What does a detective do?

Police Detective
Police detectives, also called criminal investigators, investigate crimes such as arson, homicide, robbery, vandalism, fraud, burglary, and assault. They interview witnesses and victims, gather evidence, prepare search and arrest warrants, question suspects, make arrests, and when necessary, testify in court. Unlike regular police officers, police detectives typically wear plainclothes instead of police uniforms and drive unmarked vehicles.

There are specialized police detectives for every type of crime. For example, police detectives can specialize in fraud, white-collar crime, burglary, homicide, sex crimes, narcotics, vice, etc. Detective positions are either promotions or lateral transfers from within the police department, therefore a police detective is required to first work as a police officer for at least two to three years, usually in the patrol division, before applying to be a detective in a special unit. A few years spent working as a police officer is very beneficial, as it is valuable experience in learning about people, laws, and criminal processes; all of which make for better detectives.

Police detectives often spend two to several years in one special unit before they move to another. Moving to other special units not only serves to widen their knowledge base and experience, but also prevents burnout (the job of a police detective is not as exciting or glamorous as movies and television programs would have you believe).

Police detectives spend most of their time working on detailed investigations. They work daily to gather tangible evidence of drug trafficking, terrorist activity, and other crimes. They may work undercover or through an informant; sometimes simply observing, monitoring, and recording the activities of known criminals is enough to gather necessary evidence for an indictment. Most substantial evidence, however, is obtained through the interrogation of both criminals and witnesses. Before making any arrests, police detectives must ensure that the collective evidence is accurate, true, and reliable. The best evidence in any crime is a direct confession, and police detectives have the right to use psychological techniques, misdirection, and lies to encourage a criminal to confess.

Police detectives need to have incredible attention to detail and be able to keep meticulous records. They also need to possess a high level of patience, as some crimes take years to solve.

Some Daily Activities of a Police Detective:

Collect, bag, and analyze evidence from crime scenes
Interview suspects, witnesses, informants, and victims
Work closely with crime scene investigators and other forensic professionals
Testify in court and inform jurors
Follow leads
Analyze information
Attend autopsies to gather additional evidence
Act as victim advocates in the search for justice
Write reports or analyze reports from other law enforcement personnel
Request assistance and exchange information from other law enforcement agencies
Take notes and prepare diagrams at crime scenes
Take photographs at crime scenes
Travel throughout their own and different jurisdictions
Follow potentially dead-end leads
Keep detailed records of investigations and interactions with people
Perform surveillance on potential suspects

Forensic Detective
Forensic science is a field that utilizes three scientific branches: biology, physics, and chemistry. Its focus is on recognizing, identifying, and evaluating physical evidence. Since it utilizes such a broad spectrum of sciences to extract information pertinent to legal evidence, it has become an integral and essential part of the judicial system (in both defense and prosecution arguments).

Forensic detectives (also known as forensic investigators) use scientific methods and their scientific knowledge to investigate and analyze physical evidence from a crime scene. They help solve crimes by determining how and when a crime occurred and who perpetrated it by analyzing relevant samples and running scientific tests. They collect evidence from the crime scene such as fingerprints, bodily fluids, and weapons, as well as write notes on their observations, take photographs, make sketches, and bag samples to take to the lab for later analysis. They write detailed reports and use solid scientific evidence in order to prove what occurred and often have to testify in court. Their evidence has to stand up to extreme scrutiny, especially in court.

By examining physical evidence, conducting tests, interpreting data, and writing detailed reports, a forensic detective can give a truthful testimony in court and often prove the existence of a crime or a connection to a crime. Since their only objective is to produce evidence based purely on scientific facts, the testimony of forensic detectives has become a trusted part of many criminal cases.

Forensic detectives typically need a bachelor’s degree in forensic science or a natural science such as chemistry or biology. Some forensic detectives get their start as police officers who transferred to forensics after obtaining the necessary education.

New forensic investigators typically apprentice with more experienced forensic detectives to get extensive on-the-job training. Training times vary depending on what is being taught. For example, DNA analysis training can last six months, and firearms analysis training can take up to three years. This profession requires constant learning to keep up with advances in forensic technology.

Computer Crime Detective (or Computer Crime Investigator)
Cybercrime involves a computer and a network that may either be the target of a crime, or may be used in a crime. This type of crime has the potential to harm a person or even a nation's security (cybercrimes crossing international borders and involving the actions of at least one nation-state is sometimes referred to as cyberwarfare).

Cybercrimes are defined as: "Offences that are committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm, or loss, to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as Internet (networks including chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones." - Cyber Crime and the Victimization of Women: Laws, Rights, and Regulations

According to a report (sponsored by McAfee), published in 2014, it is estimated that the annual damage to the global economy was $445 billion. Approximately $1.5 billion was lost in 2012 to online credit and debit card fraud in the US. In 2018, a study by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in partnership with McAfee, concludes that close to $600 billion, nearly one percent of global GDP, is lost to cybercrime each year.

A computer crime detective (or computer crime investigator) is able to investigate crimes that can range from computer hacking and copyright infringement, to investigating crimes against children and espionage. They can also help in recovering data from computers in order to use electronic evidence in prosecuting crimes, and are often called upon to testify in court.

