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OaSIS 2025 Version 1.0
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41310.01 – Police investigators

Police investigators and professionals in related investigative occupations follow leads and investigate circumstances relating to crimes committed and obtain information to prevent crimes. They plan and coordinate investigations, collect evidence, interview suspects, victims, witnesses and other stakeholders, conduct surveillance and testify in court.

Overview

Example job titles

  • Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) investigator
  • Detective - police
  • Police investigator

Core competencies

  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving to ask the right questions, prioritize which leads to follow and look for connections that might not be immediately apparent
  • Social Perceptiveness to understand and interpret the behaviour, motives and intentions of suspects, victims and witnesses
  • Pattern Identification and Deductive Reasoning to identify patterns in evidence and testimonies to determine areas to investigate further, persons of interest and charges to press
  • Pattern Organization Speed to quickly organize and analyze patterns to allows investigators to respond promptly to emerging leads and potential threats
  • Stress Tolerance to remain calm, maintain focus and make sound decisions in high-pressure situations, including situations pose safety risks to themselves or others
  • Knowledge in Public Safety and Security to understand various types of threats and criminal activities, such as terrorism, organized crime and cybercrime to identify and address potential dangers effectively

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

  • Interviews persons in connection with criminal incidents, including victims, witnesses and suspects
  • Exchange information and coordinate activities with other law enforcements agencies
  • Prepare investigation reports and testify in courts concerning criminal investigations
  • Search and collect physical evidence from crimes scenes, such as fingerprints, and attend autopsies
  • Perform surveillance by using investigative technologies
  • Obtain search warrants, conduct searches and arrest suspects
  • May conduct investigation on online networks and computer systems to detect cyber crimes or to recover data.
  • May supervise and coordinate the work of police officers.

Additional information

  • For police investigators, progression to commissioned police officer positions is possible with additional training and experience.

Similar occupations classified elsewhere

Exclusions:

NOC hierarchy breakdown

O*NET in-it

This page includes information from the O*NET 27.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Employment and Social Development Canada has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.