The Sims 4: Detective Career Guide

The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion introduces 3 active careers into the game: Doctor, Detective, and Scientist. We have previously covered the Doctor career in another guide. For this guide, we will look into the Detective career. The Detective career involves your Sim solving crimes in various neighborhoods. They’ll have to gather clues at the scene of the crime, analyze them and use the computer for cross referencing, track down the suspect, and finally interrogate them until they get a confession. This isn’t to mention the other tasks you can do as a Detective, such as going on patrol and dealing with criminals. It sounds a lot of work, but it’s actually quite straightforward. This guide will take you everything you need to do, as well as sharing some tips.

For more The Sims 4 guides, take a look at these:

• The Sims 4 Doctor Career Guide
• The Sims 4 Island Conservation Guide
• The Sims 4 Expansion Pack Cheats

Applying for the Detective Career

It’s very easy to apply for the Detective career. It’s just like any other job in The Sims 4. You can use your Sim’s phone to apply for the job via Careers (orange icon with briefcase) and select Find a Job. Alternatively, you can use a computer and select Career > Find a Job. If your Sim is currently unemployed, you can apply for jobs via the Career panel and select Join a Career. 

Tour of the Police Station

Before you do anything in the Detective career, it’s probably best that we give you a complete tour of the police station, which is the home base for this career in The Sims 4.

Entrance Lobby/Front Desk

This is the way in where pretty much everyone enters the building, including you. There’s always an officer manning the desk. Here, you can find Sims who come in wanting to make a police report.

Laboratory

The laboratory works just like the one at the hospital in the Doctor career. Here, you can find bio analysis machines, in which you can study forensic evidence to gather clues. There’s a computer in here as well, if you need it. This is handy when you have mixed tasks of cross referencing the police database and analyzing evidence.

Chief’s Office

This is where the chief of police can be found, if you ever want to Talk to the Chief. Don’t be afraid to “steal” their computer if you need it as well!

Crime Room

The crime room is where it all happens, all the crime solving (that and the interrogation room). There are 3 desks with computers in here (all of them typically in use), but the most important aspect of this room is the crime map. A crime cannot be started or solved without this. This and the interrogation table are the most important objects at the police station. You’ll be coming back to this room frequently while working on solving your crimes.

Criminal Station

If you look behind the front desk down the hall, at the end you’ll see a workstation. This is where you’ll take all your mugshots, fingerprints, and search criminals. There’s a computer near here as well, if you need it.

Jail Cells

This is where the criminals are holed up, if you need them for mugshots, searches, or fingerprints. If you have arrested a suspect or charged someone with a crime, they’ll be in a cell as well.

Interrogation Room

The interrogation is the final step to solving a crime, and it takes place in one small room with a one-way mirror. This room is located near the cells.

Restroom

If your Sims ever have the call of nature at work, there’s a toilet located behind the front lobby. There’s a shower as well if your Sims need one and can’t wait until they get home. Compared to the Doctor career and the hospital, these facilities are much more satisfactory.

Cafeteria

Your Sim won’t go hungry in the station’s cafeteria, which can be found up the stairs. There’s a fridge with a selection of food and drink available to stave off hunger. Here, you’ll also find a chess table, if you ever want to work on your Logic or have a game. There’s usually a coworker here playing chess.

Gym

Need a workout but don’t want to wait until the end of the shift? The station has its very own gym! You’ll find everything you need here, including treadmills, exercise machines, and punching bags.

Outside

There’s not really that much to find outside the station. The police station shares the same neighborhood as the hospital workplace. There’s also a park nearby, but there isn’t much there.

Tasks Around the Station – Early Days

Unless your Sim has developed their Logic skill or obtained a degree from university, they will start at the bottom of the Detective career as a Cadet.

Joining any new career can be daunting, but you needn’t worry. The Sims 4 will take you through what to do. If you ever feel lost or confused during your time as a Detective, you can consult the tasks in the top left corner of the screen. Hovering over the tasks will let you know what to do. Or, you can just follow this guide!

When you first start out as a Detective, you won’t be doing much to begin with. The first level of the Detective career has you getting used to working at the police station.

These are examples of some of the tasks you are expected to do around the station as a rookie.

Criminals

At the station, the jail cells always have four criminals being held (and it’s always the same four criminals as well). In the early days of a Sim’s Detective career, and also when they’re not busy working on a case, you might be asked to do tasks associated with these criminals. There are 3 tasks: take mugshots, search criminal, and take fingerprints.

These tasks can be done with any of the four criminals, but I would recommend doing all of them with one criminal, so you don’t waste time getting them in and out of their cell. All 3 tasks can be carried out at the search/mugshot/fingerprint station, located near the cells. It’s best to get straight on with these tasks. If you leave the criminal hanging around too long, a coworker may come along and automatically lock them back in their cell. 

