TEC
(tek)
Short
for detective Common
clues: Gumshoe;
Short investigator; Private eye; P.I.; Sleuth; Clue hunter,
informally; Sam Spade, e.g.; Sherlock; Spade or Hammer; Clouseau
or Poirot Crossword
puzzle frequency:
4 times a year Frequency
in English language:
14852 / 86800 Video: Learn
How to Become a Private Investigator
It
is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York
City is itself a detective story.
~ Agatha Christie
A
detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency
or a private person. Private detectives usually operate
commercially and are licensed. They may be known as private
investigators (P.I.s or "private eyes"). Informally,
and primarily in fiction, a detective is any unlicensed person
who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into
records.
Statue
of Sherlock Holmes on Picardy Place in Edinburgh, Conan Doyle's
birthplace
In
some police departments, primarily in North America, Detective
can be the lowest rank among investigators (above the lowest rank
of officers and below Sergeant). Some departments have distinct
levels of detectives, depending on their experiences and skills.
New York City Police Department and Los Angeles Police
Department, for example, both have three grades. Most larger
police departments have rank structures for their investigators
that parallel the "street" police, such as Detective
Sergeant and Detective Lieutenant.
Detectives
have a wide variety of techniques available in conducting
investigations. However, the majority of cases are solved by the
interrogation of suspects and witnesses, which takes time.
Besides interrogations, detectives may rely on a network of
informants they have cultivated over the years. Informants often
have connections with persons a detective would not be able to
approach formally.
Physical
forensic evidence in an investigation may provide leads to
closing a case.
Examples
of physical evidence can be, but are not limited to:
Fingerprinting
of objects persons have touched
DNA
analysis
Luminol
to detect blood stains that have been washed
Bloodstain
pattern analysis
Footprints
or tire tracks
Chemical
testing for the presence of narcotics or expended gun propellant
The
exact position of objects at the scene of an investigation
Many
major police departments in a city, county, or state, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, maintain their own forensic
laboratories.
Detectives
may use public and private records to provide background
information on a subject. These include:
Fingerprint
records. In the United States, the FBI maintains records of
people who have committed felonies and some misdemeanors, all
persons who have applied for a Federal security clearance, and
all persons who have served in the U.S. armed forces
Records
of criminal arrests and convictions
Photographs
or mug shots, of persons arrested
Motor
vehicle records
Credit
card records and bank statements
Hotel
registration cards
Credit
reports
Answering
machine messages
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Detective".
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