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Police detective skills for your resume and career
15 police detective skills for your resume and career
1. Patrol
- Performed traffic patrol functions, including identifying traffic infractions, and investigating traffic accidents in accordance with Maryland State law.
- Promoted to Detective following a competitive promotional exam and demonstrating exceptional performance and motivation as a Patrol Officer.
2. Law Enforcement Agencies
- Participated in major investigations involving multiple state and federal law enforcement agencies to include foreign law enforcement.
- Coordinated investigative activities with ATF, FBI and other law enforcement agencies on public corruption investigations
3. Criminal Cases
A criminal case is a court proceeding in which a person is charged with committing a crime against the state or the community. Such individuals are brought for trials, to decide they are guilty or not. There are two kinds of criminal cases misdemeanors and felonies. A misdemeanor is a crime on a lower level like traffic offenses or minor assaults. While felonies are offenses on a higher level.
- Prepared criminal cases for trial and appeared and testified in court as a state's witness/arresting officer.
- Processed and analyzed felony crime scenes to solve criminal cases in city and region.
4. Local Laws
- Maintain proficiency and knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.
- Maintain a strong understanding of federal, state and local laws, as well as department policy and procedures.
5. Evidence Collection
- Process crime scenes, overseeing evidence collection and soliciting laboratory examination.
- Teach various related topics including homicide, sex assault, missing persons investigations, crime scene investigation and evidence collection.
6. Criminal Law
- Gained an in depth knowledge of criminal law procedures.
- Examine crime scenes to gather physical evidence and other information relevant to the identification and prosecution of violators of criminal laws.
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- Assigned to Criminal Investigation Division, Juvenile Unit, responsible for investigating all juvenile related crimes including sexual molestation and assault.
- Conduct Criminal investigations and Civilian Complainants, interview Witness, Victims and potential suspects involving cases.
8. Internal Investigations
Investigations that are conducted to inquire about any organization's internal matters and operations are termed an internal investigation. Internal investigations are commonly held due to the allegations of embezzlement, corruption, harassment, or other charges. Some companies also conduct internal investigations to keep themselves diligent and safeguard themselves from any unwanted charges.
- Conducted internal investigations and asset protection associates training.
- Conducted internal investigations of officers alleged in policy violations and customer service concerns.
9. Child Abuse
When a child who is under 18 is mistreated by an adult, it is considered child abuse. There are many forms of intentional harm and mistreatment for example physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, medical abuse, and neglect in providing adequate basic life necessities.
- Investigated 70 violent crimes each year, including homicide, sexual assault, robbery, child abuse and domestic violence.
- Investigated physical and sexual child abuse cases and conducted forensic interviews of child victims.
10. Surveillance Operations
- Organized and executed numerous undercover surveillance operations using electronic recording equipment.
- Led Intelligence Unit managing personal and technical surveillance operations.
11. Public Safety
Public safety can be defined as the well-being or protection of a community, citizen, or nation as a whole. There are 4 basic elements that come under public safety namely: national security, border policy, countering crime, and emergency management.
- Conducted various protective services which included law enforcement, criminal activity investigations, and public safety.
- Compiled statistical information and prepared reports for use by the Director of Public Safety.
12. Homicide
- Conducted felony investigations ranging from fraud to homicide.
- Received the FBI Directors commendation during the largest federal state homicide investigation and trial in county history.
13. Sexual Assault
- Investigated major crimes to include homicides, robberies, sexual assaults, special victims and violent crimes.
- Assigned to various specialized units namely, Tactical, Robbery, Narcotics and the Sexual Assault Units.
14. Crime Prevention
- Designed a crime prevention program, which fostered community based policing to achieve a 40 percent reduction in stolen items.
- Enhance neighborhood safety by providing crime prevention statistics through informal contacts with the community.
15. Burglary
- Work assigned case load ranging from the crimes of Identity Theft, Forgery, Burglary, Assault, Rape and Murder.
- Conducted follow up investigations of Burglary, Theft and Assaults.
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What skills help Police Detectives find jobs?
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What skills stand out on police detective resumes?
Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
This may be common sense, but research has demonstrated that communication and ethical decision-making skills are important for police officers. (See the research article published in 2017 in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, entitled "An assessment of the relative importance of criminal justice learning objectives," by Baker and colleagues.) Baker and colleagues asked students, professionals, and college professors to rate the skills of hypothetical job applicants. These participants rated the following as the most important characteristics for criminal justice applicants (including law enforcement officers):
Ethics
Oral communication
Critical thinking
Sensitivity to diversity
Written communication skills
What police detective skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
They can also apply for internship programs of local and federal criminal justice agencies during a gap year. The graduates can observe a criminal justice agency's working environment and the culture of a specific community. They can decide if they want to serve in the organization and the community. They should also consider international organizations' internship programs, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) or Office of Counter-Terrorism internship programs. The UNODC has an office in New York. This internship program provides a framework for students (enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a bachelor's level or equivalent degree programs) to develop their professional skills and gain practical work experience in an international environment. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, applicants may be requested to undertake the internship online.
List of police detective skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a police detective resume and required skills for a police detective to have include:
- Patrol
- Law Enforcement Agencies
- Criminal Cases
- Local Laws
- Evidence Collection
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Investigations
- Internal Investigations
- Child Abuse
- Surveillance Operations
- Public Safety
- Homicide
- Sexual Assault
- Crime Prevention
- Burglary
- Arrest Warrants
- Subpoenas
- Police Academy
- Identity Theft
- Police Reports
- Physical Evidence
- Domestic Violence
- Crime Scenes
- Background Investigations
- Firearms
- DEA
- Court Testimony
- Investigative Reports
- Develop Leads
- Criminal Acts
- Court Proceedings
- Auto Theft
- Court Cases
- Financial Crimes
- Patrol Division
- Federal Agencies
- ATF
- District Court
- Public Speaking
- Property Crimes
- Grand Jury
- Submit Reports
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Sex Crimes
- Robbery
- Criminal Complaints
- Court Appearances
- Violent Crimes
- DNA
Updated January 8, 2025