Detective

Description

A detective finds proof and facts for crime investigations. They inspect crime scenes, find any unusual thing or physical evidence there, ask questions and interview the suspects and people who witnessed the crime or was told by someone else who witnessed the crime or the friends and family of victim, the suspect and the witness. They gather and compile evidence and then report all they have found out to their head chief or anyone superior.

Types

• Homicide detective: They come into play when someone has been killed due to unnatural causes and at the hands of another person.
• Robbery detective: They are the most common type of crimes committed and include bank robberies, armed robberies, kidnappings, extortion and home invasions among others. They review reports, take detailed interviews of the people involved and their family, investigate the crime scene to look for any DNA or physical evidence and then come to a conclusion.
• Cyber crimes detective: They investigate crimes of harassment and threats to the victim via internet using digital media such as cell phones, computers and laptops. They also look into scams, hacking and property infringement. For this they need to undertake computer courses before they are able to join the force.
• Narcotics detective: They investigate drug lords and other people involved in the drug trade and organize raids and undercover operations and look into buying and selling of illegal drugs.

Cold case detectives: They are new or old detectives who work part time on cases that have not been solved for years and whose trail have gone cold. They may be missing persons' cases or a case of homicide. They interview old detectives that worked on the case years ago, as well as old suspects, witnesses and acquaintances of the victim or the missing person.

Common Duties/Routines

• They can charge a person for committing a crime if they have sufficient evidence to do so.
• They take part in raids and arrests for example on a drug dealer's home.
• They have to keep safe all records and documents.
• They might also have to give a testimony at court in front of judge and jury.
• They may have to travel to different places or cities during the investigation of a crime.
• They have to make reports of what they find during their investigation.
• Cooperation with other departments is required to compare and contrast the information gathered by different departments and to exchange information so that everyone is on the same page.

Required/Trained Skills

• Excellent judgement skills.
• Pay attention to details as little things found from the scene of crime can help crack open a case.
• Sharp analytical skills and the ability to think critically.
• Physically active and fit because travel and stamina is required.
• Good communication skills.
• Problem solving skills.
• Be able to build trust so that witnesses and other people are at ease and tell them the truth.
• Sound knowledge of law and can apply legal knowledge in practical situations related to their detective work.
• Honesty and integrity are important traits as well as a sense of right and wrong and the compassion and dedication to help society and deepunderstanding of their loss.

Education

You start your career with being a police officer. Mostly completing high school is enough to get into this profession. However, some police academies expect that you have had a major in criminal justice, law enforcement, forensic science or some other related degree. After you are enrolled as police officer, you can pass a test and get promoted to detective if they deem you fit and you are able to score decently on the test.

However, if you want to be become a detective without becoming a police officer first, then you can start your own firm and become a private investigator or detective.

Salary/Compensation

On average you can earn $76,000 annually and if you solve more cases than your fellow peers and become a renowned and good detective with years of experience to your name, you can earn as much as $125,000 monthly on average.

Salary varies according to the city and the number of crimes that are committed there in a month or year. And also on the type of detective that you choose to be.