Detectives are known for their investigative skills. Detectives work for a number of agencies, such as local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and state or federal law enforcement agencies, where their duties may include crime scene investigation, undercover operations and surveillance to gather evidence.
There are a variety of careers available to those with a degree in Criminal Justice. If you have an interest in helping others, thinking outside the box and problem solving, then a career as a detective may be for you. Detectives work to protect everyone from crime, with specialties involving cybercrime, gangs, drugs and frauds. Detectives take cases from start to finish and are often responsible for obtaining evidence necessary for prosecution. To become a detective you will need a college education, depending on your region of course, but some police departments require two years of college before entering the academy to train with other detectives.
Detectives and criminal investigators have starting salaries ranging from $19,249 to $48,000. The types of crimes investigated, the level of education and training needed for the position and the geographic region can affect pay.
Starting Salary For Detectives Overview
A detective’s salary can vary widely depending on the area in which they work, their level of experience, and whether or not they are employed by a law enforcement agency.
The average starting salary for a criminal investigator is $50,000 per year. Depending on their level of experience and position within an organization, this number can increase significantly.
A homicide detective earns an average annual salary of $70,000. However, if they have been working as such for many years and have gained a high level of experience and knowledge, their salaries can reach well over $100k each year.
In addition to these salaries being higher than those earned by other types of detectives (such as forensic investigators), they also enjoy better benefits packages including health insurance coverage and retirement plans.
What is a detective?
The detective job description explains detectives are, essentially, police officers who work on specialist, severe or complex investigations. Detectives and criminal investigators have accreditations and are responsible for managing an array of investigations, including but not limited to; drugs, child protection, robbery, homicide, cyber-crime, fraud, domestic violence and counter-terrorism.
The criminal investigation department or a CID job will see officers investigate these serious crimes, work with police officers, victims and forensic investigators. A detective investigator is not a rank but more of a title which demonstrates the role, skills, training, knowledge and experience within the field. Detectives work alongside their uniformed colleagues, usually at the same pay and rank.
What does a detective do?
Detective jobs – also known as a crime investigator or police investigator – can work across several specialist departments. Detective constable jobs are commonly known to be part of the criminal investigations department (CID), which handles suspicious deaths, robbery, serious assaults, domestic or racial abuse and burglary. However, detective careers may lead you to the drugs squad (dealing with drug trafficking) or the fraud squad (investigating a company or business and financial fraud).As a superintendent, you can see a wage between £64,478 to £77340, or £81,156 to £85,614 as a chief superintendent.
But, a crime investigator may be found amongst the firearms squad, responsible for investigating and responding to offences involving firearms – which could include potential hostage situations or live incidents. Any of these units can see you working in undercover police jobs or solving complex cases. Lastly, a police investigator can work within the child protection department or the Special Branch for national security and international terrorism.
Individuals will need to complete further professional training to start in any of these specialist units, and it’s possible to transfer across them throughout your career. Each police force in the UK will have various departments, and some may be larger than others, and you may find strong competition.
A detective needs to gather, verify and assess information on the investigation, develop and evaluate strategies, work closely and communicate with other staff and make decisions. They may analyse and interpret data, prepare case papers and evidence files, handle exhibits and deal with forensic material.
The detective career extends to assessing and recruiting informants, participating with raids, searches and arrests – where appropriate – obtaining statements from witnesses and conducting interviews and interrogations. Detective police will liaise with internal and external agencies, like courts, social workers and schools, and work efficiently with all members of their team, as well as keep up to date with current legislation and procedures.
How to become a police detective in the UK?
Now, how to become a detective, and what qualifications do you need to be a detective in the UK? Many may think that they need to work as a police officer beforehand, but it isn’t the case. There are detective qualifications available, where individuals can learn detective skills required for the job.
What GCSE’s do you need to be a detective? There are not any set requirements but Maths and English at a decent grade will be beneficial. However, there are other skills that are highly sought after, such as; excellent communication skills, planning and organisation, problem-solving skills and the ability to keep calm in challenging situations.
Candidates should be good at decision making and have the ability to analyse and evaluate evidence, as well as conduct an investigation effectively. Detectives will need to have high ethical standards, a sense of personal responsibility, respect for diversity and effective leadership skills, with a good level of physical fitness and standard eyesight.
How to be a police detective if you already have a degree? There is now the detective graduate scheme where you can take alternative training through the Police Now National Detective Programme, which lasts two years and allows you to obtain detective skills for the role.Detectives work alongside their uniformed colleagues, usually at the same pay and rank.
To qualify for the graduate detective scheme, candidates need to hold a 2:2 undergraduate degree and have at least two years’ post-graduate work experience – one example could be working as a Special Police Constable at your local police station. Once successful, you will start at the Detective Academy for an intensive 12-week residential training course which offers a mix of field and classroom learning. To move to the next step, you also need to pass the National Investigators Exam (NIE). Then individuals will complete in-force training, immersion training – where you work at a force in uniform for core policing skills – and work across various departments in accelerated training to learn how to investigate complex and serious crimes.
How to be a detective without a degree? If you’re searching for another route or an alternative to a detective degree, you can also choose the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship which is also available. You can also contact your local police force or search for their current vacancies to enquire what courses are available.
How do I become a detective if I’m already a police constable? Here it will depend on the force, but you can speak to your sergeant and chief constable for guidance on how to progress through the CID ranks. You may be able to study the detective qualifications or train while working or on a part-time basis.
How much do detectives make?
Now you know the journey for becoming a detective, the next step is researching British police detective ranks and their earnings. The UK police detective salary ranges and the following guides include England, Northern Ireland and Wales, with the starting salary for a newly qualified constable beginning at around £23,123. Those starting can expect an annual rise with experience and could see the UK detective salary being as high as £38,382 at the very top of the constable pay scale.There are detective qualifications available, where individuals can learn detective skills required for the job.
Experienced individuals can expect a detective wage between £39,693 and £43134 as a sergeant, £49,176 and £55,512 as a detective inspector salary, followed by £54,432 and £56,670 for the DCI salary (detective chief inspector). Then, as a superintendent, you can see a wage between £64,478 to £77340, or £81,156 to £85,614 as a chief superintendent. Furthermore, assistant chief constables to chief constables can receive between £98,538 and £111,249, depending on the police force.
The CID police salary, for detectives starting in Scotland, is £28,392 and the detective constable salary can be as high as £40,877 after ten years. Within a sergeant role, you can expect £40,878, increasing over time, and £86,433 for chief superintendents.
In addition to salary, officers can receive regional allowances for working in London, which is equal up to £6,735 per year. Additionally, detectives receive a range of benefits, such as flexible work schedule, paid sick leave, a pension, part-time options, childcare schemes, and occupational health support. You’ll typically be offered a minimum of 22 days of annual leave – 28 in Scotland – parental leave, trade unions and access to sports facilities.
