Interview with the Lieutenant Detective Ricky Rivera - Assignment Example

Interview with the Lieutenant Detective Ricky Rivera Introduction The assignment is based on an interview that has been conducted with a person named Ricky Rivera. The assignment comprises of detailed information about the person and his specific roles and responsibilities in his career path. Ricky Rivera presently is part of the police department of Passaic and is posted as a lieutenant detective. The person has faced certain ups and downs in his career path but has also achieved wide range of certifications which have helped him to succeed in the career path. The assignment deals with the various stages that have been passed by the individual and would also highlight the future roles that can be undertaken by Ricky Rivera. The interview that has been conducted focuses on his professional as well as personal life so as to draw a conclusion in terms of the factors that has affected the career and goal of Rivera. The assignment even reveals his bravery in handling juveniles and his various other success stories that have made him what he is in the present scenario. On the other hand the assignment would even comprise of certain other interview questions in terms of preferred role and responsibilities of Rivera in the future. The interview would even outline the current role of the individual and the ways in which this role would help him in the long run. The assignment is a thorough analysis of the interview conducted with Ricky Rivera and details of which would be mentioned in the below given sections. Interview Analysis The interview has been conducted with Ricky Rivera who is presently part of the Passaic police department. He is working in this department for many years and is currently posted as a lieutenant detective. He has handled many complex cases and even has been rewarded with appraisals or promotion. The address of the police department in which Rivera is working is 330 Passaic Street New Jersey 07055. When interviewed Ricky Rivera stated that he still does not possess any college degree and he said that this degree did not matter much for him in the career path. He said that he was only focused towards entering into a profession that would help him to utilize his skills and would also enable him to serve the country in some way or another. Rivera was always dedicated towards his job with more of attention towards reducing crime from the region which was under his control. Rivera in the interview said that individuals who want to set their career as a detective need to only hold a high school diploma or GED. He even stated that all that is required in this career path is to be dedicated towards the job role and to be passionate towards the work. He feels that as a detective it is essential that an individual feels ownership towards the role. Rivera says that he has noticed many ups and downs as a detective in which some of his cases could not be solved appropriately and in certain situations he was able to solve complex cases in less time. He believes that his rank and position in the department is only because of his hard work and patience. When asked about his journey in the career path Ricky Rivera said that he had started on his career as a patrol officer in the year 2002. He said that in his initial years he was not very sure of the fact that this profession would prove to be a good choice or not for long run. However down the years he felt that this career choice has given him that growth which would not be possible if he opted for any other profession with no college degree. In the year 2002 he also started his studies by joining a college along with being appointed as a patrol officer. However Rivera has not been able to be constant with his studies which has made him unable to hold a college degree as he was on and off with his studies from the last 12 years. In the year 2005 Rivera shifted from the role of a patrol officer and joined the detective department. In the initial days he had to work under supervisors but was able to prove himself within some time and was then shifted to the position of a sergeant detective. He worked as a sergeant detective for almost four years from which he gained a lot of experience regarding the ways in which the cases are handled effectively and are resolved. The major focus of Rivera was to lead his own team and solve big crime cases on his own. His hard work and dedication led to another promotion and he was then appointed as lieutenant detective. Ricky Rivera when asked about the specific roles and responsibilities stated that lieutenant detective serves as a commanding officer of the department. He even said that as a lieutenant detective it is his responsibility to accomplish the set mission. Such a position is usually assigned by the Police Chief and all forms of power are given to the individual appointed in the position so as to handle all the crime related investigative activities. He said that as a lieutenant detective he was supposed to ensure compliance with the investigative standards and policies. He even stated that in his career as a lieutenant detective he had to make strategic plans that were in association with the investigative services. The detective department of which Ricky Rivera was a part had certain specific functions which he even had encountered such as investigating on less serious or serious crime that is specifically when needed or requested. The other functions encompass performing operations that are related to drug suppression, analysis, disseminating and collecting criminal intelligence, forming liaison with federal, state and local units or investigative agencies, conducting thorough investigations in context of background of pre-employment, conducting various investigations related to missing persons, conducting investigations in terms of internal affairs, examination and collecting all forms of evidences that are available at the crime scenes, maintaining custody in relation to drug and physical evidence, providing all sorts of protective services and conducting investigations that are of special interest and are sensitive as directed by higher authority or Police Chief (Cordner and Scarborough 434).These are certain functions that have been stated by Rivera as highly critical and he performs all these basic functions effectively. He believes that his high performance forms the basis of his success and even stated that these functions and responsibilities are primary goal for any lieutenant detective. The interview questions were further expanded to know the transition that has been witnessed by Rivera down the years from being a patrol officer in the initial years to a lieutenant detective in the department. Ricky Rivera said that the time period that is spent by an individual as a patrol officer is a mandatory time span that serves as eligibility criteria for the officer before becoming a detective. He said that knowledge base is majorly formed during the job time frame but there is a requirement for further education and training in terms of various investigative techniques that is necessary for the position of a detective. Rivera during his career phase of being a patrol officer has even undergone a training period in which his supervisors had guided him regarding the various techniques and tools that are required in the investigation process. The training phase