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June 20, 2026 Beyond “Good Luck”—Practical Training for New Investigative Unit Supervisors
PERF members, “They gave me the keys to the machine, and [it was] like, ‘Good luck.’ . . . I had no clue . . . what the hell I was doing.” That’s how retired Sergeant Jason Lundquist of the Waco (TX) Police Department described his experience as a new supervisor of the Crimes Against Children Unit in a 2025 interview, which has been liked 18,000 times on the Soft White Underbelly YouTube channel. Not only had he never been a detective before taking on the assignment, but his squad of six detectives averaged 2,500 cases per year. Sgt. Lundquist said the workload—which he described as unmanageable—compelled him to investigate cases himself, blurring role responsibilities and preventing him from fulfilling his primary duties as a supervisor. Sgt. Lundquist’s story isn’t unique, as PERF has learned over the past year. In fact, among 50 veteran investigative unit supervisors from 20 agencies that attended PERF’s new training course, “Supervising Investigative Units,” only a few had previously received specialized training before stepping into their investigative leadership roles. A PERF membership survey and focus group interviews with police chiefs, prosecutors, academics, and detective supervisors revealed the same: There is a significant lack of high-quality training for detective unit supervisors. As I wrote in the June 28, 2025, Trending column, “there is no uniformity or best practices for supervisors managing investigations.” Whereas police agencies and state training commissions typically require new sergeants to complete a course for patrol supervisors within one year of promotion, similar training requirements rarely exist for supervisors who are assigned to investigative units. Far too often, they are placed in these challenging leadership roles without adequate preparation and, in many cases, without prior experience as detectives. Developing the course PERF’s development of Supervising Investigative Units began with the generosity of Arnold Ventures, one of the few foundations investing in efforts to improve clearance rates to reduce crime. In addition to conducting a survey and leading multiple focus groups, PERF held a meeting in Washington, D.C., last June. Researchers, prosecutors, and investigative unit supervisors and commanders from across the United States, along with representatives from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan, met to discuss the knowledge and skills that investigative unit supervisors need to be successful. Among the attendees were former UK Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Sebire, PhD, and retired LAPD homicide supervisor John Skaggs, with whom PERF Senior Principal Martin Bartness worked closely to develop the curriculum. From celebrity death investigations to complex fraud schemes, from terrorism plots to sophisticated burglary rings, Jackie has led nearly every type of criminal inquiry you can imagine while working in a city of roughly nine million people. She’s also the first person I’ve met whose last day on the job required her to command the response to a hijacked airliner. If you’re fortunate enough to take the Supervising Investigative Units course with Jackie as an instructor, she’ll walk you through how she used the Detective Decision-Making Model to think her way through the incident, make tough calls, and defend her actions. While doing this, she’ll regale you with Britishisms. John Skaggs John spent 24 of his 30 years with the LAPD in the Robbery-Homicide Division, earning a sterling reputation well beyond his agency. Featured in Jill Leovy’s best-selling book, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, John has shared his expertise with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and PERF in writing the Promising Strategies for Homicide Investigations report; with the BJA and Research Triangle Institute in implementing the National Case Closed Project; and with the Office of Justice Programs and BJA in delivering the National Public Safety Partnership. After hanging up his badge and gun, Skaggs moved to Tennessee, where he assisted PERF in creating the Supervising Investigative Units curriculum. We owe Jackie and John a huge debt of gratitude for their expertise, dedication, and professionalism. Course content The course focuses on real-world supervisory decision-making by providing practical, evidence-informed instruction on how supervisors can best manage, review, and support investigations. Taken together, the five modules provide a supervisory-management model for investigative units, designed to change how supervisors screen and assign cases, review investigative progress, document and communicate expectations, support detective performance, and manage the conditions that shape investigative work. Module 1, Managing Investigations, trains supervisors to apply core investigative management principles across cases of varying volumes and complexities while balancing resource constraints, organizational policies, risk, and investigative integrity. Module 2, Applying Solvability Factors, reviews the use of explicit solvability criteria—including available evidence, victim and witness participation, suspect-identification leads, and other indicators—when deciding which cases to assign for investigation and how to allocate detective time. Module 3, Conducting Case Reviews, emphasizes timely oversight of investigative progress, evidence collection, case theory, legal and policy compliance, and the quality of detective decision-making. Module 4, Selecting Detectives, Creating Unit Culture, and Promoting Wellness, covers selecting detectives using objective processes, shaping unit culture by reinforcing or challenging specific behaviors, and recognizing and responding to behavioral health and wellness concerns among detectives. Module 5, Evaluating Detectives, teaches the importance of fair, consistent, and objective evaluation instruments aligned with detectives' actual duties, including case documentation, warrant writing, victim communication, prosecutor coordination, teamwork, and professionalism. Pilot testing the course After developing the curriculum, PERF pilot-tested the course three times—in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Tampa—with nearly 50 experienced investigative unit supervisors and commanders from 20 police agencies. Every participant agreed or strongly agreed that the course would be helpful to new investigative unit supervisors. Their written feedback expressed appreciation for the instructors’ credibility, interactive case studies, classroom discussion, and tangible skills to take back to their agencies. Even though the attendees’ feedback was overwhelmingly positive, we made numerous adjustments to the course based on their thoughtful critiques. We reduced what began as a two-and-a-half-day course to two days, rearranged the order of group exercises and case studies, combined several modules, clarified learning objectives, and capped the course at 20 attendees. As the course is rolled out to a wider audience, we will continue to refine its content and delivery. What’s next for the course? Later this summer, we will begin scheduling dates to deliver the course to supervisors nationwide. PERF will host classes at its Washington, D.C. office and, if requested, travel to other cities to train entire departments or provide regional training. We also welcome an independent evaluation of the course to determine whether the training changes supervisory routines; improves case processing; and ultimately affects outcomes such as suspect identification, referral for prosecution, case closure, and clearance rate. Want to be an instructor? As we transition the course from pilot testing to nationwide delivery, we will need a cadre of highly credible, top-notch instructors. Specifically, we are seeking current or former law enforcement professionals with at least five years of experience as an investigative unit supervisor (detective sergeant, lieutenant, or commander of investigations) and a demonstrated record of excellence in teaching law enforcement, including instruction from an established curriculum. This part-time position requires instructors to master the course’s curriculum, deliver the lesson plans as written in the instructor guide, and contribute to the ongoing refinement of the course. If you’d like to be a part of preparing the next generation of investigative unit supervisors for success, please submit a résumé and cover letter detailing your interest and relevant experience to Research Associate Caleb Regen at [email protected]. You can read more about the position posting here. Pairing the keys with a how-to manual For too long, policing has failed to train investigative unit supervisors in ways that reflect the importance of their organizational roles. I hope PERF’s course can help change this uncomfortable truth. Rather than simply turning over the keys to the machine and bidding new supervisors “good luck,” agencies can equip them for success with a toolkit of proven skills, models, and knowledge. Have a great weekend! Best, Chuck |