Where a police detective can go next
5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a police detective already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Police detectives gather and compile evidence which assists them in the solution of crimes. They use investigative techniques to gather evidence, and interview all parties connected to their line of enquiry, and cooperate with other police department divisions to gather the evidence.
Also known as chief detective, detective inspector, detective constable, detective superintendent.
Technicians and associate professionals 33 skills on file 5 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: police commissioner, 50%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
A police detective needs 14 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- form operational strategies for law enforcement assisting and caring
- lead police investigations information skills
- develop investigation strategy information skills
- examine crime scenes information skills
- hear witness accounts communication, collaboration and creativity
- handle case evidence communication, collaboration and creativity
- investigation research methods services
- criminology social sciences, journalism and information
- analyse legal evidence information skills
- legal use-of-force business, administration and law
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a police detective does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- police officer 63% covered · difficulty 38.5
- police commissioner 62% covered · difficulty 37.7
- lawyer 50% covered · difficulty 49.6
- private detective 50% covered · difficulty 49.6
- intelligence officer 47% covered · difficulty 52.2
- police trainer 44% covered · difficulty 54.8
- criminal investigator 26% covered · difficulty 68.9
- polygraph examiner 23% covered · difficulty 71.9
Look up another occupation
Police detective is filed under Technicians and associate professionals, ISCO major group 3. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a police detective’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.