Carrer Study Project

Kyler Dennison

10/1/15

Background Information

A detective's job is to investigate crime scenes, collect data, and then come up with a suspect, they do not decide whether a person is guilty or not the find the facts then make an arrest after that it all goes to the judicial system.

In smaller cities there may be only one detective for that whole county while in larger cities there are many detectives for that city only. Being a detective you would also have to travel to gather evidence.

To become a detective most of the time you are a cop for a while till you get a promotion to a detective. Most Police/Detective academies require some college degree in any field of police training.

A detective uses a lot of different amounts of forensics they hand the data to scientists and use it produce an accurate representation of the crime so they can better understand who did it and why.

The Detective is Roxanne Warren and she is the Detective for Gladewater.

Interview

How long have you been doing your job?

 I have been a Police Detective for 16 years.

Describe an average day?

 I work at a mid sized police department so my job description is more broad than the average Crime Scene Investigator. I am responsible for not only investigating major crime scenes, but also collecting and maintaining the evidence as well as investigating the criminal case.  An average day consists of reading offense reports submitted by “street patrol officers”. Most cases submitted by officers lack certain detail or evidence which must be collected before the case can be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. My job is to ensure that all elements of the alleged criminal violation have been proven according to the legal language contained in the statute (law) pertaining to that particular violation.  However, in regard to forensics or crime scenes, the average crime scene I would investigate is most likely the scene of an assault or property crime such as burglary or robbery. On occasion I receive calls to investigate death’s such as suicide or unattended natural deaths. Homicides are rare in the small community where I work; although, I have investigated several homicides and capital murders in my career.

To simplify my answer, an average day consists of reading, typing reports, answering phones, taking photographs, processing evidence ie: dusting for latent fingerprints, submitting evidence to the laboratory, logging property into the evidence room, registering sex offenders and conducting interviews with victims, witnesses and suspects.

What is the part you most enjoy about your job?

The most enjoyable part of my job is working with victims. I particularly enjoy working with victims of sexual abuse. Most sexual abuse victims are young children. I love being a part of the recovery and survival process in these kids’ lives. It feels good when I see these victims months or years after the crime occurred and they regard me as a friend.

What is a fun interesting case that you had?

I have investigated a lot of really strange cases but one that received a lot of notoriety was a sexual assault case. The suspect, Kevin Laferney, was a Baptist Youth Minister who was accused of having sexual intercourse with both of his stepdaughters and numerous girls from various youth groups at churches he pastored over a long period of time. After the allegations were made and Laferney was arrested, his father (also a Baptist Preacher) bonded him out of jail. Several weeks later, Laferney’s family reported him missing. His truck was found abandoned at a rest stop. When I arrived on scene, I could tell the crime scene was contrived to appear as if he had been forcibly abducted. Tracking canines were brought to the scene. They were able to locate a scent from Laferney’s hat found at the scene which led from his truck to the roadway. We believed Laferney had been picked up from the scene and possibly taken out of the state or country to avoid prosecution.

Sometime later, Laferney’s mother suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. At that time the US Marshall Service was contacted to assist in the investigation because we felt Laferney would try to attend the funeral. Marshalls posed as funeral home employees and waited for his arrival but he was never spotted. A few weeks later I was able to prove that Laferney’s father purchased a vehicle for him. I was also able to locate a witness who admitted to picking Laferney up from the roadside park. Once it was confirmed that Laferney was not a MISSING PERSON, I contacted America’s Most Wanted. Producers from the show met with me and other investigators involved in the case. The producer and cameraman shot footage and I conducted an on-camera interview. Just a few days before the show aired on television, US Marshals attempted to interview Laferney’s father one more time. They confronted him with the fact the show would soon air and the fact that he could be implicated in a conspiracy to harbor a fugitive. Laferney’s father finally came forward with a handwritten letter he received from his son. The letter bore a return address in the State of Montana. Agents with the Montana Marshall Service converged onto the property a few hours later and Laferney was taken into custody. It was discovered that he had been using a fictitious name and was working at a local paint store. Laferney was extradited back to Texas and received a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault.

Another interesting case I investigated involved three men who abducted a man they believed had made a sexual advance to one of their girlfriends. After abducting the victim from his home, they transported him to a remote location in Upshur County and beat him to death. They removed his head with a machete and set his body on fire. The man’s head was later dumped in a creek several miles away. The suspects attempt at concealing the victim’s identity failed when a local rancher discovered the body on fire. When the fire was extinguished, a tattoo bearing the victim's last name could be seen on a portion of his back.  After identifying the body, I was able to locate witnesses who led me to the a trailer house where the suspects were living. After interrogating the suspects, one of them agreed to lead officers to the creek where the man’s head could be found.

