Detective Section
1350 Norris Road
Bakersfield, CA. 93308
(661) 391-7500
you have a concern or question regarding an investigation, e-mail your inquiry to the Sheriff's Detective Commander. If the question is regarding a current investigation please include your assigned report number. The number should begin with the letters "SR", which represents Sheriff's Report. Please leave a contact telephone number and as much detail information as possible.
The e-mail address is: detectivecommander@kernsheriff.org
The job of the detective has not changed much over the years. In the early years of the Sheriffs Office, every deputy was a detective. In time it became apparent that there was a need for specialists who had the knowledge and time to put together complex criminal investigations. The first real detectives came along in the 1930's.
The modern day detective is a consummate professional who is charged with the responsibility of representing the Sheriff's Office to victims, suspects, and witnesses involved in some of the most baffling, high-profile cases around. Dealing with pre-conceived ideas that people have about the abilities and role of the detective in solving a case can be a job in itself. Detectives are expected to figure out who has committed a crime and how it was done. Through the use of statements of involved individuals, detectives must decipher the truth from the information being presented and then ascertain if a crime has been committed. Using evidence collection, search warrants, and any tool at hand the detectives recreate events and situations and come to logical conclusions regarding those responsible for the crime and write a comprehensive report of their findings. The District Attorney's staff then closely scrutinizes the report and decides if a criminal complaint can be issued for the suspect. A judge then reviews the report and if he agrees with the recommendation, the complaint is issued.
During the many stages of the court process, the detective's work is tested over and over again until a final decision is made by either a judge or jury. A verdict of guilty indicates the successful completion of an investigation.
Although detectives receive a lot of the credit for solving cases, their success would not be possible without the support and cooperation of patrol deputies, technical investigators, and office staff. The successful detective relies heavily on the patrol deputies to properly develop cases. Technical Investigators provide a wide variety of evidence collection, processing and visual display creation services. Equally as important is the support staff of Word Processing Technicians, Typist Clerks, and the Court Complaint officer who are responsible for turning out the finished product and taking the complaint packages to the District Attorney for processing. The detective is part of a team of specialists working together to protect the public.