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Date: 05/18/2025

Detectives and Criminal Investigators

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

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Examine records to locate links in chains of evidence or information.
    • Preserve, process, and analyze items of evidence obtained from crime scenes and suspects, placing them in proper containers and destroying evidence no longer needed.
    • Provide information to lab personnel concerning the source of an item of evidence and tests to be performed.
    • Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.
    • Question individuals or observe persons and establishments to confirm information given to patrol officers.
    • Notify command of situation and request assistance.
    • Search for and collect evidence, such as fingerprints, using investigative equipment.
    • Participate or assist in raids and arrests.
    • Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.
    • Organize scene search, assigning specific tasks and areas of search to individual officers and obtaining adequate lighting as necessary.
    • Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants.
    • Summon medical help for injured individuals and alert medical personnel to take statements from them.
    • Note, mark, and photograph location of objects found, such as footprints, tire tracks, bullets and bloodstains, and take measurements of the scene.
    • Check victims for signs of life, such as breathing and pulse.
    • Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants.
    • Question individuals or observe persons and establishments to confirm information given to patrol officers.
    • Notify command of situation and request assistance.
    • Collaborate with other offices and agencies to exchange information and coordinate activities.
    • Secure persons at scene, keeping witnesses from conversing or leaving the scene before investigators arrive.
    • Examine records and governmental agency files to find identifying data about suspects.
    • Secure deceased body and obtain evidence from it, preventing bystanders from tampering with it prior to medical examiner's arrival.
    • Analyze completed police reports to determine what additional information and investigative work is needed.
    • Secure deceased body and obtain evidence from it, preventing bystanders from tampering with it prior to medical examiner's arrival.
    • Examine records and governmental agency files to find identifying data about suspects.
    • Obtain summary of incident from officer in charge at crime scene, taking care to avoid disturbing evidence.
    • Prepare reports that detail investigation findings.
    • Testify before grand juries concerning criminal activity investigations.
    • Summon medical help for injured individuals and alert medical personnel to take statements from them.
    • Maintain surveillance of establishments to obtain identifying information on suspects.
    • Identify case issues and evidence needed, based on analysis of charges, complaints, or allegations of law violations.
    • Block or rope off scene and check perimeter to ensure that entire scene is secured.
    • 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.
    • Determine scope, timing, and direction of investigations.
    • Prepare and serve search and arrest warrants.
    • Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.
    • Notify, or request notification of, medical examiner or district attorney representative.
    • Obtain facts or statements from complainants, witnesses, and accused persons and record interviews, using recording device.
    • Perform undercover assignments and maintain surveillance, including monitoring authorized wiretaps.

    Skills

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    Knowledge

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 79770/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 38.35/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,310
    • Yearly Projected Openings 170

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Self Control
    • Dependability
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Attention to Detail
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Alcohol analyzers
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Biological evidence collection kits
    • Body armour
    • Bullet proof vests
    • Desktop computers
    • Dictation machines
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Digital cameras
    • Fingerprint equipment
    • Fingerprint latent print kits
    • Flares
    • Footprint lifters
    • Footwear covers
    • Gas generators
    • Goggles
    • Hand sprayers
    • Handcuffs
    • Handguns
    • Hazardous material protective apparel
    • Infrared lamps
    • Instant print cameras
    • Lasers
    • Masks or accessories
    • Measuring wheels for distance
    • Metal detectors
    • Military rifles
    • Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
    • Mobile medical services first aid kits
    • Narcotic test kits
    • Night sticks
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Physiological recorders
    • Police or security shotguns
    • Police vehicles
    • Protective gloves
    • Radarbased surveillance systems
    • Riot batons
    • Riot helmets
    • Riot shields
    • Rulers
    • Still cameras
    • Surveillance video or audio recorders
    • Tape measures
    • Two way radios
    • Ultraviolet UV lamps
    • Weapon or explosives detectors and supplies

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Geographic information system
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Map creation software
    • Network monitoring software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software
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