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Protective Services33-3021.00Specialization

Detectives and Criminal Investigators

Conduct investigations related to suspected violations of federal, state, or local laws to prevent or solve crimes.

$91,100
Median Pay
Less than 6 months
Training
🟠
In Transition
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View Law Enforcement Officers

This is a specialization of

Law Enforcement Officers

Career Overview Video

AI Impact Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 2/6: declining job demand indicates this career is being transformed by AI

🟠In Transition

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure
Medium+1

32% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth
Declining+0

-1% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage
Moderate+1

EPOCH score: 18/25

Total Score2/6
Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09
View full methodology →

Key Responsibilities

  • Check victims for signs of life, such as breathing and pulse.
  • Obtain facts or statements from complainants, witnesses, and accused persons and record interviews, using recording device.
  • Secure deceased body and obtain evidence from it, preventing bystanders from tampering with it prior to medical examiner's arrival.
  • Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants.
  • Prepare reports that detail investigation findings.
  • Prepare charges or responses to charges, or information for court cases, according to formalized procedures.
  • Preserve, process, and analyze items of evidence obtained from crime scenes and suspects, placing them in proper containers and destroying evidence no longer needed.
  • Obtain summary of incident from officer in charge at crime scene, taking care to avoid disturbing evidence.
  • Note, mark, and photograph location of objects found, such as footprints, tire tracks, bullets and bloodstains, and take measurements of the scene.
  • Examine records and governmental agency files to find identifying data about suspects.

Education & Training

Typical Entry Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Time to Job Ready

1-3 years

Based on Job Zone 3. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.

Technology Skills

Case management softwareMicrosoft OfficeDatabase systemsForensic toolsReport writingSurveillance systems

Key Abilities

Oral ComprehensionInductive ReasoningOral ExpressionProblem SensitivityDeductive ReasoningWritten ComprehensionInformation OrderingNear VisionSpeech RecognitionSpeech Clarity

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Find jobs and training programs for detectives and criminal investigators- Median salary: $91K/year

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Compensation Details

$50,670
10th Percentile
$91,100
Median
$154,360
90th Percentile

Based on 106,730 employed workers

Also Known As

Air MarshalBurglary InvestigatorChild Support AgentChild Support InvestigatorChild Support OfficerCIA Agent (Central Intelligence Agency Agent)City DetectiveCounter Intelligence AgentCrime AnalystCrime Investigator Special Agent

Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics

O*NET Code: 33-3021.00