Internal affairs investigator vs senior investigator

The differences between internal affairs investigators and senior investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an internal affairs investigator and a senior investigator. Additionally, a senior investigator has an average salary of $61,240, which is higher than the $54,189 average annual salary of an internal affairs investigator.

The top three skills for an internal affairs investigator include patrol, background checks and conduct interviews. The most important skills for a senior investigator are senior level management, local law enforcement, and claims handling.

Internal affairs investigator vs senior investigator overview

	Internal Affairs Investigator	Senior Investigator
Yearly salary	$54,189	$61,240
Hourly rate	$26.05	$29.44
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	15,880	4,525
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does an internal affairs investigator do?

An internal affairs investigator is responsible for investigating an alleged violation committed by a person or company, such as misuse of funds, misconduct, corruption among company officials, or other concerns involving employees and staff. They also monitor wrongful accusations. Other duties include writing investigative data and reports, conducting interrogations and interviews with all parties involved in an accusation, and providing testimony.

What does a senior investigator do?

As a senior investigator, you will be responsible for managing investigations for crimes, including corruption, organized crime, and fraud. You will work closely with the district attorney and law enforcement to investigate and solve these crimes. This role will require you to perform other additional duties, including collecting DNA samples from the crime scene, suspects and victims, organizing live training on risk, compliance, and ethics, and testifying in criminal and civil courts, civil service hearings, and ethics commission.

Internal affairs investigator vs senior investigator salary

Internal affairs investigators and senior investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Internal Affairs Investigator	Senior Investigator
Average salary	$54,189	$61,240
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $115,000	Between $35,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Frederick, MD
Highest paying state	Maryland	Maryland
Best paying company	Amazon	DLA Piper
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between internal affairs investigator and senior investigator education

There are a few differences between an internal affairs investigator and a senior investigator in terms of educational background:

	Internal Affairs Investigator	Senior Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Internal affairs investigator vs senior investigator demographics

Here are the differences between internal affairs investigators' and senior investigators' demographics:

	Internal Affairs Investigator	Senior Investigator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0%	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 2.8% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between internal affairs investigator and senior investigator duties and responsibilities

Internal affairs investigator example responsibilities.

Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Deploy technical surveillance (CCTV) to protect corporate proprietary information and assets.
Used exception reports, CCTV and interview to determine loss and make decision on resolution of the case.
Testify at criminal, civil, administration, arbitration and/or deposition hearings.
Investigate and open cases on customers and non-customers who have potentially engage in activity which goes against federally mandate BSA/AML regulations.
Conduct extensive research and case file preparation for due process hearings such as pre-disciplinary conferences and arbitrations.

Senior investigator example responsibilities.

Investigate allegations of suspect FWA / prioritize and manage case load / maintain comprehensive case files.
Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Create budget friendly evidence collection boxes for investigations and patrol officers.
Send specimens to laboratory to obtain DNA.
Participate on committees and teams supporting GMP compliance programs.
Collect possible DNA samples from the scene, victims, and suspects.

Internal affairs investigator vs senior investigator skills

Common internal affairs investigator skills

Patrol, 22%
Background Checks, 10%
Conduct Interviews, 8%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%
Narrative Reports, 5%
Administrative Hearings, 5%

Common senior investigator skills

Senior Level Management, 13%
Local Law Enforcement, 9%
Claims Handling, 8%
Court Proceedings, 8%
Data Analysis, 4%
Management System, 3%

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Internal Affairs Investigator
Internal Affairs Investigator vs Senior Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

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