Detectives and Criminal Investigators
CGIS assignments supporting criminal investigations and law enforcement operations provide directly relevant experience for civilian criminal-investigation work.
How to prepare: Ask a target agency to assess your CGIS experience for its entry route, and plan for agency academy training followed by supervised on-the-job training. Entry conditions vary by agency and jurisdiction: education ranges from a high school diploma or equivalent to college coursework or a degree, candidates usually must be at least 21 and meet rigorous physical and personal qualifications, and U.S. citizenship is required for federal officers and most state or local jurisdictions.
What the civilian work involves
- Obtain facts or statements from complainants, witnesses, and accused persons and record interviews, using recording device.
- Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants.
- Prepare charges or responses to charges, or information for court cases, according to formalized procedures.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
- Microsoft Office software