Detectives are accredited police officers who work as Serious and Complex Crime Investigators or Specialist Investigators. They're responsible for managing a range of investigations including those concerning robbery, drugs, domestic violence, public and child protection, company fraud, cybercrime, homicide and counter-terrorism. On a day to day basis they may manage and conduct a range of complex investigations in your area of responsibility, gather, verify and assess all appropriate and available information to gain an accurate understanding of situations to an agreed case investigation plan, develop and evaluate strategies to manage investigations, working closely and communicating with staff at all levels, make decisions based on balancing risks, costs, benefits and the wider impact and much more. 

The main routes to get into this role are:

• Become a qualified police officer and work your way up (see police officer job profile for more info)

• University- there are many different degrees you could undertake in many different areas. 

You will usually need to do a relevant degree to become a detective and to do this you will need at least 2-3 a levels. You could undertake a degree in any areas including:

• Criminology

• Forensic Science 

• Psychology 

If you acquire a 2:1 or above degree in your relevant degree you may be able to take the detective graduate programme. The programme starts with the Detective Academy, an intensive 12-week residential training course which includes a mix of classroom and field training. To proceed further, you must successfully pass the National Investigators Exam (NIE).The rest of the training consists of in-force training, immersion training (where you join a force in uniform to practice your core policing skills) and a series of rotations, where you'll undergo accelerated training to learn how to investigate serious and complex crime.

You can also take the specialist detective pathway through in-house training with specific police forces. With either pathway, participants will earn the graduate diploma in Professional Policing Practice. Entering this career via a Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship is also possible. Visit Joining the Police to see the different routes into the role and what constabularies are currently hiring apprentices.