Detectives & Criminal Investigators
Criminal Investigator, Detective, Investigator, Police Detective
What they do:
Conduct investigations related to suspected violations of federal, state, or local laws to prevent or solve crimes.
On the job, you would:
- Prepare reports that detail investigation findings.
- Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.
- Preserve, process, and analyze items of evidence obtained from crime scenes and suspects, placing them in proper containers and destroying evidence no longer needed.
Knowledge
Safety and Government
- law and government
- public safety and security
Business
- customer service
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Math and Science
- psychology
Skills
Basic Skills
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- talking to others
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Social
- understanding people's reactions
- changing what is done based on other people's actions
Abilities
Verbal
- listen and understand what people say
- communicate by speaking
Ideas and Logic
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
- notice when problems happen
Visual Understanding
- see hidden patterns
- quickly know what you are looking at
Attention
- pay attention to something without being distracted
Personality
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Initiative
- Perseverance
- Adaptability
- Stress Tolerance
- Self-Control
- Achievement Orientation
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Graphics or photo imaging software
- Adobe Photoshop Hot Technology
- Graphics software
Presentation software
- Microsoft PowerPoint Hot Technology
Data base user interface and query software
- Microsoft Access Hot Technology
- Structured query language SQL Hot Technology
Education
Education: (rated 2 of 4)
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
Explore More
- First-Line Supervisors of Police & Detectives
- Intelligence Analysts
- Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers
- Police Identification & Records Officers
- Private Detectives & Investigators
You might like a career in one of these industries:
See more details at O*NET OnLine about Detectives & Criminal Investigators.