Difference between a Detective and a Lieutenant

[Fourcam330]

Just curious to see how the chain of command works within a police department. Are Detectives higher than Lieutenants, or vice versa, or are they equal so to speak, just running different departments?

Thanks

 

[FordSVTFan]

In most departments a detective is the same as a police officer. Once you meet the requirements of the dept, you can apply to the detective's bureau. Detectives have rank as well. You can be a Det Sgt, Lt. Det, etc. So a detective with no associated rank is much lower on the totem pole than a Lt. Yet, some depts there are unwritten rules such as a homicide detective isnt going to take grief from a traffic Sgt.

 

[SnakeEyes03]

Heres the rank structer in my dept. Detective can be either a PFC or a MPO.

OFC - Officer
PFC - Private First Class Officer
MPO - Master Police Officer
SGT - Sargent
2nd LT - Lieutenant
1st LT - Lieutenant
Captain
Major
Deputy Colonel
Colonel

 

[Fourcam330]

Thanks guys!

 

[nitrovic]

1pretty close.

 

[jshen]

Same as above with the following caveat..

Detectives at a crime scene take control..they answer only to detectives of higher rank as THEY are responsible for crime scene integrity, the investigation, and any screwups that may occur. Uniform officers are charged with anything outside the perimeter, such as traffic or crowd control...So there could be situations where uniformed Lts would not be allowed in crime scene at the instructions of a detective.

Here, once our detectives make rank [ sgt ] they are promoted out of their expertise into uniform where they vegetate..until someone with a brain realizes this guy was really talented working homicides..why is he in uniform division night shift supervisor? ......This is truly the worst waist of law enforcement talent..and is common in GA. The detective supervisors positions are filled from the ranks of the uniformed sgts that were previously promoted out.

I gotta throw this out...Has anyone noticed what insignia a chief wears? I have seen "chief" on shirt collar....a single star and on our local PD, five star cluster????