English: William E. "Pussyfoot" Johnson (March 25, 1862 – February 2, 1945), American Prohibition advocate and law enforcement officer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Lawrence W. Daly

Forensic Investigator

Senior Author

Historically men who applied for a law enforcement entry level position in some jurisdiction were not required to have a high school diploma. The problem was men did not believe law enforcement was not a good career choice in that law enforcements were under paid and the risks were very high. Further, the law enforcement agencies were finding it difficult to find individuals who wanted to work as a law enforcement officer.

In the early 1970s when there were riots, law enforcement was required to step-up and protect the community against protestors. There were many employment opportunities in the law enforcement community. Therefore, the jobs were filled with less educated individuals; in fact the number of individuals hired at that time did not have high school degrees or post-education.

The middle 1970s saw a change in what the law enforcement community wanted in their make-up of their law enforcement officials. Individuals who brought with them post-education degrees such as a two-year Associates Degree or a four-year Bachelor’s Degree were in high demand. Law enforcement agencies not only wanted individuals who obtained post-education degrees, but they wanted their officials to be ‘Intellectually Aggressive.’

In defining what is ‘Intellectually Aggressive” can be confusing and complex, as the statement is not utilized in the law enforcement community very often. If you were to ask law enforcement officials how they would describe their officers, they would not define their officers as “Intellectually Aggressive” because this type of officer is a rare commodity.

The question which needs to be asked and answered is why are law enforcement officials not seen as ‘intelligent’, but are seen as ‘aggressive.’ If over the past twenty-five years the requirement to be a law enforcement official is for them the individual to have a high school diploma or post-education

English: American educator, journalist, military and law enforcement officer Arthur Woods (1870-1942) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

then shouldn’t these individuals is seen as intellectual?

If an individual has a high school diploma or post-education degree does this allow one to say he is intelligent? According to Dictionary.com “Intelligence” is described as:

1. Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.

2. Manifestation of a high mental capacity. He writes with intelligence and wit.

3. The faculty of understanding

4. Knowledge of an event, circumstance, etc., received, or imparted; news; information.

5. The gathering or distribution of information, especially secret information.

These attributes and characteristics like any professions are found in a minority of the individuals in the law enforcement community. An individual can’t be judged to have these traits just because they had the opportunity to attend a college for two to four years.

In order to be a law enforcement officer an individual must have the ability to reason and understand the city, county, state, and federal laws. Further, law enforcement officers need the intellectual ability to take these laws and apply them in specific situations. Decision making is a trait that is a must have when it comes to being a law enforcement officer. The officer needs to make decisions from the time they place their uniform on until they return home.

Every facet of the job deals with the ability to process information quickly and decisively, without second guessing their decisions. If the officer fails to make a decision in a timely fashion especially when it deals with the use of force it could cause them to lose their life as well as others.

The strategies a law enforcement officer utilizes to base their decision making can be intellectual or instinctive in nature. The law enforcement officer needs to learn, if possible, how to be ‘intellectually aggressive.” Failure to intellectually design the strategy in such a manner that the end result becomes negative and unsuccessful can be problematic for the officer and the community he has been hired to protect and serve.

An officer who is ‘intellectually aggressive’ is an officer who has the ability to:

1. Frame a situation with a snapshot view with clarity and speed which is based upon education, training, and experience. The education can be formal or informal but needs to be of value to the officer in the processing of the ultimate decision.

2. Develop multiple hypotheses which are plausible, logical, and reasonable which will establish an investigative direction for the officer. These hypotheses can be created by the immediate information available to the officer at the time of the situation he is dealing with or based upon experience of the officer in his prior investigative education, training, and experience.

3. Has the ability to instruct other officers in how to process a crime scene, handle and deal with witnesses, identify and apprehend a perpetrator without delay. He knows how to provide direction, with a specific strategy he has formulated, working with a team of competent and intelligent officers similar to himself.

English: Charles Burnett “C.B.” Wilson (III) (1850-1926) was the chief law enforcement officer during the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. Is capable of providing an investigative analysis using extraordinary common sense skills developed as a child continuing into adulthood. He is capable of processing circumstances, complicated situations, which support his multiple hypotheses. The choices he makes aggressively do not come back to cause him delays or distractions, but create productive multiple investigative directions.

5. A significant challenge comes easy to him as he understands how to put the pieces together quickly and efficiently. His actions will be seen by his superiors as intimidating, arrogant, and recalcitrant at times, but they support and praise his positive and successful resolution to crimes others would not have the intellectual ability to conquer.

6. He is a champion of others only when they prove to be of value to his ultimate goals which generally are to find the necessary facts, evidence, and information which will link the perpetrator to the crime. Failure to aggressively seek resolution by those who work with him is seen as an indignation of their ability to perform the basic to complicated investigative tasks.

7. Most criminals who have the opportunity to challenge or engage him in denying responsibility of committing the criminal act they are being questioned about will find him to be an excellent foe.

8. He is creative and innovative in his approach to investigating crimes. The ease of the creation of these new methods and techniques allows him to pursue leads others do not have the ability to create, visualize, and pursue. This makes him a leader, which others enjoy following with the hope they may learn the extraordinary investigative skills he possesses.

9. Many crimes which seem complex and unsolvable excite the intellectual aggressive law enforcement officer. At times his investigation direction is based not on a sixth sense, but a paranormal seventh sense which only a few in the world possess.

10. He is the current Sherlock Holmes which others don’t know if they should respect him or be envious of. He demands respect, and his reputation, credibility, reliability, and integrity mean more than his special investigative characteristics.

The intellectual aggressive officer as the above details describe is a specialized investigator who may have attended post-educational institutions to meet the requirements of the law enforcement agency hiring criteria in which he wanted to work for. His unique investigative abilities are generally recognized early on in his employment.

English: Plantation Pines, FL, June 26, 1998 -- Law enforcement officer aids in the mandatory evacuations in Plantation Pines, Florida. Photo by Liz Roll (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He has the ability to be a leader, educator, or trainer of how he approaches the investigation of crimes. His connections from one investigative zone to the next provides him the abilities to be quick in judgment, correct in decision making, and intellectually aggressive when it is prudent, reasonable, and logical. The end result is he has a higher investigative success rate in locating additional victims, witnesses, identifying and apprehending perpetrators, and making them responsible for the crimes they committed.

Most law enforcement agencies do not understand the great qualities of their officers who have the intellectual aggressiveness. Further, until provided the opportunity the intellectually aggressive individual remains dormant as they fear their paranormal seventh sense will be seen as a threat to others. Eventually, his remarkable investigative traits are appreciated by those who know and work with him.

The new law enforcement officer may become intellectually aggressive, but as most law enforcement agencies will testify the type of officer this officer will become will be based upon his ability to be free to explore his paranormal seventh senses. In conclusion, the community, department, and other officers will benefit from this special officer who will solve the unsolvable and in being who he is bring pride within the department and a positive image to the agency.