Career in Law Enforcement

I see you're asking several questions of this type. I'm going to suggest you start by typing these questions into a Google search first. You'll get answers quicker.

jackstr952 said:

Does anyone know the progression of assignments from patrol cop to detective? What would be considered average time in each assignment? Might not make any difference but my setting is in Chicago (Chicago PD).

Regards,
Jack.

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Hi, Jack. I'll be happy to try and answer.

Every dept. is different, however most large depts. require 2-4 yrs of experience in patrol before applying for a detective's position. And the patrol cop who applies for the position is competing against other applicants. Very limited pay increases goes with the position.

I believe there's also a witten test/exam before they get their dectectives shield, but i'm not 100% certain.

This thread should probably be moved to the Story Research forum.

jackstr952 said:

Does anyone know the progression of assignments from patrol cop to detective? What would be considered average time in each assignment? Might not make any difference but my setting is in Chicago (Chicago PD).

Regards,
Jack.

Click to expand...

I've found police forces everywhere to be extremely cooperative with writers, and they often conduct tours and personal interviews with writers. Come even offer courses to writers and citizens interested in police activities.

I'll bet there's a crime writers' club in Chicago that could serve as a starting point, too. Finally, there's a Yahoo group called crimescenewriters led by a small group of former police officers, who specifically address questions from writers.

When you've established yourself as seriously interested, ride-alongs are not out of the question.

Really, ask the police department located wherever your fiction is set. What's true in one state is not necessarily even close in another.