In 2012 the Tulsa Police Department was involved in responding to 3,949 violent crimes, including 42 murders. Its Detective Division is tasked with conducting detailed investigations into these violent crimes and other serious offenses that occur within the city limits of Tulsa.
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This division is organized into different squads of experienced criminal investigators, which include:
- Homicide Squad
- Financial Crime Squad
- Sex Crimes Squad
- Missing Children Squad
- Child Crisis Unit
- Fugitive Warrants Squad
- Senior Services Squad
Meeting the Education Requirements to Become a Detective with the Tulsa
Police Department
To become a criminal investigator with Tulsa Police Department’s Detective Division, candidates will need to first gain experience as an entry level patrol officer and meet a few additional detective requirements.
After completing at least three years as a sworn police officer with the Tulsa Police Department, candidates will be eligible to apply for assignment to the Detective Division.
Degree Requirements – An important requirement to joining the police department as an entry-level officer is a bachelor’s degree with at least a C+ grade average. A bachelor’s degree in any major is acceptable, however, particularly relevant programs for the criminal investigations field include:
- Police Science
- Law Enforcement
- Criminal Justice
- Forensic Science
- Psychology
- Law
Police officers who have a master’s degree in any subject will receive bonus pay of $150 each month. Officers have the option to pursue relevant detective training for criminal investigator jobs in the form of continuing education, which the police department will subsidize at a rate of $600 per year.
Training with the Tulsa Police Department – Training for detective jobs starts in a police officer’s basic 26-week training academy. Because entry-level police officers conduct a significant amount of investigative work, their training includes:
- Conducting initial investigations
- Securing and reconstructing a crime scene
- Witness and suspect interviewing
- Investigative report writing
- Gathering evidence for prosecution
The Tulsa Police Department and outside agencies offer more advanced training for those moving into criminal investigator jobs with the Detective Division, namely in the fields in which its specialized squads operate:
- Homicide investigations
- Advanced interrogation techniques
- Advanced criminal investigations
- Conducting undercover sting operations
- Investigating child predators
- Sexual crimes
- Investigating family issues and domestic violence
Recent Operations by Tulsa Police Department Detectives
Examples of the work accomplished by Tulsa Police Department detectives has been recently demonstrated in some notable headlines:
Detectives located and arrested a man accused of sneaking through an open window of a random home on a recent early morning, sexually abusing a five-year-old girl, and fleeing when the mother came to investigate strange noises she heard.
Detectives arrested two suspects on murder charges after investigating reports of a dead body. Investigators said the murder could have been prevented if drug users had been more concerned about the victim than their illegal habits.
Detectives began investigating a case of child abuse after receiving initial reports of a domestic disturbance in a hotel. Fearing for the safety of his daughter, a father alerted authorities to the possibility that his baby’s mother may be harming his daughter, which was precisely the scene police came upon when they arrived at the hotel.