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AI exposure Protective service

Will AI replace detectives and criminal investigators?

Detectives and Criminal Investigators. US occupation 33-3021.

3.7%

of the time detectives and criminal investigators spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of detectives and criminal investigators' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 284 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 62% of them.Further along than 62% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for detectives and criminal investigatorsWhat detectives and criminal investigators no longer do alone

O*NET lists 64 tasks for detectives and criminal investigators. AI use at work shows up in 3 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Gather intelligence information by field observation, confidential information sources, or public records.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  2. Design, use, or maintain databases and software applications, such as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and artificial intelligence tools.Core task mostly automated 0.90
  3. Prepare reports that detail investigation findings.Core task automated and assisted 0.72

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

61 of the 64 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Analyze and process evidence at crime scenes, during autopsies, or in the laboratory, wearing protective equipment and using powders and chemicals.Core task
  • Analyze completed police reports to determine what additional information and investigative work is needed.Core task
  • Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity.Core task
  • Block or rope off scene and check perimeter to ensure that entire scene is secured.Core task
  • Check victims for signs of life, such as breathing and pulse.Core task
  • Collaborate with other offices and agencies to exchange information and coordinate activities.Core task
Show the other 55
  • Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities.Core task
  • Conduct presentations of analytic findings.Core task
  • Coordinate or conduct instructional classes or in-services, such as citizen police academy classes and crime scene training for other officers.Core task
  • Create sketches and diagrams, by hand or computer software, to depict crime scenes.Core task
  • Determine scope, timing, and direction of investigations.Core task
  • Dust selected areas of crime scene and lift latent fingerprints, adhering to proper preservation procedures.Core task
  • Establish criminal profiles to aid in connecting criminal organizations with their members.Core task
  • Evaluate records of communications, such as telephone calls, to plot activity and determine the size and location of criminal groups and members.Core task
  • Examine records and governmental agency files to find identifying data about suspects.Core task
  • Examine records to locate links in chains of evidence or information.Core task
  • Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.Core task
  • Identify case issues and evidence needed, based on analysis of charges, complaints, or allegations of law violations.Core task
  • Link or chart suspects to criminal organizations or events to determine activities and interrelationships.Core task
  • Look for trace evidence, such as fingerprints, hairs, fibers, or shoe impressions, using alternative light sources when necessary.Core task
  • Maintain records of evidence and write and review reports.Core task
  • Maintain surveillance of establishments to obtain identifying information on suspects.Core task
  • Note, mark, and photograph location of objects found, such as footprints, tire tracks, bullets and bloodstains, and take measurements of the scene.Core task
  • Notify command of situation and request assistance.Core task
  • Notify, or request notification of, medical examiner or district attorney representative.Core task
  • Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.Core task
  • Obtain facts or statements from complainants, witnesses, and accused persons and record interviews, using recording device.Core task
  • Obtain summary of incident from officer in charge at crime scene, taking care to avoid disturbing evidence.Core task
  • Organize scene search, assigning specific tasks and areas of search to individual officers and obtaining adequate lighting as necessary.Core task
  • Package, store and retrieve evidence.Core task
  • Participate or assist in raids and arrests.Core task
  • Perform emergency work during off-hours.Core task
  • Perform undercover assignments and maintain surveillance, including monitoring authorized wiretaps.Core task
  • Photograph crime or accident scenes for evidence records.Core task
  • Predict future gang, organized crime, or terrorist activity, using analyses of intelligence data.Core task
  • Prepare and serve search and arrest warrants.Core task
  • Prepare charges or responses to charges, or information for court cases, according to formalized procedures.Core task
  • Prepare comprehensive written reports, presentations, maps, or charts, based on research, collection, and analysis of intelligence data.Core task
  • Preserve, process, and analyze items of evidence obtained from crime scenes and suspects, placing them in proper containers and destroying evidence no longer needed.Core task
  • Process film and prints from crime or accident scenes.Core task
  • Provide information to lab personnel concerning the source of an item of evidence and tests to be performed.Core task
  • Question individuals or observe persons and establishments to confirm information given to patrol officers.Core task
  • Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants.Core task
  • Search for and collect evidence, such as fingerprints, using investigative equipment.Core task
  • Secure deceased body and obtain evidence from it, preventing bystanders from tampering with it prior to medical examiner's arrival.Core task
  • Secure persons at scene, keeping witnesses from conversing or leaving the scene before investigators arrive.Core task
  • Serve as technical advisor and coordinate with other law enforcement workers or legal personnel to exchange information on crime scene collection activities.Core task
  • Study activities relating to narcotics, money laundering, gangs, auto theft rings, terrorism, or other national security threats.Core task
  • Study the assets of criminal suspects to determine the flow of money from or to targeted groups.Core task
  • Submit evidence to supervisors, crime labs, or court officials for legal proceedings.Core task
  • Summon medical help for injured individuals and alert medical personnel to take statements from them.Core task
  • Testify before grand juries concerning criminal activity investigations.Core task
  • Testify in court and present evidence.Core task
  • Validate known intelligence with data from other sources.Core task
  • Develop defense plans or tactics, using intelligence and other information.
  • Gather and evaluate information, using tools such as aerial photographs, radar equipment, or sensitive radio equipment.
  • Identify, compare, classify, and file fingerprints, using systems such as Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) or the Henry Classification System.
  • Interview, interrogate, or interact with witnesses or crime suspects to collect human intelligence.
  • Operate cameras, radios, or other surveillance equipment to intercept communications or document activities.
  • Prepare plans to intercept foreign communications transmissions.
  • Study communication code languages or foreign languages to translate intelligence.

How that compares

Among the 21 protective service occupations, detectives and criminal investigators rank 3. The group averages 1.2%, and its most exposed job is Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers at 12.3%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 281Atmospheric and Space Scientists 3.8%
  2. 281Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 3.8%
  3. 281Physical Scientists, All Other 3.8%

Just below

  1. 287Environmental Engineers 3.6%
  2. 287Marine Engineers and Naval Architects 3.6%
  3. 289Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers 3.4%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.