Investigating

(VDT)

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person.

In some countries such as the US or Canada, a detective is often a policeman who wears everyday clothes to perform investigations into cases.

Detective

1.      Overview

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person.

In some countries such as the US or Canada, a detective is often a policeman who wears everyday clothes to perform investigations into cases.

In the UK, detectives usually inquire criminal cases.

2.       Detectives and their work

2.1 How to be a Detective

Due to the specific characteristics of the detective work, many people, especially youths, want to be a detective.

In order to become a professional detective, in the US, a candidate for detective must have served as a uniformed officer in a police agency for a period of one to five years. In the UK, detectives must have completed at least 2 years as a uniformed officer and must have been trained.

2.2 The main work

The number of investigative cases of detectives is larger than that of policemen. The major types of crime into which they conduct investigations may include:

• Homicide
• Robbery
• Motor vehicle theft
• Organized crime
• Fraud
• Burglary
• Criminal intelligence
• Sex crimes
• Narcotics
• Computer crime
• Crimes against children