Police commissioner to police detective
A police commissioner already meets 62% of what the police detective role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
37.7/ 100
1 How much of what a police detective is expected to do is already part of a police commissioner’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 10 of its required skills as things a police commissioner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct research interview
- criminology
- develop investigation strategy
- ensure law application
- form operational strategies for law enforcement
- handle case evidence
What stands in the way is 4 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 18 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 police commissioner background worth leading with.
- already held form operational strategies for law enforcement assisting and caring
- already held lead police investigations information skills
- already held investigate forgery cases information skills
- already held perform drug investigations information skills
- already held develop investigation strategy information skills
- already held first response health and welfare
All 18 carried skills, including the 10 the police detective role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 4 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 analyse legal evidence required
- still to learn examine crime scenes required
- still to learn hear witness accounts required
- optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
- optional, not held present evidence optional
- optional, not held write situation reports optional
- still to learn legal use-of-force required
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held detain offenders 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
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 analyse legal evidence practise this
- 02 examine crime scenes practise this
- 03 hear witness accounts 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held conduct research interview skill
- already held criminology knowledge
- already held develop investigation strategy skill
- already held ensure law application skill
- already held form operational strategies for law enforcement skill
- already held handle case evidence skill
- already held investigation research methods knowledge
- already held law enforcement knowledge
- already held lead police investigations skill
- already held maintain operational communications skill
- already held apply first response skill
- already held conduct public presentations skill
- already held criminal law knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held ensure information security skill
- already held first response knowledge
- already held investigate forgery cases skill
- already held perform drug investigations skill
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held identify security threats optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
- optional, not held practice vigilance optional
- optional, not held present evidence optional
- optional, not held restrain individuals optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- optional, not held write situation reports optional
14 held skills the police detective role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
- not needed by the target role apply health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate patrols skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with policies skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate employees skill
- not needed by the target role instruct public skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage security clearance skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role set organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role undertake inspections skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
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 legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
Common questions about this move
Can a police commissioner become a police detective?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A police commissioner already covers 62% of what a police detective is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 10 of which the police detective role treats as required.
What skills does a police commissioner need to become a police detective?
4 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse legal evidence.
How hard is the move from police commissioner to police detective?
Its learning distance is 37.7 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.