Some computer crime detectives test corporate security systems that are already in place. Businesses and organizations need these professionals to help improve their networks, applications, and other computer systems in order to prevent data theft and fraud. By attempting to bypass system security and by trying to find and expose any weak points that could be taken advantage of by a malicious hacker, vulnerabilities are typically found in improper system configuration and in hardware or software flaws.

A computer crime detective's job responsibilities may include:

Analyzing computer systems
Assessing software applications for design flaws
Reconstructing hacked computer systems
Recovering destroyed or damaged data
Gathering computer system information and evidence
Improving and maximizing computer system performance levels
Preparing reports, affidavits, and testifying in court
Recovering password protected/encrypted files

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Criminal justice programs offered through most colleges and universities offer preparation to become a detective, but there are also a variety of online course options.

Private investigators have world-wide demand, with programs offered globally. For example, CSPIS (Canada School of Private Investigation and Security, Ltd.,) specializes in training investigators for both the public and private sectors, while DTI (Detective Training Institute) in California is a preparation course for the licensing exam. Completing course work toward a degree in Police Science is also a good idea. Understanding forensic processes and results gives detectives a leg up on closing cases.

If you’re not 100% sure on whether becoming a detective is for you or not, here are a few things you may want to consider:

It's Not So Glamorous
Most people think being a detective is a lot more glamorous than it really is. It’s actually a lot of hard work, involving hours of research before even leaving the house, sometimes driving miles to a site, sitting for hours waiting for something to happen, getting evidence of wrongdoing, driving back home, and writing any findings in a report.

Boredom
Detectives often have to sit in a surveillance position for hours upon hours until something happens, if anything happens at all. Relieving the boredom by reading a book or magazine isn't possible either, as something may occur during the time attention is diverted.

Work/Family Balance
Detectives may have to work some major holidays, as that’s when most people are apt to be active. On the plus side, they typically start work very early, and so are able to return home in the late afternoon (3pm or 4pm), instead of the 6pm or 7pm timeframe many other careers have.

Independence
Detectives work independently, make many of their own decisions, solve problems using their own skills and don't have someone constantly looking over their shoulder. This is a definite bonus when considering this career. Detectives are assigned cases and work on them until they are solved or until they reach a complete dead end.

More Potential as a Private Detective
A private detective's job potential is unlimited. Detectives are not limited to the same restrictions and constraints placed on government employees. They make their own hours and, to an extent, are architects of their own making. Although the private sector doesn't offer the same job security and benefits/perks as government employees, many individuals prefer the freedom.

Having to be Industrious
A good detective is self-driven, and fills the day with investigative activity. Detectives have more freedom than uniformed officers, but not as much stimulation. As a detective, you own the case and no one is going to work it for you or motivate you to do so.

Not a Physical Job
Detectives are rarely in physically confrontational situations with individuals. It's more a battle of patience and wits, piecing together evidence to implicate a suspect.

The following is a breakdown of the typical timeline that aspiring detectives follow to enter the career:

Education – two to four years
Generally, police departments are more likely to hire applicants with a degree than those who do not have one. A degree in criminology, criminal justice, or a related field is common among practising detectives. Earning an associate degree takes about two years; completing a bachelor’s takes about four years.

Becoming a police officer – two years
The road to becoming a full-fledged officer is comprised of four stages:
- The application process – up to three months
- The hiring process – up to four months, consisting of interviews and written, oral, physical, mental, psychological, medical, polygraph tests
- The training academy – about six months
- The probationary period – about a year of on-the-job training with a supervising officer

Getting experience as an officer – two to five years
Most police departments do not promote anyone before they have served two or three years. Other departments may require officers to have minimum five years of service before they can be promoted to a detective post.

According to the above prerequisites, it takes a minimum of six years to become a detective.

To be considered for a position with a private detective agency or to start your own agency and be hired by clients directly, you need to establish credibility by working for at least a year as a detective in the public sector.

Detectives rank in the 68th percentile of careers for satisfaction scores. Please note that this number is derived from the data we have collected from our Sokanu members only.

Being a detective is not like what you see on TV. However, it can be dangerous, dirty, frustrating, boring, and also rewarding with a high level of satisfaction with a job well done. It is not the profession for someone who enjoys the structure, security and safety of a "normal" office job.

Solving a case means going through many details (often boring trivial details) in order to ferret out some truth. Many detectives end up developing negative attitudes because of the constant exposure to criminals and liars.

Detectives rank in the 68th percentile of careers for satisfaction scores. Please note that this number is derived from the data we have collected from our Sokanu members only.

Being a detective is not what you see on TV. It can be dangerous, dirty, frustrating, boring, and also rewarding, with a high level of satisfaction with a job well done.

Solving a case means going through many details (often boring trivial details) in order to ferret out the truth. Some detectives end up developing negative attitudes because of the constant exposure to criminals and liars.

Based on our pool of users, detectives tend to be predominately investigative people. Almost every aspect of a detective’s job involves some kind of investigation. There is certainly proof of this in the following excerpt (particularly in the bolded words) from an interview with a detective from the Los Angeles Police Department:

Some of my tasks can be locating and interviewing witnesses, re-canvassing the crime scene for additional witnesses or evidence, locating and downloading surveillance footage, booking evidence, searching through criminal data bases, and meeting with other law enforcement officers, who have expertise in the area where the crime occurred.