of Rivera was more than a year while he was performing his role as a patrol officer he was also acquiring further knowledge on the field. He was given equal opportunities by his seniors to show his capabilities and skills as a result of which he was able to succeed and achieve promotions in the least time. He says that training during the job helps an individual to rectify one’s mistakes and also enables the person to be focused towards a goal. Ricky Rivera said that there are a large number of detectives such as homicide detectives, general detective, sex crime detective, drug enforcement detective and white collar and financial crimes detective. Ricky Rivera when asked about his job description stated that in the beginning of his role as a lieutenant detective he was supposed to supervise all the juveniles and in the later phase of its career he was given the responsibility to handle some major crimes. However he said that his major job duty has always been to handle cases that were related to juveniles who were under 18 and these cases range from simple assault to that of homicide. He says that he was generally appointed as a homicide detective and hence the roles and responsibilities were aligned to such cases. In his childhood he never dreamt of becoming a detective as he just wished to be a common boy holding degree and working in a renowned company in New Jersey. However with passing time his interest also changed and his interests began to grow towards such detective roles. His life has been transformed with his new job roles and responsibilities and he feels that as a police detective he performs such tasks on a typical day that are not of much interest to the common people. These tasks comprise of interviewing witnesses, victims and suspects so that all the small pieces that are related to the case can be put together in order to resolve the crime case, work in collaboration with CSI or Crime Scene Investigation Unit which provides all forms of forensic evidence that would help the detective to derive at conclusions, presenting the evidence and information that has been collected during the time frame to the court so that it can be reviewed on a continuous basis and the major task is that detective plays the role of an advocate of the victim and does everything possible so as to bring justice to the victim. Rivera while performing his role as a lieutenant detective or even as a sergeant detective has to perform all the mentioned tasks so that he can resolve more of crime cases. He even stated that during his career path he has been a part of a big and complex case. This case was handled by Ricky Rivera some two and half years back which was in context of a homicide. In this case the juveniles were accused of robbing someone and during the course of event that victim had fallen on the streets and was hit by a car resulting into his death. The juveniles ran away and took shelter in their relatives and friends place that was far away from the place where the incident took place. The accident and robbery took place in a location known as Main Avenue in Passaic. The incident took place late in the night and the victim was surrounded by three to four juveniles. When this case came under Ricky Rivera he investigated the place thoroughly and found some evidences that were enough to trace one of the juveniles. The case took sufficient time to be resolved but Rivera worked together with Forensic unit which helped him to capture more valuable information related to the case. His achievement in this case gave him appraisals and he became well known across the department. In the initial years Rivera supervised a total of three members but in the present scenario he handles a team of seven members. The contact information of this influential person is 375 second avenue, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, 07071. The information that has been given by Rivera states that his major role has been to handle his team and to put together the pieces of information that has been gathered during solving the case. His responsibilities were not limited to solving the crime cases but his goal was further expanded towards aligning the department with other units and to convey the information as and when required to the higher authority, Police Chief or even to the court. As an individual who has no such higher qualifications, Rivera has been able to develop a strong job experience which would support him to succeed in the career path. Ricky Rivera was a part of EMT and his job experience in this sector would also turn to be a positive factor if he wishes to transform his career goal. There are other certifications that have been achieved by Rivera such as radar certified, emd certified, accident reconstruction certified, cpr certified and certified alcotest. All these certifications he says that is an additional achievement which would add weight to his overall job experience. Rivera wishes to succeed more in the career path that he has chosen as he feels that this job is given him satisfaction both in terms of doing well for the citizens and also has given him a platform to prove his capabilities and skills. The future goal of Rivera is to raise his performance standards so that he can be appointed as the Chief of Police. He is also determined towards bringing in some changes to the system which would enable the officers to handle such crime cases more appropriately. He even feels that there needs to be certain modifications in his role and responsibilities. He has even approached to the higher authority to appoint him as the training head because he thinks that his expertise and knowledge which he has gathered down the years would be beneficial for the new recruits. Though his major role is to serve as a homicide detective but he even wishes to be the coach of a newly formed team of experts which would enable him to resolve wide range of cases at a rapid pace. Conclusion The assignment has been based on an interview that was conducted with a lieutenant detective of police department of Passaic known as Ricky Rivera. The details of the interview state the fact that the roles and responsibilities of an individual changes with the job designation. Rivera did not hold any specific degree that would help him to sustain in his career path but he had opted for such a job that helped him to grow further in his career. The specific role as a patrol officer was to be a part of the investigating team and this job responsibility changed with time and also with his gaining more experience in the desired field. The second job designation was of a sergeant detective in which he handled small cases but he did not possess a team of his own but in the later stages he was appointed as a lieutenant detective in which his responsibilities expanded and he then had to handle a team of three members to that of seven. His future goal is to become the Chief of Police and even to contribute towards the training and educational program that are organized for the patrol officers before they are appointed for the position of detectives. He feels that hard work and passion towards the job is essential to succeed in the career path as there are situations in which experience matters more then that the degrees that are possessed by an individual. Work Cited Cordner. Gary., and Kathryn, Scarborough. Police Administration. USA: Elsevier. 2010. Print. Read More