^ :lol: it is curious indeed.
Well, firstly I assumed he must be a detective because all the CSI's in NY are, rather than being civilians like elsewhere. But, similarly I didn't quite buy him just magically becoming a detective overnight (and I still think it's weird).
I happened to be watching the episode where the weather girl dies, and they go to see her boss. He shows his badge and the guy calls him 'detective' a number of times. So then I edited my post figuring that impersonating a detective probably isn't allowed, so he must be one! :lol:
But now I'm not quite as sure, because (I never watch things in order) I saw the episode from earlier in season 2, where the boy dies in a fire. Hawkes gives the grieving mother his card and Flack isn't happy about it, and Hawkes refers to himself as a scientist and Flack as the detective.
So in conclusion, I think he must be, but until I hear him refer to himself as Detective I'm not going to be convinced! :lol: