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The differences between detectives and public safety officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a detective has an average salary of $57,984, which is higher than the $36,596 average annual salary of a public safety officer.
The top three skills for a detective include physical evidence, patrol and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for a public safety officer are patrol, patients, and public safety.
| Detective | Public Safety Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $57,984 | $36,596 |
| Hourly rate | $27.88 | $17.59 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 56,521 | 122,048 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A detective is responsible for conducting in-depth investigations for criminal activities, potential threats, and other law-violating incidents, coordinating closely with law-enforcement agencies and crime intelligence analysts. Detectives often work on the field, gathering data and related evidence to support claims and connect the timeline of events. They keep an organized record of their findings for further validation before reporting it to the authority. A detective must have excellent investigative and critical-thinking skills, especially on solving puzzles and security solutions.
Public relations assistants are professionals who are responsible for creating and distributing promotional materials to help clients increase their public image and awareness of their products and services. These assistants are required to help develop and distribute public relations materials such as brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, and sell sheets. They must handle all the communications of their clients to the public by supervising social media content, press releases, and emails. Public relations assistants must also gather materials to be used in trade shows or client presentations.
Detectives and public safety officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Detective | Public Safety Officer | |
| Average salary | $57,984 | $36,596 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $95,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New Britain, CT |
| Highest paying state | - | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | - | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a detective and a public safety officer in terms of educational background:
| Detective | Public Safety Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | University of Arizona | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between detectives' and public safety officers' demographics:
| Detective | Public Safety Officer | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.7% Female, 17.3% | Male, 76.7% Female, 23.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 2.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 7% |