Published: September 06, 2008 10:09 pm            

AT RANDOM: HPD detective working hard to solve crimes

Marvin Hyvl never intended to be a police officer.

According to him, the idea of entering a career in law enforcement was the last thing on his mind, but today, you can ask any police officer in Huntsville about Hyvl, and you hear one word: legend.

Since 1980, Hyvl has served the people of Huntsville as a member of the Huntsville Police Department, starting in patrol and working his way to becoming one of the most prominent detectives in the criminal investigative division.

According to Hyvl, his journey to detective began in the early 1970s, while he was a student at Texas A&M University.

“I was working in the A&M transportation system,” Hyvl said, “and there was this Lieutenant on the A&M police force, Lt. Henry. He got to know me a little and one day he just said to me: ‘I think you'll do good in law enforcement.’ So I decided to give it a try.”

Hyvl spent the next nine years learning the ropes at the Texas A&M Police Department. In 1980, he turned his eye to Huntsville in the search for a more versatile job.

Like most Huntsville police officers, Hyvl started in patrol, working the traffic division, but quickly worked his way up through the ranks to become a detective.

After working a wide variety of cases, Hyvl discovered he had a knack for solving thefts.

“I’ve done just about every investigation you can think of,” Hyvl said, “but over time I developed a specialty in the area of burglary and theft. I’m just able to work well there.”

With his niche carved out, Hyvl began to build on an already sound reputation as a police officer.

After 28 years in the department, Hyvl looks back on it all as a rewarding experience, and says he doesn’t need to remember how many years he worked in each division.

“I’m one of those that doesn’t pay attention to years,” he said. “I want to concentrate on doing my work as best I can.”

Hyvl’s focus on his work has earned him tremendous respect from his colleagues, but Hyvl himself remains a humble working man, almost mystified at the praise showered on him.

Though everyone agrees that he is one of the most successful detectives in Huntsville history, Hyvl himself has no idea how many crimes he solves each year.

“I don’t believe in stats. I believe you need to do the job for the victim, and each person is important,” Hyvl said. “Also, I don’t consider myself the person that ‘solves the case.’ It’s me and everyone else put together.”

If humility best describes Hyvl the man, Hyvl the detective is best described by another word: simplicity.

Though he is widely regarded as a detective who can solve the toughest cases, his working method is no more complex than any other police officer. For Hyvl, it’s not about how you work, but about how hard you work.

“I start by looking at the police report and developing questions in my own head,” Hyvl said. “Then I start to ask questions of the victim, because I may see something in that report that maybe didn’t mean anything to the officer who wrote it, but it might be that detail that breaks the case open.”

From there, Hyvl sticks to a strict work ethic, pounding the pavement until he feels he’s heading in the right direction.

“I like to get out and talk to people, because that’s where I learn where to go,” he said. “There’s no detective out there that can solve the crime based on his own knowledge.”

Hyvl puts tremendous emphasis on the power of interaction, talking to everyone in his path when working a case.

“You learn from new guys coming up, you learn from little kids on the street, you learn from everyone you talk to,” Hyvl said. “You can’t exclude anything. You have to have that relationship with the world around you.”

Regardless of how complex or how interesting the case may turn out to be, For Hyvl it’s always about the people it affects.

“I work for the people,” Hyvl said. “Lt. Henry at A&M instilled that in me. He said: ‘You may wear a badge, but you work for the people.’”

It is this dedication to the victim, and his unrestrained desire to give everything he has for every single case, that sets Hyvl apart in the eyes of his colleagues.

“He takes a lot of cases that the rest of us don’t think have a chance, and he can solve them,” said Sgt. Jim Barnes, head of the HPD criminal investigative division. “Through his sheer tenacity, the tracks down the suspect and solves it.”

“If ever I was the victim of crime, I would want him to investigate it,” said Jean Sanders, Huntsville chief of police. “I’ve known him for 25 years, and his spirit is just as high as it was when I first met him.”

After 28 years, countless cases solved, and lots of hard work, Hyvl has no plans to leave Huntsville.

“I like working with the people here,” he said. “I like the people in the community. You get support here, and when the community supports you, that’s where you want to go.”

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.