Growing up in Downsville, New York, Lt. Mike Murphy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office knew he was going to work in law enforcement. Murphy was one of nine children in a family that helped neighbors when they needed it.

“A lot of family members were law enforcement officers,” Murphy, of Jefferson, explained. His father Gerald and uncle Albert were with the New York City police department and his older brother served in the military police during the Vietnam War.

After graduation, Murphy was too young to join a municipal police force, so he enlisted in the Army, serving in the military police. What was expected to be two years of service became nine years and during that time he met and married his wife, Donna.

The couple moved to Maine in 1990 and Murphy joined the Rockland police department, becoming a detective in 1996. In 1999, the detective came to the Lincoln County sheriff’s office.

At the sheriff’s office, Murphy is responsible for the special services division, overseeing the transportation of prisoners, court security officers, county animal control officers and handling access integrity for the office’s computer security.

He also heads up the criminal investigation division, supervising five detectives, including one assigned to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

CID handles cases “from homicide on down” including robbery, arson, embezzlement and child abuse. Asked why he became a detective, Murphy said he always liked solving puzzles. “I liked the challenge and had a knack for figuring things out.”

As for what makes a good detective, Murphy offered a mix of traits: A stubborn streak is important. “Because you have to stay with it,” but he cautions detectives to “Keep an open mind all the way through because (the solution) may not be the obvious one.”

Putting together information that makes sense to the district attorney and a jury is also important for detectives. Murphy said today’s juries often expect that what they see on television programs happens in real investigations. “It’s called the ‘CSI effect’.’ Most departments couldn’t afford all the equipment people see on television.”

“And investigations can take days, weeks, months – with financial investigations, everything requires a court order. More than 50 percent of the job is doing paperwork.” He smiled, adding, “They never show detectives on TV getting a court order.”

Things are different than they were 23 years ago when he first became a detective, and the climate has changed so much now that juries don’t necessarily believe law enforcement. There have been some bad officers, he acknowledged, but most aren’t bad.

“We’ve weeded out our own,” he explained. “I don’t want to work with a bad officer any more than you want a bad police officer coming to your home. By and large, the men and women I’ve worked with over the years are dedicated, giving up family events and Christmas to respond to calls.”

Cynicism may come with a job where “We get lied to all the time.” But he also said that after seeing a lot of evil, sometimes he’s surprised by seeing the best in people, like neighbors helping each other.

A case from more than a decade ago still nags at Murphy. It involved Kevin Race who was sued by his partner for embezzling money from their business. In 2007, two days before he was due in court to face charges, Race disappeared on Mount Washington. His body was never found and a few years later a friend of Race’s published a book that told the story of a man who escaped from the U.S. by faking his death and was now living in the tropics. “If I could have a case resolved before I retire, that would be the one.”

The top detective said one of the most rewarding things about their work happens in child abuse investigations. He tells detectives in his division if they do their job correctly, the child will never have to appear on the witness stand. When those cases are resolved, he tells them, the child is walking a little taller. “If you can accomplish that, you’ve done a good job.”