Why don't the police hire more detectives?

Question

I mean our tax dollars pay the salaries,the traffic cops are constantly writing tickets.Where is all that money going?It seems to me the departments have the money they just don't care about solving the tuff crimes.If it ain't there friends and families than who cares?I am not personally involved in any cases but a lot of people out there are don't they deserve the justice they are paying for?

Answer 1

My question to you is....how many detectives on a force would it take to solve every crime out there? A quick calculation in my mind shows that number would be staggering and physically and finacially impossible to support.

The tax issue is a moot point, because its not just taxes that fund police departments nor is it ticket writing.

I respect the question and more importantly, the motivation behind it. Here's the thing, its not just detectives who solve crimes....to truly solve a crime, assistance comes from multiple sources the biggest being......the public.

It's hard to solve a crime when witnesses refuse to help, when a community response is "I didn't see anything, don't ask me, I don't know anything." Detectives work with what they have and honestly, thats usually not much.

Read the story of Kitty Genovese sometime.....it's heartbreaking but sadly, not uncommon, even in this day and age.

To accomplish the goal you have in mind, it takes a united front. Just that simple.

Answer 2

Its not as simple as all that. Let me say without being specific that the worst thing you can say to someone in the field is the whole tax dollars thing. Many of us work very hard with very little resources. Grants, monies from business taxes, and host of other sources keep a PD going. The problem is that the crime or calls for service go up without the manpower to cover it. The economy really hurts our situation.

From my experience, detectives aren't simply hired off of the street. Officers work the road or other positions until a DB spot comes up. You sign up or bid for the position.. then Chief makes a decision.

I'm not asking for pity as I chose the field but we have some real good people doing the best they can. Imagine having 7 or 8 active cases and trying to solve each of them. There are plenty of instances where a detective or officer will do all of the "legwork" on a case to find the victim skips court or cant be found for a subpoena. The work still has to be done assuming the parties are willing to prosecute. I'm speaking general of course.. I'm not addressing just homicide cases.

There are plenty of departments with problems and bad eggs. Really no different than people that you work with in your field. You might want to request a ride-along to get an idea of what a typical shift is like. Check with your city hall or contact the department directly.

Answer 3

The money received for a traffic ticket doesn't go directly to the police department. It's divided up among many city agencies.

Our taxes do pay for police, but if a city's tax base is low, they're not going to get very much. That's why you always see bond issues on the ballot for police funding.

You might want to write to your President; his budget cut federal grant programs for police departments from $600 million to $60 million.

Answer 4

Police departments must hire within a budget just like everyone else and that budget must pay for all facets,all of which are necessary. Traffic/patrol cops respond to the innumerable 911 calls in addition to writing tickets...highway cops respond to accidents,disabled vehicles,drunk drivers in addition to writing tickets...marine patrol cops rescue sinking/stranded boaters in addition to writing tickets. They also have as many detectives as they can fit in the budget but unfortunately in real life like the other assignments in police departments they are often called on to perform more than one task at a time and can't solve everything in one hour minus 15 minutes for commercials like the tv cops do. As to the necessity of traffic cops...just off the top of my head serial killers Joel rifkin and Ted bundy and OKC bomber Timothy McVeigh were all apprehended either by or because of traffic cops writing tickets.

Answer 5

Actually most police departments never have enough money.

Traffic tickets don't go to the police departments but go to the city or county or state.

For example, our local county police don't even have health insurance because of no funds, They have several unfiled jobs but have no money to pay for it.



Only a small amount of a city budget goes to the police.

the police do all they can with the money they are given. They will need bigger budgets to do more, so talk to your city counsel about moving money from other programs to the police.

Answer 6

I read some fo the answeres,seems like finger pointing to me.I got to figure that a lot more money is made by the cop riding around town writing tickets for every little thing they can find.There aint no money made when a detective goes out there looking for the person who raped your wife or molested a 6 year old boy or girl.Aint no money being made when a cop gets out his car to root out child abuse.Lot more money to be made for just riding around giving tickets.IT AINT ABOUT CRIME,ITS ABOUT MONEY.

Answer 7

Judging by your animosity toward the average patrolman, you are misinformed about how city budgets work.
Instead of taking it out on the average cop, why don't you write to your local mayor and city council about appropriating more funds for the police?
And, the way you crow about how funny it would be for a policeman to be "killed & put in the ground", I hope you don't expect them to help you if you're being assaulted or robbed.
Don't call them, because you hate them, remember? So, don't call someone you hate for help, call your "funny" friends.

Answer 8

It's not really the matter of quantity of detectives, but the quality of their work... probably PD needs to find a better way to stimulate the work of detectives, and other police officers. and if they lack of money, they need to ask it form congress... a country who spends billions on war outside the country, against unknown enemy (if there is some real one) should be able to find some for acomplishing its main task - helping citizens (ALL of them) and other people legaly living in that country to become HAPPY.

Answer 9

Detectives should roamed around the communities to determine the scalawags and apprehend them. Police visibility is needed but agents must be used to identify the criminals.

Answer 10

depends on the department