I Am a Detective

I recently watched “I Am a Detective” starring Yu Hewei. It’s been many years since I watched a domestic drama, and while domestic dramas have improved, the progress is not significant. It seems that no one on the entire production team really cares about the quality of the show. Veteran actors overact in an attempt to showcase their acting skills, while new actors struggle with delivering their lines properly, leading to post-production dubbing that isn’t even done by the actors themselves. Furthermore, the scriptwriting still has much room for improvement. Whether in books or TV shows, if characters repeatedly say the same line—one that the screenwriter deems important—within a similar timeframe or sequence of events, it’s a clear indicator that the writer’s skills are not yet fully refined. For instance, in this show, different characters repeatedly say, “Every case has its own unique scent and temperament.”

Qin Chuan is a man who embodies all the qualities of a capable person. His excellent traits are a concentration of the qualities needed to get things done. In summary, he has the following strengths:

First, he has the will to act. In the West Mountain Coal Mine explosion and robbery case, Qin Chuan’s background and the reasons he became a detective are explained clearly. He takes down the main suspect in an assault-on-officer case, and after the robbery at West Mountain, his personal desire to act is highlighted through his conflict with the head of the criminal investigation team, Hu Bing. Later, when he’s transferred to the Pretrial Department, he not only takes the initiative in his own work but also motivates senior officers to elevate the work to a new level.

Second, he is capable of acting. While the will to act is a subjective intention, the ability to act is based on personal skill. Only when someone is capable of getting things done can they move forward. Qin Chuan’s recognition with an individual second-class merit in solving the West Mountain Coal Mine explosion case demonstrates the organization’s acknowledgment of his abilities.

Third, he understands the methods to get things done. Once Qin Chuan becomes Qin Zong (a key position), especially while guiding various cases, he provides practical methods for the responsible units. For instance, in solving the case of Wang Li’s assault on three minors, the contrast between Qin Chuan and Tao, played by Fu Dalong, is stark. Similarly, in the case of Qingjiang, the contrast between Qin Chuan and Yang Xiong, played by Zhu Hui, is equally pronounced. While they share the core characteristics of a detective, Qin Chuan has an additional strength: the methodology to get things done. After taking over two cases, his first step is to define the nature of the case—whether it’s about financial gain or homicide, whether it’s committed by locals or outsiders. By determining the core issue first, he can then focus on it throughout the investigation. This is crucial because if the direction of the investigation is wrong from the start, the case will not yield correct results. The key is to start well.

Fourth, his ability to mobilize resources. The more new technology is applied, the greater the demand for resource management skills. Qin Chuan begins with only two officers and a four-person team formed with his friends. As he advances to become the head of the Provincial Criminal Investigation Team, his ability to mobilize resources evolves dramatically. In the Zhang Kehan case, he only managed to mobilize 80 people to screen videos, despite wanting 200. However, when solving cold cases later, he could mobilize provincial resources for DNA testing.

The show also provides insight into criminal investigation techniques:

1. Homicides generally fall into two categories: financial motives and murder for revenge. While murders for financial gain often involve killing, pure revenge killings rarely include theft.
2. The current homicide case clearance rate exceeds 90%, and in some cases, suspects can even be identified before the crime scene is fully processed.
3. Criminal investigation work mainly revolves around identifying suspects based on traces found at the crime scene. The fewer traces there are, the more it suggests that the criminal came prepared.
4. Difficult-to-solve cases are not necessarily committed by intelligent criminals. In some cases, they may be committed by someone who commits the crime on a whim and has no previous criminal history.