Police detective vs officer

The differences between police detectives and officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an officer has an average salary of $52,506, which is higher than the $52,087 average annual salary of a police detective.

The top three skills for a police detective include patrol, law enforcement agencies and criminal cases. The most important skills for an officer are patrol, customer service, and public safety.

Police detective vs officer overview

	Police Detective	Officer
Yearly salary	$52,087	$52,506
Hourly rate	$25.04	$25.24
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	74,958	114,267
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	46	43
Years of experience	-	-

Police detective vs officer salary

Police detectives and officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Police Detective	Officer
Average salary	$52,087	$52,506
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $71,000	Between $26,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between police detective and officer education

There are a few differences between a police detective and an officer in terms of educational background:

	Police Detective	Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	-

Police detective vs officer demographics

Here are the differences between police detectives' and officers' demographics:

	Police Detective	Officer
Average age	46	43
Gender ratio	Male, 87.4% Female, 12.6%	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 15.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%
LGBT Percentage	11%	6%

Differences between police detective and officer duties and responsibilities

Police detective example responsibilities.

Plan, manage, develop, implement and revise the training FTO program, as needed.
Complete applications for arrest, subpoenas, search and seizure warrants, etc.
Serve criminal and civil subpoenas, confer with attorneys and assist in the preparation of cases for trial.
Maintain and repair department issue firearms.
Conduct investigations ranging from disorderly persons offenses to homicide.
Network with co-workers to improve initial investigation techniques in the patrol division.

Officer example responsibilities.

Lead 50 2nd lieutenants, manage schedules, and ensure timely completion of missions.
Achieve highest ranking of Lt.
Manage social media (Facebook): upload pictures, post announcements/news, update information.
Manage base active duty populations' compliance with USAF instructions regarding proper balance of fitness level and body fat percentage.
Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
Manage environmental safety occupational health compliance program, full spectrum threat response and anti terrorism programs.

Police detective vs officer skills

Common police detective skills

Patrol, 11%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 9%
Criminal Cases, 9%
Local Laws, 7%
Evidence Collection, 6%
Criminal Law, 6%

Common officer skills

Patrol, 19%
Customer Service, 18%
Public Safety, 10%
Emergency Situations, 6%
PowerPoint, 3%
CPR, 3%