Detective

An investigator who is typically employed by a law enforcement agency is referred to as a detective. Conversations with witnesses and confidential informants, the gathering of physical evidence, and database searches are common ways for them to get information that may be used to solve crimes. Because of this, they are able to make arrests of offenders and successfully prosecute them in court. A business or public agency may employ a person as a detective.

The detective branch of most large police agencies is organised into several squads and departments. Each of these squads and departments specialises in the investigation of a specific type of crime or a specific type of undercover operation. Some examples of these types of crimes and operations are as follows: homicide, robbery, spot burglary, auto theft, organised crimes, missing persons, juvenile crime, fraud, narcotics, vice, criminal intelligence, aggravated assault/battery, sexual assault, computer crime, domestic.

In the majority of police agencies in the United States, the rank of "Detective" is reserved for regular detectives. There is a large amount of variation amongst departments in terms of the rank structure of the officers who oversee them (who may or may not be detectives themselves). Detectives in Commonwealth police departments have ranks that are comparable to those of uniformed officers; however, the term "Detective" is added to the end of their titles (e.g. "Detective Constable").

Courts and other aspects of the legal system in certain nations have not yet acknowledged the use of private investigators as a legitimate profession. In Portugal, given evidence loses its relevance after it has been collected by private investigators. Even with all of these obstacles, the method continues to be in demand and is governed by a set of standards.