Lawyer to police detective
A lawyer already meets 50% of what the police detective role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
49.6/ 100
1 How much of what a police detective is expected to do is already part of a lawyer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the police detective role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A police detective role treats 9 of its required skills as things a lawyer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse legal evidence
- conduct research interview
- criminology
- ensure law application
- handle case evidence
- hear witness accounts
What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A police detective role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a lawyer background worth leading with.
- already held hear witness accounts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held handle case evidence communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held investigation research methods services
- already held criminology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held present evidence communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse legal evidence information skills
All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the police detective role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn lead police investigations required
- still to learn develop investigation strategy required
- still to learn examine crime scenes required
- optional, not held investigate forgery cases optional
- optional, not held perform drug investigations optional
- still to learn form operational strategies for law enforcement required
- optional, not held apply first response optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
- optional, not held ensure information security optional
- optional, not held identify security threats optional
- optional, not held practice vigilance optional
- optional, not held restrain individuals optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- still to learn legal use-of-force required
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held write situation reports optional
- optional, not held first response optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a police detective role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 form operational strategies for law enforcement practise this
- 02 lead police investigations practise this
- 03 develop investigation strategy practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held analyse legal evidence skill
- already held conduct research interview skill
- already held criminology knowledge
- already held ensure law application skill
- already held handle case evidence skill
- already held hear witness accounts skill
- already held investigation research methods knowledge
- already held law enforcement knowledge
- already held maintain operational communications skill
- already held apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- already held criminal law knowledge
- already held legal research knowledge
- already held present evidence skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held investigate forgery cases optional
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held perform drug investigations optional
- optional, not held apply first response optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
- optional, not held ensure information security optional
- optional, not held identify security threats optional
- optional, not held practice vigilance optional
- optional, not held restrain individuals optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- optional, not held write situation reports optional
86 held skills the police detective role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT security legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on legal decisions skill
- not needed by the target role advise on legal services skill
- not needed by the target role advise on participation in financial markets skill
- not needed by the target role air transport law knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse internal factors of companies skill
- not needed by the target role analyse legal enforceability skill
- not needed by the target role anti-dumping law knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role architecture regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role business law knowledge
- not needed by the target role civil law knowledge
- not needed by the target role civil process order knowledge
- not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role competition law knowledge
- not needed by the target role compile legal documents skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role constitutional law knowledge
- not needed by the target role consult with business clients skill
- not needed by the target role consumer law knowledge
- not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role court procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role customs law knowledge
- not needed by the target role detect financial crime skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role document evidence skill
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role family law knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial statements knowledge
- not needed by the target role food legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role government representation knowledge
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify clients' needs skill
46 further entries not listed here
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn legal use-of-force required
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
Other moves recorded from lawyer
- court jury coordinator 73% covered · adjacent
- justice of the peace 70% covered · moderate
- mediator 67% covered · moderate
- supreme court judge 64% covered · moderate
- judge 62% covered · moderate
- legal policy officer 57% covered · moderate
- case administrator 55% covered · moderate
- intellectual property consultant 54% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a lawyer become a police detective?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A lawyer already covers 50% of what a police detective is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 9 of which the police detective role treats as required.
What skills does a lawyer need to become a police detective?
5 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is form operational strategies for law enforcement.
How hard is the move from lawyer to police detective?
Its learning distance is 49.6 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.