NYPD Detective: A Comprehensive Career Guide

Are you inspired by your favorite cops in the movies or the television? Or do you simply love solving complex mysteries and want to make a career out of it? Either way, becoming a detective with the NYPD isn’t a bad option!

NYPD detectives are experienced police officers tasked with investigating crimes and gathering evidence against criminals to be prosecuted. Police detectives can solve complex cases much like we solve puzzles.

A police detective’s job can be incredibly interesting with a lot of mental stimulation. Moreover, you get to enjoy the fulfillment of bringing closure to families of the victims by bringing criminals to justice.

So how exactly do you become a police detective? What exactly does the job entail? How much will you get paid? What skills and education do you need, exactly? To answer all these questions, we’ve prepared this comprehensive guide for you. Let’s begin!

Before Starting, Make Sure You Want to Do This

Firstly, it’s important to remember that this is not an easy line of work by any means. If you have a weak stomach, you may not be able to handle the gruesome crime scenes you’ll have to deal with on a regular basis.

Moreover, becoming an NYPD detective is no small task. According to the official reports, there are only a total of 5,074 detectives in NY. If that number seems significant to you, keep in mind that the population of NY is more than 8.5 million.

Nevertheless, becoming a detective with the NYPD is not easy and takes a lot of hard work and preparation. It’s better to make sure that you really want this career before starting on this career path. With that said, let’s discuss what exactly an NYPD detective does!

What Does an NYPD Detective Do?

You may think of detectives as specializing in certain crimes. Of course, this is common in large police departments such as NYPD but isn’t always the case. You’ll find detectives in NYPD who specialize in homicide or sex crimes, or property crimes.

On the other hand, smaller police departments don’t have enough resources for specialization. Nevertheless, becoming a detective with the NYPD comes with a lot of duties and responsibilities, and not all of them are what you see on TV!

Here’s a list of what the job generally requires from you:

• Gathering facts and collecting evidence for criminal trials
• Determining which pieces of information and people are credible
• Conducting interviews and interrogations
• Examining records and observing suspects
• Participating in arrests and raids
• Writing detailed reports on findings
• Testifying in courts during criminal trial proceedings.

Well, most of this is like what you see on the television, except for the paperwork. Let’s face it, watching detectives write extensive reports won’t really make for entertaining television!

Although most TV shows depict detectives as working alone or in teams of two, the reality is that detectives have to work closely with other police officers as well as technical staff, including crime scene investigators and evidence technicians, to build a strong case.

To clear up another misconception, the work doesn’t end once they’ve solved the case!

What Salary and Benefits Do NYPD Detectives Get?

While NYPD detectives aren’t millionaires, the starting annual salary of a police officer in the NYPD is $42,500, according to the official website. Moreover, officers can double this salary to $85,292 after five and a half years of service.

They also enjoy benefits such as holiday pay, uniform allowance, night differential, overtime, and longevity pay. According to the official website, police officers can end up making $100,000 per year.

Since these numbers are for police officers and not just for detectives, we’ll assume that detectives are likely to make higher numbers. In fact, according to Indeed, NYPD detectives make more than $105,000 each year on average.

So, rest assured that if you do end up making it as a detective in the NYPD, you won’t be worrying about your finances!

What Education Do I Need to Become NYPD Detective?

Now that we’ve discussed what you’ll have to do in the job and what you’ll get paid for it as an NYPD detective, let’s talk about what it takes to become one. The education requirements for police departments vary all across the US. However, here’s what you need to join NYPD:

Joining as a Cadet

You can join the NYPD as part of the Cadet Corps, which has specific enrollment requirements for you to fulfill. To summarize these requirements, you need to be above 18, enrolled in college, and have at least 45 credits and a minimum 2.0 GPA.

When you join as a cadet, you’ll attend training every third Saturday of the month and work full-time during the summers. Moreover, you can receive tuition assistance and other benefits by joining as a cadet.

Joining as a Police Officer

If you’re already graduated, you can apply to join directly as a police officer. To do so, you’ll have to take the civil service exam in NYC, which you can take between the ages of 18 and 35. Moreover, you should have acquired at least 60 college credits with a minimum 2.0 GPA.

These exams aren’t always available, so it’s better to prepare for when the exam is available again. For now, you can apply for the Suffolk County police exam in NYS.

To join as a police officer, you’ll have to take the written entrance exam. Once you clear this exam, you’ll have to go through a medical exam as well as written and oral psychological exams. These exams will be followed by a physical test and drug and alcohol screening.

What Skills Do I Need to Become an NYPD Detective?

To be a detective, you need to be physically as well as mentally fit. You’ll need to have strong analytical skills as well as mental and physical stamina to be alert for long shifts. Moreover, it would help if you had good communication and interpersonal skills to gather as much information and evidence as you can.

Most importantly, we think you need to have a passion for this job so you can work hard and excel and get promoted to detective rank as quickly as possible.

Get Started on Your Police Detective Journey with Civil Service Success

If you’re serious about joining the NYPD and rising through the ranks to become a detective, start your preparation now! With Civil Service Success, we help you prepare for the NYC civil service exam you’ll have to take to begin your journey.

We offer preparatory courses to help you ace the NYC civil service exam, which only comes around once every four to six years. Contact now to learn more.