A little background: Over my career I worked a number of investigative assignments. At SJPD, assignments in the detective bureau are for three years. I have worked general sexual assault, child exploitation, and as sex offender registration compliance detective, in the Burglary Unit and in the Narcotics Unit.
I was detailed to work on several “special” investigations, run out of the Office of the Chief of Police. These are pretty interesting and included an international child exploitation investigation, a public corruption/ organized crime investigation, and an officer-involved serial theft investigation. Towards the end of my SJPD career, I spent eight years working as a crime scene investigator both in patrol and in the Homicide Unit.
The Deputy Chief of Investigations and at least two Captains, took to calling us “Utility Investigators,” due to our wide range of experiences. This versatility enabled then to plug us into just about any major investigation that arose. We were used frequently in this regard and it led my partner and I, into some challenging, interesting, and dangerous situations.
