Partners in Crime : Similarities and Differences Team Up for Santa Ana Police Investigators

It was the closest thing to a blind date that Santa Ana police investigator Bob Silverthorne had experienced in years. But the stakes were a lot higher, and he was feeling the heat as he waited and wondered.

After all, even the worst Date from Hell is over in hours. But the decision being made behind closed doors by the Police Department’s powers-that-be was one that Silverthorne, 45, would be expected to live with eight hours a day, five days a week, for perhaps years.

A selection committee was sifting through 11 applications to hand-pick Silverthorne’s new investigative partner, the person with whom he would soon spend more waking hours than his own wife.

“I understood the logic behind not directly involving me in the process,” says Silverthorne, who works in the department’s economic crimes unit, investigating forgeries, counterfeit checks and credit cards, “clone phones” and fraudulent credit applications.

“They want to judge the candidates objectively, give everyone a fair chance and avoid the good ol’ boy syndrome. But when you’re the guy who’s going to have to live with the decision being made, you can’t help but be a little anxious,” he says. “You wonder whether you’re going to be able to work with the person, whether you’re going to get along.”

When Silverthorne, who lives in Lake Forest, learned that his new partner was an 11-year veteran street cop named Don Fox, he ended the suspense by calling Fox and inviting him to meet for a cup of coffee. Silverthorne remembers that first meeting well.

“We were both real curious to check each other out,” he says. “All I knew about Don was what I’d been told. We may have passed in a hallway or said ‘hello’ during a roll call, but we’d never really talked. I remember wondering whether we’d have anything in common and whether our differences would be significant.”

And there were differences, primarily in their training and experience. Silverthorne had been an investigator for 17 years, working every detail from armed robbery to auto theft. Fox, 47, had solid experience on the street but no investigative background. Silverthorne held a degree in criminal justice. Fox dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and later earned his GED.

“But the more we talked, the more we realized that we had a lot in common as well,” recalls Fox. “We’re both married, we both have kids and we both really love animals. What really broke the ice, though, was when we realized that we’d both served in Vietnam. Though we didn’t know it at the time, we were stationed within a half-mile of each other.”

*

In the two years since their initial meeting, Fox and Silverthorne became fast friends, forging an alliance that has extended well beyond the confines of their second-floor office at Santa Ana’s City Hall.

They commute to work together three or four days a week. They and their wives have taken a vacation cruise to Mexico. They attend the same church, and more often than not start their Sunday mornings with breakfast together. When Fox’s daughter, Hailey, was born a year ago, Silverthorne and his wife, Carol, were asked to be her godparents.

“I’ve never had as much in common with any of my former partners,” says Silverthorne. “I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Don and I are from the same generation. There are kids in the department who don’t have a clue what the world was like 25 years ago. Their frame of reference is totally different. But Don is somebody who’s gone through the same things I’ve gone through and seen the things I’ve seen. We understand each other.”

That common bond--and the friendship that has resulted--has been an unexpected but welcome surprise for Fox.

“It never occurred to me when I got this job that I’d end up with such a close friend out of the deal,” he says. “To tell you the truth, the main reason I applied for the job was that I’d just gotten married and I really wanted a degree of normality in my life. I wanted off the street. I wanted weekends and holidays off. I was open to the idea that I might enjoy doing investigative work, but I had no idea it would work out like it has.”

Now that Fox has worked the economic crimes investigative unit for two years, he’s convinced that he and Silverthorne have two of the best jobs on the force.

“The bad guys we deal with are a cut above,” says Fox. “For the most part, they use pens and computers instead of guns. They’re the guys who’ll pass a counterfeit $50,000 cashier’s check to scam a local business out of 10 computers. By the time the check bounces, of course, they’re long gone. They’re organized, they’re smart and they’re sophisticated, which makes solving our cases all that much more challenging.

“I also like the fact that I don’t have to walk into the morgue to see my victim,” Fox continues. “The victims we deal with are usually business people who’ve sustained a financial loss, and they’re happy to see us. They’re cooperative. They see us as allies instead of enemies, which isn’t always the case when you’re doing police work.”

*

At any given time, Fox and Silverthorne are each working 25 to 50 open cases. Their desks are separated only by a five-foot partition, and they brainstorm and exchange information throughout the day.

“The way we work our cases is very different,” Silverthorne says. “Don uses the computer for everything. I’m an old salt. I still don’t trust them because I’ve seen them crash. I’d rather rely on my memory.

“And look at our desks. Don’s is immaculate. Mine is cluttered. He files everything. I tell him a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind. For me, it’s out of sight, out of mind. I’d forget about a case that was filed away like that.”

Silverthorne is quick to admit that his partner’s enthusiasm has revitalized his approach to his work.

“I know that after doing this work for as long as I have, it’s easy to get set in your ways,” he says. “Don has been a breath of fresh air because he came in here with lots of enthusiasm and new ideas. I’ve been able to teach him a lot about investigative strategies and techniques, but he’s taught me a lot, too.

“Together, we’ve pushed for changes in the unit that either one of us probably wouldn’t have been able to make happen on our own. But with two of us, we’re twice as likely to be heard.”

Fox says that in addition to learning the ropes of investigations from Silverthorne, he’s also learned to slow down a little.

“Bob has taught me to take a deep breath now and then,” he says. “Bob’s very methodical about what he does. I tend to be more excitable. My boiling point is lower than his. He’s a much better listener than I am. He hears things I wouldn’t hear. On the other hand, I think I’m probably the better talker. I ask questions that Bob wouldn’t ask.”

Investigations commander Lt. Rick Hicks, who oversees the economic crimes division and was one of four officers on the committee that selected Fox, says Silverthorne and Fox have blended their skills and styles to create what he considers a first-class partnership.

“It’s funny, but when you pair up two officers, one of two things usually happens,” says Hicks. “They either hit it off and become great friends, or they don’t get along at all. There’s rarely a middle ground.

“I felt confident that Bob and Don’s skills and life experience would make for a good fit, and I’ve been extremely happy with the results. They’re good officers and they’re good men. They have fun, but they’re all business when they need to be.”

But as with any relationship, Silverthorne and Fox acknowledge, their partnership has weathered a few rough spots.

“There are times when one of us is having a bad day and the other knows to stay out of the way,” Fox says. “There are even times when both of us are having a bad day. We’ve learned to read each other pretty well. We cut each other some slack until it blows over. But we’re also conscious about not letting anything linger too long. If there’s a problem or a concern, we’ll talk about it and clear the air.”

Explains Silverthorne: “You have to communicate. It’s like a marriage. We work too closely together for too many hours a day to let a problem simmer.”

That openness has promoted a degree of trust that both Fox and Silverthorne agree forms the foundation of their relationship.

“There are some inherent dangers in this job,” says Fox, “and I don’t have any problem knowing when we go out on the streets to question witnesses or arrest a suspect that I can depend on Bob for whatever it takes. There are two priorities whenever we go out of this building--that I’m going to go home at the end of my shift, and he’s going to go home at the end of his.”

Silverthorne nods. “That’s the bottom line,” he says. “Whether or not we catch the bad guys is always a variable. But depending on each other for officer safety and emotional support is something that’s beyond question. I trust him with my life, and he knows he can trust me with his.”