New Detective Moves From Street Patrol To Investigations

By Andrew Gorosko

While the post of police patrol officer entails handling a continuing breadth of incidents, the job of detective involves pursuing a depth of information on select criminal cases.

Michael McGowan, 33, who started work as a police patrol officer in October 2000, is now in the process of making the transition to detective, having recently been assigned to that post by the Police Commission.

“That the Police Commission put its faith in me is a great honor,” Detective McGowan said in an interview this week.

While working as a patrol officer for the past six years, he had ranged far and wide across town, spending an estimated 95 percent of his time in the field, with the remainder at the police station.

Now as a detective, the split between fieldwork and police station work is closer to 50/50, Det McGowan explained, noting that detective work entails a good measure of office-based research in developing the depth of information required for long-term investigations.

That research includes contacting other law enforcement agencies for aid in investigating criminal cases and also using the research resources available on computer networks.

The nature of detective work is what he had expected, said Det McGowan, noting that while a patrol officer deals with a multitude of cases, detective work requires focusing upon a smaller number of cases that are probed in depth.

Since starting work as a detective in early November, Det McGowan has been involved with investigating two armed robberies, which are unusual crimes locally, as well some identity theft cases. “There’s always something new on the horizon with identity theft,” he said of criminals striving to perpetrate new forms of identity crime.

Since beginning as a detective, he has had contact with more than 20 other law enforcement agencies, including municipal police departments, state police, and the FBI, he said. Det McGowan said that the extent of communications among law enforcement agencies in solving crimes is a larger aspect of detective work than he had anticipated.

Det McGowan said he hopes to focus his efforts on narcotics investigations while working as a detective, noting that the presence of illicit drugs is a social problem that draws the widespread attention of law enforcement agencies.

“I would seek to curtail the drug activity,” he said, adding that the police’s focus is to put drug dealers out of business.

Drug abuse affects not only the drug user, but also their families, putting much strain and hardship upon families, he said. Police seek to direct those adversely affected by drugs to proper professional counseling, he added.

“I enjoy investigations more than anything else, unraveling the mysteries…deep investigations,” Det McGowan said.

While a patrolman, he was involved in some investigatory work. Det McGowan investigated two broad cases of extensive vandalism during the past several years, making arrests against vandals who had caused thousands of dollars worth of private property damage in town.

It was satisfying to solve those cases, he said, pointing out that the victims of property crimes have deep feelings about their property having been damaged by vandals.

Currently, Det McGowan is working on six investigations, and is available, as needed, to assist the police patrol unit with its cases. The detective also attends court, as needed.

Det McGowan grew up in Newtown, having graduated from Newtown High School in 1991. He attended the University of New Haven, where he received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement science. “I feel very fortunate to have had that type of education,” he said.

When he started work as a police officer in 2000, he had the intention of becoming a detective, Det McGowan said. He received the highest score on a written test among those who took the test for the post of detective at the police department.

“This is the town I grew up in, and now its my workplace…I have a lot of strong ties to this town,” said Det McGowan.

Married, with one child, Det McGowan said he spends his time away from work with his family at home.

“My family is ‘Number One,’” he said.

Of Det McGowan’s assignment to the detective unit, Police Chief Michael Kehoe said, “I expect Detective McGowan to give a lot of energy and experience to the job…I think he’s up to the task.”

“He has proven himself a leader in the patrol division,” Chief Kehoe said. In his new assignment, the detective will be investigating identity theft, Internet predators, bad checks, burglaries, larcenies, fraud, and narcotics cases, among others, Chief Kehoe said.

All candidates who sought the police detective’s post were well qualified for the job, but only one person is chosen to fill the position, the police chief said. Det McGowan filled the vacancy created by the departure of Robert Koetsch who resigned from the police department last May to become an attorney.