. They are future resources for you and you'll need them. Learn about every data base you can access to get information on people, places and things. Especially get to know solid performers in all the LE agencies in your area so you can cut through the crap when you need help from that agency. Be the guy they want to know at yours. Help them when they need it. Share information that makes other people look good to their organizations with case clearance info, especially when you're working pattern crime assholes across jurisdictional boundaries.
    6. Be dead honest in all your dealings. You'll know you've gotten there when you walk into a court room and the defense counsel looks at you and folds their tent, comes up to you and says, "if you're the one who made this case, I know my guy's good for it".
    7. Stay extremely familiar with your body of statutory and case law for your jurisdiction and assignment. Realize there is the statutory law, case law....and prosecutor's law! Know what the prosecutor wants/needs/demands for a case and what is their "no go" line. You won't like some of it, but it is necessary to get things done. Become the guy in your agency that folks depend on to make great cases that really stick.
    8. Be a great cop and a great human, everyday.
    Last edited by Wayne Dobbs; 08-07-2019 at 03:33 PM.
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  8. #28
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    Some others to add to the excellent advice:

    -Never get territorial with cases. Or other agencies unless ordered to.
    -Talk often with your narc and gangs guys.
    -Develop relationships at the state and federal prosecutors offices.
    -Try to run a patrol shift on occasion if you can. Maybe on the weekend to help a patrol officer get a day off they need. This will be beneficial in a few ways.
    -You will get dirt on lawyers, cops, and corrections in addition to crooks. Always do the right thing.

    Congratulations, and good luck.


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  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by willie View Post
    Why not have a regular or traditional type camera in your kit?
    More crap to haul around, you have to go back to the car to get it when you need it.

    We use them with all virgin memory card for formal stuff like search warrants but there are lots of things that just require a quick photo of two.

  10. #30
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    I know how guys in corrections get in trouble. How do detectives get in trouble?

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