Criminal Investigators and Special Agents Career

Why Choose A Criminal Investigator and Special Agent Career?

If you like order, investigating and solving crimes, then working under special assignment as a criminal investigator or a special agent may just be the perfect career for you. Working as a special agent or criminal investigator gives you the opportunity to display your mental skills in solving complex cases while also challenging your physical skills.  Careers as crime investigators and special agents are very challenging and many see the satisfaction of their hard work when they help to solve mysteries and in turn help people and society.

Criminal Investigator and Special Agent Career Requirements

The department of the federal governments, state and city governments hire special agents and criminal investigators.  Some typical employment requirements  are: U.S. citizenship, the candidate must be at the age group of 20 years, and must have rigorous physical and personal qualifications. Those larger departments which provide the most of the law enforcement jobs, the applicants should have a high school education and in some departments at least a year of college coursework is required. A college degree is mandatory for federal and State agencies. Meeting the public and working with people is also essential.

Online Degrees for Criminal Investigators and Special Agents Career

Degrees in Criminal Justice + Police Science: This program prepares individuals to function and perform the responsibilities of police and public security officers. Their area of activities include controlling traffic, interviewing witness, controlling crowd and public relations, certain basic crime prevention methods, collection of evidence and management, preparation of report and other responsibilities including routine law enforcement, weapon , patrol and investigative activities and operation of equipment and maintenance.

Degrees in Criminalistics and Criminal Science: This program mainly focuses on the practical application of investigative techniques, clinical and criminal laboratory science, analysis of physical evidence and the criminology to the reconstruction of crimes. The course work includes instruction in laboratory science, evidence handling and storage, computer applications, evidentiary testing and analysis, criminology and police science, record-keeping, reconstruction techniques, applications to specific types of evidence, crimes and laboratory procedures.

This type of degree program is very much helpful for regular uniformed persons of the law and order departments. Therefore without spending the precious time in a regular classroom program, they can earn a degree or diploma in their free time by putting in their hard work. This type of online program covers most of the aspects of the course including some practical sections, too. The facilities associated with this course are also from the law and order department, so they provide all type of online support in clearing the doubts and making the subject understandable in easy methods. The regular test and assignment are conducted at the end of each section of the chapter, so that a proper analysis of the candidate’s level can be checked. The workshops of particular case solving generates a great interest among the candidates and it provides them opportunities to use their skills in solving crimes in a better or more efficient way.

Criminal Investigators and Special Agents Career Fields

People depend on Criminal Investigators and Special Agents to safe guard their lives and property. Various kinds of law enforcement officers perform these duties in their own ways, based on the size and type of each organization. They are required to exercise authority whenever necessary, whether on or off duty; this is applicable in most jurisdictions. Police officers do general law enforcement responsibilities such as attending calls for service and following regular patrols. They are responsible for traffic directing in case of accidents, they give first aid to an accident victim or investigate a burglary.

Community policing is also common in most of the urban police agencies; this is a practice by which with the help and good relationships with the citizens of local neighborhoods they fight crime. Police agencies are generally focused into geographic districts, officers are assigned to patrol a specific area in uniforms, either in a business district or relatively far from the residential neighborhoods. In certain cases officers may work alone even though in large agencies they usually patrol with a partner. During their patrol, officers try to get familiar with their patrol area and continue to be alert for any unusual incidents. Questionable circumstances and risks to public life and safety are examined or noted, and officers are available to individual calls for help and assistance within their district. Their job involves identifying the theft, follow, and arrest the suspected criminals, then solve problems within the community and impose traffic laws.

Special enforcement responsibilities and geographic jurisdictions are assigned for most of the agencies in the United States. Uniformed officers and a small number of police officers are a good number of sworn personnel in special agencies. Officers even well versed in diverse fields such as training and firearms instruction, chemical and microscopic analysis or handwriting and fingerprint identification.

What Degree Do I Need?

• Corrections
• Crime Scene & Forensics
• Criminal Justice General
• Homeland Security
• Investigation
• Public Safety
• Security & Loss Prevention
• Behavioral Science