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.
Senior investigator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior investigator resumes:
- 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.
- Conduct live training across the enterprise in areas of compliance, risk, and ethics.
- Testify in civil service hearings, ethics commission & board hearings, and criminal & civil courts
- Review all suspicious/ anomalous activity in order to evaluate, recommend and prepare suspicious activity reports (SAR).
- Create reference sheets for patrol officers to identify state criminal and traffic codes for any county or town ordinances.
- Conduct sensitive and complex SIU claim investigations involving workers' compensation, property, casualty, liability, and auto claims.
- Participate on committees/teams supporting GMP compliance programs.
- Cultivate professional relationships with licensees, securities attorneys and professionals.
- Create court order subpoenas to collect electronic evidence need in certain investigations.
- Support clients throughout appeals procedures, accessing confidential medical records and SSI documentation.
Senior investigator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Senior Investigators are proficient in Senior Level Management, Local Law Enforcement, and Claims Handling. They’re also known for soft skills such as Empathy, Good judgment, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Investigators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Senior Level Management, 13%
Review and edit investigator reports prior to submission to senior level management officials.
- Local Law Enforcement, 9%
Developed relationships with local law enforcement agencies and other retail establishments to reduce loss.
- Claims Handling, 8%
Participated in training programs to train Claims Personnel on Red Flags to look for in suspicious claims handling and SIU referrals.
- Court Proceedings, 8%
Attend and testify in court proceedings involving defendants arrested for conducting criminal activities.
- Data Analysis, 4%
Conduct Investigations by way of written inquires, fundamental data analysis and the interrogation of registered representatives and potential witnesses.
- Management System, 3%
Utilize and internet database management system to track and document caseload.
"senior level management," "local law enforcement," and "claims handling" are among the most common skills that senior investigators use at work. You can find even more senior investigator responsibilities below, including:
Empathy. One of the key soft skills for a senior investigator to have is empathy. You can see how this relates to what senior investigators do because "police officers need to understand the perspectives of a variety of people in their jurisdiction and be willing to help the public." Additionally, a senior investigator resume shows how senior investigators use empathy: "demonstrate a keen understanding of investigative techniques of identification; maintain compliance with all department processes and procedures. "
Good judgment. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior investigator duties is good judgment. The role rewards competence in this skill because "police and detectives must be able to determine the best way to solve an array of problems." According to a senior investigator resume, here's how senior investigators can utilize good judgment in their job responsibilities: "evaluated siu referrals for content and utilized independent judgment and complex problem solving in preparing investigative work plans. "
Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior investigators is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior investigator duties, as "police officers must be comfortable with being a highly visible member of their community, as the public looks to them for help in emergencies." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide leadership assistance and/or instruction to other epa special agents on conducting criminal investigations. "
Physical strength. For certain senior investigator responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "physical strength." The day-to-day duties of a senior investigator rely on this skill, as "police officers must be strong enough to physically apprehend suspects and to assist people in precarious situations." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior investigators do: "executed physical and electronic surveillance in criminal cases and in determining fraudulent activities. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in senior investigator job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what senior investigators do. Senior investigator responsibilities rely on this skill because "police and detectives must be able to speak with people and to express details in writing about an incident." You can also see how senior investigator duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "trained colleagues to present security plans using professional presentation skills and managed communication with local law enforcement to coordinate security plans. "
The three companies that hire the most senior investigators are:
- Accenture71 senior investigators jobs
- Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (finra)18 senior investigators jobs
- Bank of America14 senior investigators jobs
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Compare different senior investigators
Senior investigator vs. Officer
An officer is responsible for managing the daily operations of the assigned area, ensuring its peace and security by monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious activities. Officers are the ones enforcing strict safety protocols and procedures to maintain the order within the premises. They also coordinate with law enforcement agencies in conducting appropriate investigations for any violating cases. An officer must be highly-knowledgeable of the law policies, as well as possessing excellent leadership skills to manage the members under the officer's patrol.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior investigator are more likely to require skills like "senior level management," "local law enforcement," "claims handling," and "court proceedings." On the other hand, a job as an officer requires skills like "patrol," "customer service," "public safety," and "emergency situations." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Officers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior investigators. In fact, officers are 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior investigator vs. Deputy
The duties of a deputy vary on their line of work or place of employment. In law enforcement, a deputy is primarily in charge of conducting investigations on crimes and arresting criminals, performing regular patrols on streets, responding to calls of distress, and assisting citizens in calamities, disasters, accidents, or any forms of threat. There are also instances when a deputy must serve court documents, transport detainees or suspected criminals, and monitor courtrooms. Furthermore, a deputy reports to higher-ranking officers such as a sheriff.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior investigator responsibilities requires skills like "senior level management," "local law enforcement," "claims handling," and "data analysis." But a deputy might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patrol," "public safety," "transport inmates," and "emergency situations."
Deputies earn a lower average salary than senior investigators. But deputies earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $53,877. Additionally, senior investigators earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $74,532 annually.In general, deputies achieve similar levels of education than senior investigators. They're 0.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior investigators in the next 3-5 years?
John Lajoie CLI
National Director, President of Lajoie Investigations, Inc, of MA, NALI - National Association of Legal Investigators
Senior investigator vs. Police officer
Police officers are responsible for keeping peace and security in a community. They uphold and enforce the law. They ensure that people in their assigned community follow the law. They also ensure that proper sanctions are given out to anyone who does not follow. Some police officers are assigned in the field, meaning they work outside of police stations. Those assigned to police stations are responsible for maintaining administrative matters as well, aside from maintaining peace and order. Police officers are expected to be trustworthy, to work with honor, and to keep their integrity intact.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior investigators are more likely to have skills like "senior level management," "local law enforcement," "claims handling," and "data analysis." But a police officer is more likely to have skills like "patrol," "public safety," "emergency situations," and "field training."
Police officers make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $53,822. On the other hand, senior investigators are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $74,532.Most police officers achieve a lower degree level compared to senior investigators. For example, they're 5.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior investigator vs. Asset protection manager
In a company setting, an asset protection manager is primarily in charge of devising strategies to protect a company's financial assets. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify client needs, developing security structures to prevent theft and other illegal activities within the company, performing risk assessments, and conducting thorough investigations on any reported discrepancies. Furthermore, as an asset protection manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of senior investigator
Updated January 8, 2025
