Rebecca Pitchford
Interview Essay English 101 November 12, 2015 Behind the Scenes of a Homicide Detective “Probably started when I was in college as a younger kid, I was always interested in the police sirens on the side of the road” was stated during a recent interview with Brent Taney, homicide detective for the Kansas City Police Department, when referring to why he chose the field of law enforcement. He had an affinity for crime prevention and solving crimes as a teenager, and this passion lead to his career path. Taney mentioned a variety of aspects that a homicide detective goes through in life such as: training, experience, challenges and rewards, life and career goals, and support system. Like all law enforcement, training was the first step in becoming a detective for Taney. He attended school at the University of Missouri-Columbia and studied sociology with an emphasis in criminology. When Detective Taney first started with the Kansas City Police Department, he worked as a robbery investigator but was promoted to higher positions. Taney had originally planned on becoming a teacher and a wrestling coach, but changed his path to crime investigation because it had always been an interest. Taney stated, “Law enforcement can have pretty much any degree, having a law degree definitely helps though. To be a detective you have more on-the-job training.” As soon as Taney completed his schooling, he started training; training for any detective work mainly includes job shadowing and interviewing suspects. When Detective Taney first started his job, he worked his first three years as a patrol officer, then on the SWAT team for three years. Taney described his first years: “When I first got on to the department, you have to work on the patrol unit for three years, then I applied to the tactical response team then did that for three years, then I applied to be a detective and got accepted to the robbery unit.” These previous jobs helped Detective Taney gain valuable experience that he would need for his current occupation. Detective Taney has had many rewarding and challenging experiences while apart of the Kansas City Police Department. During the interview, Detective Taney shared some of his most rewarding and challenging experiences: “The most rewarding is whenever I’ll just refer it to a homicide conviction, it’s like putting a puzzle together...it’s pretty rewarding...the hardest thing is doing the death notifications…[it’s] very nerve wracking.” Taney also told us a story about one of his more bizarre moments as a detective; he was once called to a scene with his team where a man had a grenade and was threatening to detonate it and explode an entire block; Taney and his department had to try and negotiate with the gentleman to make him rethink his decision. Unfortunately, the man did not want to cooperate and detonated the grenade. Another challenge all law enforcement in the United States has had to deal with, is the effect of social media. Detective Taney explained the struggles surrounding social media: “I would say, especially today, our challenges are social media. A lot of times things get out quicker than we’d like them to...sometimes the family gets to the scene before we do and starts messing up the scene. A big part of our job is to interview people. Sometimes people won’t tell us, because they don’t want to be seen talking to the police.” Taney explained the effects of social media on his job, but this does not give justice to the power that social media has; It can affect their duty and make it harder for them to complete their daily tasks. Brent Taney has many goals to strive for in both his work field and personal life, just like any other working man. He has had many successes in his career. Detective Taney talked about a major case that he investigated: “I was fortunate enough to be involved in a serial killer investigation, it was a big case, I got to interrogate the suspect and get him to confess to his crimes...stands out to me to get him able to confess to those and get that case solved.” Taney also shared his bucket list for both his career and life: “ I would like to retire at a young age, have a retirement condo in the mountains, and be a good dad.” Detective Taney expressed the importance of goals to him personally and what they do for him. Lastly, for Taney’s demanding career, it is important that he has a strong support system. Taney mentioned, “With this job, you have to have a big support system. This job is very demanding, I spend a lot of time away from my family, any time I’m on call, my wife is on call...In-laws will help the kids a lot. I have a great family support.” Without his support system, he would not be the effective detective he is today; the way Taney operates has been reflected because of his support system. Homicide detectives have a unique and challenging job that is necessary in society. This occupation can have many surprising aspects hidden within it. As the class interviewed Detective Taney, he expressed all the factors associated with a detective. Taney stated important details about his detective life including: schooling, training, challenges, rewards, goals, and support systems. Works Cited Taney, Brent. "Brent Taney." Online interview. 27 Oct. 2015. |