Detectives and Criminal Investigators

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

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

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Speed of Closure - The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Prepare investigation or incident reports.
• Examine records or other types of data to investigate criminal activities.
• Observe individuals' activities to gather information or compile evidence.
• Interview people to gather information about criminal activities.
• Analyze crime scene evidence.

• Process forensic or legal evidence in accordance with procedures.
• Record information about suspects or criminals.
• Record crime or accident scene evidence with video or still cameras.
• Examine crime scenes to obtain evidence.
• Prevent unauthorized individuals from entering restricted areas.
• Determine operational procedures.
• Direct criminal investigations.
• Use databases to locate investigation details or other information.
• Serve court ordered documents.
• Collect evidence for legal proceedings.
• Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
• Detain suspects or witnesses.
• Apprehend criminal suspects.
• Investigate accidents to determine causes.
• Collaborate with law enforcement or security agencies to share information.
• Document legal or regulatory information.
• Check physical condition of people or animals.
• Communicate situation details to appropriate personnel.
• Request emergency personnel.
• Block physical access to restricted areas.
• Maintain surveillance of individuals or establishments.

• Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

• First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

• Fire Inspectors and Investigators

• Correctional Officers and Jailers

• First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers

• Airfield Operations Specialists

• Social and Human Service Assistants