Police staff investigator jobs

A police staff investigator is a civilian employed by a police force to investigate crime, usually at the level of the Professionalising Investigation Programme known as PIP2, which covers serious and complex cases. You do much of the work a detective constable does, including interviewing suspects and building case files, but you are not a sworn officer and have no warrant. Pay is set by each force for police staff, not on the national constable scale.

What the job involves

Staff investigators usually sit in teams alongside detectives. Common postings are public protection (domestic abuse, child abuse, rape and serious sexual offences), economic crime and fraud, investigation hubs handling volume crime, and major investigation teams supporting homicide inquiries. The work includes:

• reviewing reports and planning lines of enquiry
• taking statements from victims and witnesses, including video-recorded interviews with vulnerable witnesses after the right training
• interviewing suspects under caution
• gathering CCTV, phone and financial evidence
• preparing files for the Crown Prosecution Service and getting charging decisions
• keeping victims updated and giving evidence in court

A chief officer can designate police staff with particular powers under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002, and forces use this to let investigators carry out tasks that would otherwise need a warrant. The exact powers depend on the force and role. Arrests, searches of people and urgent operational work are normally left to officers.

PIP2 for staff

PIP2 accreditation works much the same for staff as for officers. You usually pass the National Investigators’ Exam, a multiple-choice paper on criminal law, evidence and procedure, then complete a development programme with a portfolio of real investigations and a workplace assessment. Some forces recruit people who already hold PIP2, often retired detectives. Others recruit trainee investigators and put them through the exam and portfolio after they join.

Some posts are at PIP1 level, dealing with lower-level crime, and are a common entry point.

Staff investigator or direct entry detective

If you want investigative work in the police, there are two quite different routes. A direct entry detective joins as a constable and trains towards PIP2 from the start; how to become a detective covers it. A staff investigator joins as police staff.

	Staff investigator	Direct entry detective
Status	Police staff, employee of the force	Police officer, holds the office of constable
Powers	Only those designated by the chief officer	Full constable powers
Training	Investigation training and PIP2	Initial police training plus PIP2
Uniform and patrol	None	Some patrol during training is usual
Pay	Force staff grade	National constable scale
Pension	Local Government Pension Scheme	Police pension scheme
Moving roles	Within staff posts	Can move to any police role or apply for promotion

The staff route suits people who want to investigate without the physical and operational side of policing, the fitness tests or the rest day cancellations that come with being an officer. The detective route gives broader powers, a clear rank structure and the national scale.

Pay

Police staff pay is set locally. Forces outside London use the Police Staff Council pay spine and their own grading, and the Metropolitan Police has its own arrangements. Each force decides which grade a staff investigator post sits on, so salaries vary, and the advert gives the range. By mid October 2026 no police staff pay award for 2026/27 had been announced; the unions’ claim was 9% or £2,700 from 1 September 2026.

For comparison, constables appointed on or after 1 April 2013 are paid on this scale from 1 September 2026, after the 3.5% award confirmed on 15 July 2026:

Pay point	Annual salary
PP1	£32,255
PP3	£34,972
PP5	£39,058
PP7	£52,015

Police pay scales has the full officer scale. Staff investigators can earn overtime and, in some teams, on-call payments, depending on force terms.

Pension and conditions

Police staff in England and Wales are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme, run by the local fund for the force area. For 2026/27 the main section member rate is 6.5% on pay from £29,001 to £47,300 and 6.8% on pay from £47,301 to £59,800. Local Government Pension Scheme explains how it builds up. The take-home pay calculator shows monthly pay once you know the grade.

Leave, sick pay and hours follow the force’s police staff terms. Investigators usually work weekday hours with some late or weekend shifts, and major incidents can mean extra hours at short notice.

Applying and vetting

Vacancies are on each force’s careers pages. Applications usually ask for examples of investigation, gathering evidence, writing clearly and handling difficult conversations, and some include a written exercise such as summarising a case or planning an interview. Experience in fraud, compliance, regulatory investigation, insurance claims, safeguarding or benefit investigation transfers well.

All police staff go through force vetting, which looks at your own record and finances and those of close family and associates, before an offer becomes final. Vetting can take weeks. Police Scotland and the PSNI recruit civilian investigators on their own terms where they use them.