Police officer to police detective
A police officer already meets 62% of what the police detective role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
38.5/ 100
1 How much of what a police detective is expected to do is already part of a police officer’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 8 of its required skills as things a police officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse legal evidence
- ensure law application
- examine crime scenes
- handle case evidence
- hear witness accounts
- investigation research methods
What stands in the way is 6 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 22 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 officer background worth leading with.
- already held investigate forgery cases information skills
- already held perform drug investigations information skills
- already held examine crime scenes information skills
- already held hear witness accounts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held control crowd assisting and caring
- already held first response health and welfare
All 22 carried skills, including the 8 the police detective role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 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 conduct research interview required
- still to learn maintain operational communications required
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- still to learn lead police investigations required
- still to learn develop investigation strategy required
- still to learn form operational strategies for law enforcement required
- optional, not held ensure information security optional
- still to learn criminology required
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held legal research 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 conduct research interview 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held analyse legal evidence skill
- already held ensure law application skill
- already held examine crime scenes 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 legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held apply first response skill
- already held apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- already held control crowd skill
- already held detain offenders skill
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held first response knowledge
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held investigate forgery cases skill
- already held perform drug investigations skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held present evidence skill
- already held restrain individuals skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
- already held write situation reports skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held ensure information security optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
33 held skills the police detective role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse road traffic patterns skill
- not needed by the target role anticipate foreseeable problems on the road skill
- not needed by the target role assess railway operations skill
- not needed by the target role check diving equipment skill
- not needed by the target role check official documents skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role comply with the principles of self-defence skill
- not needed by the target role conduct drug abuse tests skill
- not needed by the target role conduct frisk skill
- not needed by the target role diving operation requirements knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate public on road safety skill
- not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
- not needed by the target role execute working instructions skill
- not needed by the target role illegal substances knowledge
- not needed by the target role instruct public skill
- not needed by the target role investigate road accidents skill
- not needed by the target role issue fines skill
- not needed by the target role maintain diving equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain order at scenes of accidents skill
- not needed by the target role manage major incidents skill
- not needed by the target role manage theft prevention skill
- not needed by the target role patrol areas skill
- not needed by the target role perform underwater investigations skill
- not needed by the target role physical characteristics of railways knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide care for horses skill
- not needed by the target role railway law knowledge
- not needed by the target role regulate traffic skill
- not needed by the target role respond to enquiries skill
- not needed by the target role ride horses skill
- not needed by the target role road traffic laws knowledge
- not needed by the target role safe horseback riding principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role train animals for professional purposes skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
4 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 criminology required
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
Other moves recorded from police officer
- police trainer 68% covered · moderate
- police inspector 63% covered · moderate
- prison officer 58% covered · moderate
- juvenile correctional officer 54% covered · moderate
- civil enforcement officer 51% covered · moderate
- immigration officer 47% covered · moderate
- infantry soldier 43% covered · moderate
- court bailiff 42% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a police officer become a police detective?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A police officer already covers 62% of what a police detective is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 8 of which the police detective role treats as required.
What skills does a police officer need to become a police detective?
6 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is form operational strategies for law enforcement.
How hard is the move from police officer to police detective?
Its learning distance is 38.5 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.