Emergency, police and defence

How to become a detective

Official title: Detective

Also called: Police inspector, Drug squad detective, Fraud squad detective, Police detective, Internal investigation officer, Detective constable

Detectives investigate suspected crimes. They may do interviews, monitor criminal activities, search for suspects and missing persons, examine evidence and write reports.

Main tasks

Investigate and solve crimes
Examine crime scenes and gather evidence
Analyse crime scene evidence
Interview people to investigate crimes
Work with other officers and emergency workers
Testify in court
Write detailed legal reports
Monitor illegal activity

How to become one

You need to do training to become a detective. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: to complete a training course at the Royal New Zealand Police College; to work as a police constable in the Criminal Investigation Branch and complete a detective qualification course; a driver licence; to pass a police check; to pass a medical assessment and drug test; a First Aid Certificate.

See the full Tahatū profile

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $96,000 to $127,000 a year (median $109,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $86,000 a year · Upper: $143,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Police: 10,695 at the 2018 Census and 12,237 at the 2023 Census (+14.4%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 1,000 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Police, 29% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Police work (2023 Census): Auckland 31%, Wellington 12.1%, and Canterbury 11.3%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a detective?

How much does a detective earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $109,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $96,000 to $127,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a detective grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a detective?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026