Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.

“Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.” is a core task performed by Detectives and Criminal Investigators. Among the occupation's 30 rated tasks, workers place it 12th by importance (#19 most important). About 98% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Investigate criminal or legal matters. in Getting Information
• Investigate individuals' background, behavior, or activities. in Getting Information
• Interview people to obtain information. in Getting Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T1.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Check victims for signs of life, such as breathing and pulse. · importance 4.6
• Obtain facts or statements from complainants, witnesses, and accused persons and record interviews, using recording device. · importance 4.5
• Secure deceased body and obtain evidence from it, preventing bystanders from tampering with it prior to medical examiner's arrival. · importance 4.5
• Record progress of investigation, maintain informational files on suspects, and submit reports to commanding officer or magistrate to authorize warrants. · importance 4.5
• Prepare charges or responses to charges, or information for court cases, according to formalized procedures. · importance 4.5
• Prepare reports that detail investigation findings. · importance 4.5
• Preserve, process, and analyze items of evidence obtained from crime scenes and suspects, placing them in proper containers and destroying evidence no longer needed. · importance 4.5
• Obtain summary of incident from officer in charge at crime scene, taking care to avoid disturbing evidence. · importance 4.5
• Note, mark, and photograph location of objects found, such as footprints, tire tracks, bullets and bloodstains, and take measurements of the scene. · importance 4.5
• Examine records and governmental agency files to find identifying data about suspects. · importance 4.5
• Secure persons at scene, keeping witnesses from conversing or leaving the scene before investigators arrive. · importance 4.4
• Provide information to lab personnel concerning the source of an item of evidence and tests to be performed. · importance 4.4
• Analyze completed police reports to determine what additional information and investigative work is needed. · importance 4.4
• Search for and collect evidence, such as fingerprints, using investigative equipment. · importance 4.4

See all tasks on the Detectives and Criminal Investigators page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-23034,
  title  = {Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-23034}
}