Cadaver dogs were deployed and after several hours the victim's head was extracted from the bottom of the creek. All three suspects were prosecuted for the murder.

What advancements have you see in your career in terms of forensics?

Many aspects of forensics have advanced in the past 16 years. The two advancements I have seen recently have been in regard to firearm testing and fingerprint analysis.  In 1999 a new database was created for firearm forensics. The database is called the National Integrated Ballistic Identification System but its commonly referred to as NIBIN. NIBIN records forensic data from firearms and spent cartridges that are submitted to the system. This data can help link firearms to numerous crimes and help identify firearms that have fired certain cartridges.  In essence, this database works similarly to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) which links DNA profiles from physical evidence found at crime scenes to specific individuals.

The latest advancement to fingerprint analysis has been the Next Generation Identification System (NGI) which has replaced the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The IAFIS database housed fingerprints from individuals who had been incarcerated as well as law enforcement officers and certain government employees. The FBI has now allowed a wider scope of fingerprints into the database which will also include finger and palm prints as well as prints from certain civilians. In addition, NGI offers iris recognition and facial recognition capabilities.

This new advancement has significantly increased the success rate of matching latent prints found at a crime scene to specific individuals.  

What advice do you have to someone that wants to join a career in this field?

I would advise anyone considering a field in forensics to maintain the highest level of integrity. Understanding science is important but if your credibility as a person is not above reproach, your testimony will be useless in a court of law. Defense attorneys have a duty to create reasonable doubt in the mind of jurors. Your science and conclusions may be accurate but if you have a criminal history and poor personal judgement, these things will be exposed and used against you in court as a means to discredit your testimony. In short, stay out of jail, stay off drugs and stay off social media.

How did you find out you wanted to be in the forensics field?

I decided to be a law enforcement officer after I witness a near fatal car crash in front of my parents’ home. I ran outside and assisted the victims. After the wreck I knew I wanted to work in public service. I gravitated toward law enforcement because it provided a wide variety of career advancement opportunities.

What is your standard procedure when you first get to a crime scene?

Assuming the initial responding officer has properly secured the scene with barrier tape (POLICE Tape); the first thing I do when I arrive at a crime scene is speak to the first responding officer to get an idea of what has taken place up to that point. I note everyone who has been in the scene including any Emergency Management Technicians or law enforcement officers. I determine whether a search warrant should be obtained. Once the warrant is obtained I place Tyvek style coverings on my shoes and gloves on my hands. I then conduct a “walk through” of the crime scene being careful to use the same path as the first responding officer to avoid contamination of the evidence. During the walk-through I make notes of important things such as room temperature, time & date, condition of the room etc. From that point I take overall photographs and then mark evidence with item marker numbers. I then take detailed photographs of each marked item. I then dust for finger or shoe prints. Each item is measured to two specific points in the scene and a sketch is made of the entire area. The sketch and measurements provide exact location information that can be used to reconstruct the scene later if necessary. The evidence is then collected in bags or envelopes and secured in the evidence room.

How long does an average case take?

This question is hard to answer because each case is different but on average a felony case usually takes from one week to two months to complete. Major cases such as homicide and missing persons can take several months or even years depending on the circumstances.  

What is one of the most common things you see?

The most common thing I see daily are victims of assault and theft. I see also see drug addicted people on a daily basis.

A day in the Life

 I work at a mid sized police department so my job description is more broad than the average Crime Scene Investigator. I am responsible for not only investigating major crime scenes, but also collecting and maintaining the evidence as well as investigating the criminal case.  An average day consists of reading offense reports submitted by “street patrol officers”. Most cases submitted by officers lack certain detail or evidence which must be collected before the case can be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. My job is to ensure that all elements of the alleged criminal violation have been proven according to the legal language contained in the statute (law) pertaining to that particular violation.  However, in regard to forensics or crime scenes, the average crime scene I would investigate is most likely the scene of an assault or property crime such as burglary or robbery. On occasion I receive calls to investigate death’s such as suicide or unattended natural deaths. Homicides are rare in the small community where I work; although, I have investigated several homicides and capital murders in my career.

To simplify my answer, an average day consists of reading, typing reports, answering phones, taking photographs, processing evidence ie: dusting for latent fingerprints, submitting evidence to the laboratory, logging property into the evidence room, registering sex offenders and conducting interviews with victims, witnesses and suspects.

Citations

"Dectective Job Description." Criminal Justice School Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

"Becoming a Dectective." Local Career Path. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://legalcareerpath.com/detective/>.