When I first learned of the opportunity to intern with APD I was extremely interested. I did not realize that policing would have much to do with anthropology. After this internship, I realized that there is a lot about anthropology, both physical and cultural, entailed with being a police officer.
The officers in the homicide department are called out to any homicide, accidental death (non-traffic related), suicide, suspicious or unknown death, and kidnapping. A detective in the department is on call twenty-four hours a day, in the event an incident occurs. A homicide detective examines the crime scene to obtain clues and gather evidence, questions witnesses, suspects, and individuals linked to homicide victims or to suspects, checks out known or suspected criminals to detect criminal activity or clues, investigates particular facts of the case to identify salient leads, writes reports for submission to the officer in charge, conducts arrests or assists in the arrests of criminals and suspects, prepares cases for court, and testifies in court.
As an intern, I got to see “behind the scenes” of a Homicide Department. I traveled to crime scenes, helped organize and file necessary documents for the case, and took a crack at solving older cases. I toured multiple fatality scenes and worked with Detective Kerry Scanlon on trying to pinpoint an unidentified person. I was also able to work with crime scene specialists and Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office investigators.