Interview with Detective Amy Ross

1. How long have you been a detective? A campus detective?

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I have been a detective for 3.5 years. Ive been a policeman for 9
years, both on campus.

2. What do you like most about your job?

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The times you get to make a real difference. Most of my job includes
sex crimes and relationship violence, those are crimes I feel you can
really make a difference.

3. What do you dislike most about your job?

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When it isnt as simple as just making a difference. Sometimes you

know someone has committed but you cant do anything about it
without evidence. Its hard because knowing the truth isnt enough.

4. At a crime scene, what is considered evidence?

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In a rape case it occureed in a fraternity. The room was evidence,

people in the fraternity were evidence, the people at the party are
considered evidence, people there before and after are considered
evidence. Her clothes, his clothes and her cell phone as well. It
depends on the crime scene, they can be very very large. Her
statement is evidence as well. There are physical evidence and
statements also considered as evidence. There is a lot of stuff we have
to collect.

5. What does an evidence processing technician do?

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I am an evidence technician. I have training to go to crime scenes and

collect evidence. We make sure its stored properly and make things
that need to be destroyed are. At the crime lab, they would go through
and gather DNA, pull fingerprints, etc. We do general collection and
photography. We take pictures clock wise, to make sure everything is
captured. Pictures are always first, once youre done taking pictures
overall we go in and take individual pictures, then place evidence tags.
This is to make sure the courtroom knows that nothing was moved or
tampered. Dorm rooms are typically easier, since they are smaller.

6. What types of crime do you see most often occurring in Bozeman? On

campus?
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Minors in possession of alcohol and theft (bicycles and small

electronics). Same on campus.

7. In your opinion, what are some major factors that contribute to crime in
Bozeman? On campus?
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Age is a huge factor. Statistically, 18 to 25 year olds are commonly

committing crimes. There seems to be a lot of entitlement, they had it
and I wanted it so when they left it it became mine. Regarding alcohol,
theres less of a criminal mindset. One is a serioys moral issue, the
other is people trying to figure out where their boundaries are and
where they are comfortable going in life. Commonly, the first 6 weeks
of school we are constantly shipping students back and forth from the
hospital.

8. Do you notice any kind of theme throughout criminals you work with?
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Most people wont admit to it initially, they want to blame somebody

else or try to pin it on someone else, typically. But that might just be
human nature, so I dont know if thats criminals or just people in
general.

9. What steps do you take when a sex crime/escalated relationship violence

crime is called in?
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The first thing I do is determine how long ago it occurred. If it occurred

within the last 120 hours I need to get them to the hospital immediately.
I want to know who did it, where did it happen, when did it happen and
what happened. The who is important, stranger rapes are very rare.
Less than 1%. They are more commonly reported, but happen less. I
want to know who it was, victims will act differently if its a stranger
than if it is someone they know. When it happened, I need to get
evidence collection. Where it happened to know if its in my jurisdiction.
Sometimes you will find out it was several states away, so I report it in
to that state. What happened, people dont always know the difference
between assault and rape. Ill do my best to get an interview with the
victim. I wont get a full interview until a couple days later. The memory
works better after a few sleep cycles. Then it depends on what they
want to do, some victims dont like to talk about any details. The most
typical cases I encounter are females being raped by males. We can
get victims removed from classes, we can do a full criminal
investigation. Most people dont want to do this, because others will
know what happened. They can make a report or decide whether they
want to press charges. Our process is almost entirely victim driven, we
are more concerned about the victims well being. If they dont want to
investigate, we honor that because thats what helps them gain
closure. We care about their feelings and their wishes.

10. What is the biggest case you have worked on in all your career so far?
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Rape: juvenile victims, those are the hardest. It sometimes can take six
months to a year to press charges for adult cases. But, with juvenile
cases, if they are under 16 and consent was given, it doesnt matter.
We can do something immediately. In order for a prosecutor to try
these cases, the victim needs to be on board. Theres not much we
can do if the victim wont testify.

Murder/Suicide: Cody Little case. At a party, got kicked out and got his
gun. Came back shot a man in the stomach who died, shot a man in a
leg who then lost his leg. In prison now, appealing his sentence. He
said he had a PTSD flashback.