They conduct interviews, examine records and keep an eye on the activities of the suspect, and participate in raids on criminal locations and their arrests.

They generally specialize in one type of field, for example, homicide, fraud, intellectual theft etc.. They are assigned cases on a rotational basis and work on them till the case is dropped or a verdict is announced.

The connect clues to unravel facts about legal, financial or personal matters.

They can either be previous attaches with a police agency or they may work alone for some detective agency.

Those working alone or for some private agency are called as Private Investigators or PI’s (hence the name private eyes).
Detectives are also called as agents or special agents and perform investigative duties like gathering facts and collecting evidence.