Police Detective (Promotional)

Full Job Description

MOS Code: None

Education and Experience: Police officers who graduated with or after the 125th Academy Class must complete four (4) years of service as a commissioned police officer with the El Paso Police Department.

Police officers hired under the Lateral Training Academy after calendar year 2021 are subject to four (4) years of experience as a commissioned police officer with the El Paso Police Department.

Commissioned employees completing Police Academy Training after October 1, 1992, shall have completed a minimum of 45 accredited (pursuant to the definitions contained in section 211.1 of the regulations of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education) college hours within three years.

Licenses and Certificates: Basic Peace Officer License issued by Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) in compliance with state statute by time of appointment. Valid Texas Class "C" Driver's License or equivalent from another state by time of appointment.

Requirements

Under general supervision, perform technical police services such as investigator, first level identification officer or community relations officer as required.

Qualifications

As a skilled investigator, conduct investigations in conformance with Federal, State, County and City laws and ordinances to prevent crimes against persons or property or solve alleged criminal cases in the office or the field, some of which may be carried out in a non-uniformed or undercover mode, on own initiative or as assigned.

Involves: Examine crime scenes such as homicides, thefts, forgery, fraud, white collar offenses, narcotic violations, or special inquiry court cases to obtain clues and gather evidence to be reported for classification.

Seek missing persons. Engage in specialized vice probes and raids.

Conduct sensitive inquiries of accusations of official misconduct or law violations by public officials, or criminal or administrative internal affairs investigations of police officers as required.

Perform detailed background checks of prospective department employees.

Obtain confidential information by questioning or interrogating and taking written, or audio or video recorded statements, depositions, or admissions of suspects, prisoners, complainants and witnesses.

Contact other agencies and law enforcement jurisdictions to exchange information, including but not limited to military, National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and other criminal history or intelligence resources.

Maintain surveillance of suspected criminals or frequent known Locations of criminals and become familiar with subjects' habits, associates, characteristics, aliases and other personal facts.

Analyze facts of particular cases to detect planned criminal activity or clues. Arrest or assist in arrest of suspects or violators. Return fugitives from outside the City or State.

Check pawnshops, second-hand stores and junk shops for stolen property. Receive and document civil complaints. Prepare and serve search warrants.

Prepare, submit and follow-up on crime laboratory requests. Confer with Medical Examiner assigned to handle officer involved death investigations and attend autopsies as required.

Conduct detailed analyses of criminal cases following arrest and charging of suspects that focus counteracting specific legal defenses and assist in case reviews or plea bargaining negotiations with defense counsel as requested by prosecuting attorney which includes locating and interviewing those listed on defense witness lists.

Analyze and prepare cases for trial in consultation with prosecutors by detailing activities and investigations made to emphasize evidentiary and legal issues crucial to successful prosecution, and by assisting in obtaining, enhancing, creating or presenting exhibits or other evidence in court as required.

Provide for witness or victim preparation and management, including transportation as necessary. Advise commanding officer of progress of investigations.

As an identification officer, collect evidence, take photographs, process fingerprints and check docket of prisoners with a printable charge against docket file to ascertain if subject is wanted by a law enforcement agency.

Involves: Receive and keep records of narcotics and narcotic paraphernalia.

Check latent fingerprints for legibility and characteristics, discarding those that are unreadable or lack sufficient characteristics for positive identification.

Classify legible latent fingerprints in accordance with currently accepted methods.

As a community relations officer, engage in crime prevention and related activities.

Involves: Arrange programs, lectures, group meetings and contacts with individual citizens, local agencies, schools, and police department representatives, and check on related follow-up by others.

Refer citizens to appropriate agencies.

As a backup uniformed Police Officer, perform assigned municipal law and ordinance enforcement and crime prevention duties as qualified which includes maintaining a recognizable community presence to preserve peace and order, protect persons and property, and otherwise provide allied police services requested as well as precisely documenting evidence, circumstances and actions regarding actual and potential criminal violations or other public safety related incidents.

Involves: Patrol streets, parks, commercial and residential areas on an assigned beat by foot, motorcycle or car to prevent or detect and investigate felony or misdemeanor law violations and other misconduct, regulate traffic and respond to calls for police assistance.

Thoroughly document and prepare felony and misdemeanor cases for filing of charges, giving testimony in court proceedings or other proper law enforcement action.

Perform related duties as required. Involves: Act on behalf of superior officers in their absence, if assigned.

Maintain normal availability by radio or telephone for consultation on open cases or emergency call out.

Maintain equipment, supplies and facilities in clean, orderly and safe condition which includes preventive servicing and making minor repairs, such as changing tires on assigned service vehicle if needed.

Participate in in-service training for own professional development. Explain and demonstrate criminal investigation techniques to less knowledgeable employees as requested.

Serve on designated ad hoc committees.

Additional Information

For complete job description, click here.

Test Date: June 01, 2026

Note: This recruitment is limited to Uniformed City employees working within the El Paso Police Department.

A résumé and/or other documents will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application. Comments such as “See résumé” are not acceptable and will result in the application being considered incomplete.

To qualify for this position, required education, experience, knowledge and skills must be clearly stated on your application’s employment history. We do not use any information on your resume to review if you meet the minimum qualifications for this position.

Failure to fully detail all experience and job duties in the application, or copying/pasting directly from the job specification, or responses referring to your résumé will eliminate you from consideration for the position.