Will AI replace Detectives and Criminal Investigators?
Most of the work in Detectives and Criminal Investigators still leans on things AI struggles with — research rates its theoretical AI reach at only ~32%, and real-world use lower still.
O*NET-SOC 33-3021
How your 55 core tasks split
Top = what GPT-4 judged AI could speed up. Bottom = how much AI was actually used for these tasks (Anthropic's March 2026 report, usage from Aug & Nov 2025). The gap is the real story.
Back in 2023, GPT-4 judged AI could, in theory, assist with a relatively low share of this job's tasks (~32%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 4% of its task activity (still rare). The gap between that 2023 forecast and today is the real story.
Where this job sits among 738 jobs
Each dot is one of 738 U.S. jobs. Right = AI can do more of it. Up = AI is actually used more.
The signals here line up
Theoretical reach (~32%), real-world use (~4%) and the task-level picture mostly agree — so this read is more reliable than for jobs where the signals contradict each other. Even so, AI-risk estimates shift by model (a 2026 study saw the "high-risk" share swing 2.7%–51.5%), so treat these as directional, not destiny.
See all 55 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants.
- Prepare reports that detail investigation findings.
- Notify, or request notification of, medical examiner or district attorney representative.
- Maintain records of evidence and write and review reports.
- Design, use, or maintain databases and software applications, such as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and artificial intelligence tools.
- Obtain facts or statements from complainants, witnesses, and accused persons and record interviews, using recording device.
- Prepare charges or responses to charges, or information for court cases, according to formalized procedures.
- Preserve, process, and analyze items of evidence obtained from crime scenes and suspects, placing them in proper containers and destroying evidence no longer needed.
- Note, mark, and photograph location of objects found, such as footprints, tire tracks, bullets and bloodstains, and take measurements of the scene.
- Examine records and governmental agency files to find identifying data about suspects.
- Provide information to lab personnel concerning the source of an item of evidence and tests to be performed.
- Analyze completed police reports to determine what additional information and investigative work is needed.
- Examine records to locate links in chains of evidence or information.
- Determine scope, timing, and direction of investigations.
- Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.
- Identify case issues and evidence needed, based on analysis of charges, complaints, or allegations of law violations.
- Maintain surveillance of establishments to obtain identifying information on suspects.
- Perform undercover assignments and maintain surveillance, including monitoring authorized wiretaps.
- Submit evidence to supervisors, crime labs, or court officials for legal proceedings.
- Analyze and process evidence at crime scenes, during autopsies, or in the laboratory, wearing protective equipment and using powders and chemicals.
- Look for trace evidence, such as fingerprints, hairs, fibers, or shoe impressions, using alternative light sources when necessary.
- Photograph crime or accident scenes for evidence records.
- Create sketches and diagrams, by hand or computer software, to depict crime scenes.
- Serve as technical advisor and coordinate with other law enforcement workers or legal personnel to exchange information on crime scene collection activities.
- Prepare comprehensive written reports, presentations, maps, or charts, based on research, collection, and analysis of intelligence data.
- Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.
- Validate known intelligence with data from other sources.
- Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity.
- Conduct presentations of analytic findings.
- Study activities relating to narcotics, money laundering, gangs, auto theft rings, terrorism, or other national security threats.
- Gather intelligence information by field observation, confidential information sources, or public records.
- Predict future gang, organized crime, or terrorist activity, using analyses of intelligence data.
- Establish criminal profiles to aid in connecting criminal organizations with their members.
- Link or chart suspects to criminal organizations or events to determine activities and interrelationships.
- Evaluate records of communications, such as telephone calls, to plot activity and determine the size and location of criminal groups and members.
- Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities.
- Study the assets of criminal suspects to determine the flow of money from or to targeted groups.
- Check victims for signs of life, such as breathing and pulse.
- Secure deceased body and obtain evidence from it, preventing bystanders from tampering with it prior to medical examiner's arrival.
- Obtain summary of incident from officer in charge at crime scene, taking care to avoid disturbing evidence.
- Secure persons at scene, keeping witnesses from conversing or leaving the scene before investigators arrive.
- Search for and collect evidence, such as fingerprints, using investigative equipment.
- Prepare and serve search and arrest warrants.
- Question individuals or observe persons and establishments to confirm information given to patrol officers.
- Participate or assist in raids and arrests.
- Organize scene search, assigning specific tasks and areas of search to individual officers and obtaining adequate lighting as necessary.
- Summon medical help for injured individuals and alert medical personnel to take statements from them.
- Notify command of situation and request assistance.
- Block or rope off scene and check perimeter to ensure that entire scene is secured.
- Collaborate with other offices and agencies to exchange information and coordinate activities.
- Testify before grand juries concerning criminal activity investigations.
- Package, store and retrieve evidence.
- Testify in court and present evidence.
- Dust selected areas of crime scene and lift latent fingerprints, adhering to proper preservation procedures.
- Coordinate or conduct instructional classes or in-services, such as citizen police academy classes and crime scene training for other officers.
How we measured this — and how fresh it is
AI's theoretical reach data: 2023
From GPTs-are-GPTs (Eloundou et al.), where GPT-4 rated how much of each task an AI tool could meaningfully speed up. This is the most recent open, commercially-usable occupation-level potential dataset — it dates to 2023. Newer multi-model re-runs exist but swing wildly (one 2026 study saw "high-risk" jobs range 2.7%–51.5% by model) and aren't openly licensed, so we show the stable 2023 baseline and pair it with newer real-world data.
Real-world AI use 2026 report
From the Anthropic Economic Index, which observes how real Claude conversations map onto each occupation's tasks. Published in Anthropic's March 2026 labor-market report, based on usage measured in Aug & Nov 2025 (Sonnet 4 / 4.5).
Task list & ratings O*NET 30.3
Tasks come from O*NET 30.3. Each task's "AI can do / speeds up / still on you" tier uses the real task-level exposure scores from GPTs-are-GPTs (E1 / E2 / E0) — not a guess from keywords.
Sources: O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0) · GPTs-are-GPTs (MIT, 2023) · Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY, Aug & Nov 2025). Page compiled June 2026. "O*NET" is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor.
This page is for general informational purposes only and is not career, financial, or employment advice. AI exposure reflects research estimates of task overlap, not predictions about any individual's job, employer, or future employment.