technical supervision of a detective unit

David Boyer is currently a Homicide Sergeant for the Pasco Sheriff’s Office in New Port Richey, Florida. Sgt. Boyer obtained his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Troy State University. He was hired in 2006 and gained investigative experience as a missing persons detective, cold case detective, and major crimes detective, which included homicide investigations. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2016, and he has worked as a Sergeant over multiple investigative units, including property crimes, major crimes, and homicide. He enjoys assisting detectives with criminal investigations, especially those investigations that involve surveillance video and physical evidence. He also has a passion for cold case investigations and currently supervises the cold case detective for his agency in which he assists with investigations and conducting thorough evidence-based reviews.

With over 17 years of law enforcement experience, most of which has focused on criminal investigations, Sgt. Boyer is knowledgeable about technological resources and advanced investigative techniques. He has been tasked with assuming supervision over poorly performing detective units where he learned the importance of case management and subsequently developed technical practices to reestablish acceptable performance standards. Based on his experience and observations while working to revitalize struggling units, he recognized that case management and unit performance is often overlooked because individual high priority cases usually take precedence. Most investigative sergeants have no formal training in leadership and supervision specific to criminal investigative units to help them transition from the requirements of patrol, which are vastly different. As a result, new investigative supervisors find it difficult to understand or create an accurate picture of unit performance, which leaves them with limited abilities to maintain or increase unit performance. Additionally, case management and leadership are both immediately scrutinized by agency leadership and the community when poor performance is identified.

Most recently, Sgt. Boyer has experienced the challenges and success of being involved in the formation of a new Homicide Unit, which is made up of all new Homicide investigators. He enjoys working with new detectives as they learn together to educate themselves and improve their capability as a unit. Sergeant Boyer also has a passion for assisting aspiring and current investigative sergeants to improve their case assignment and management processes, as well as helping them evaluate the performance of their members based on quantitative data analysis.