Another thing to note is that you can do the same tasks on the same criminal as many times as you like. They’re not one-time tasks that get greyed out, which saves time if you need to complete tasks to get your daily performance into the gold.

Note that when you perform the task Search Suspect, your Sim may get an Uncomfortable moodlet afterwards. However, this doesn’t last too long, only an hour or so.

Aside from these 3 tasks, your Sim can also speak to and get to know the criminals. They’re pretty friendly.

The Chief and Coworkers

You’re not alone at the police station. There’s at least half a dozen other Sims working there day after day. Sometimes, you’ll get a task that involves speaking to your coworkers or the chief.

The chief is distinguishable in their uniform with their white hat. Plus, they’re almost always found in their office. There’s a special interaction with the chief: Talk to the Chief. This is found under Friendly > Small Talk. Your Sim generally talks to them about their work, updating them on the latest case. The chief usually gives a curt response, but it doesn’t impact on your Sim’s relationship with them. Don’t be shy in speaking to them: they might bark, but they don’t bite.

You should also get to know your coworkers, your fellow officers and detectives around the station (as well as at crime scenes). Sometimes, a task will ask you to Discuss Case Theories. This doesn’t do much for solving the actual cases you’re working on, but it’s something for coworkers to talk about together. This interaction is always available regardless of whether you’re working on a case.

Computer Tasks

When you’re at the station, you’ll often be asked to use a computer for some task. Being a Detective unlocks many computer interactions, but only while you’re at work. You can’t access these tasks at home. Such tasks include cross referencing the database, browsing police database, filing evidence, and more. Filing evidence comes up early on when your Sim is new and not yet ready to take on full-time detective duties. Browsing the police database is quite a common task, and cross referencing is frequent when gathering clues.

The police station is full of computers. Altogether, there are seven; three in the crime room, one in the chief’s office, another in the laboratory, one near the jail cells, and the seventh at the front desk. Unfortunately, getting access to a computer isn’t always easy. There might be a lot of computers, but there are also lots of Sims working at the station, and they’ll all be working on a computer. Sometimes, but not very often, a computer might be free, but it won’t be for long, so don’t hang about using it. Sims using a computer will let you use it if you just select it and the task you want to do. They’ll be gracious enough to step aside and let you take over.

You should also note that the computers break quite frequently. This isn’t really a surprise the amount of times they get used every day. Even worse, you can’t fix them yourself. There’s no option to repair if a computer breaks down, or replace it. If a computer does break down, you’ll have no choice but to use another. You can, however, upgrade the computers, so feel free to make them unbreakable if you have the parts, skills, and time.

Take Police Report From Civilian

Throughout the day at the station, Sims will head to the main lobby and queue up at the front desk, wishing to make a complaint of some sort in the neighborhood. This can appear as a task for your Sim. The interaction to Take Police Report is available even if you haven’t introduced yourself. This is an easy enough task to complete. The tricky part is waiting for a Sim to appear to take a report from. They are certainly not as frequent or numerous as patients who pile up at the hospital in the Doctor career. You’ll have one or two Sims waiting to be spoken to – if you’re lucky. They won’t stick around all day either, so don’t dilly-dally when they turn up at the station. 

In case you’re wondering, taking police reports doesn’t lead onto anything. Your Sim doesn’t go out and deal with the problem. They just make a note of it and the civilian leaves once they’ve had their say.

Working Out at the Gym

Sometimes, particularly on quieter days, your Sim might be tempted to do some working out at the station’s personal gym (which is upstairs). Here, you have access to treadmills, punching bags, and exercise machines. The task doesn’t specify which machine to use, only that your Sim needs to work out for an hour.

Going on Patrol

Early on in your Detective career, since you can’t do any serious crime solving yet, there is something you can do, and it gets you out of the police station. The option to Go on Patrol takes your Sim away from the station and onto the streets of some random neighborhood. You cannot choose where you go. Seriously, you could end up anywhere! You’ll have no idea where you’re sent to until the loading screen is finished. Ideally, you’ll want to patrol a smaller area, as it’s easier. If you get sent to a larger neighborhood, it might be trickier to spot troublemaking Sims, plus, it’ll take you much longer to get from A to B. If you do get sent to a big neighborhood and it feels overwhelming, return to the police station and try the Patrol option again. Hopefully, you’ll get relocated to a smaller, more manageable neighborhood.

To go on patrol in the first place, you need to use the crime map. Select the option Go on Patrol and you’ll be warped to a random neighborhood.

Whilst on patrol, there are two tasks for you to do. Interact with other Sims. You basically just talk to them, introduce yourself, etc. The other task though is watching out for trouble. This is the trickier part of being on patrol – and why it’s better to do it in a smaller neighborhood. It’s much easier to not only spot other Sims, but to spot troublemakers.

There are two types of troublemakers to look out for: Sims who litter, and Sims who get into fights. Not mere pushing or insulting, but full-blown physical altercations. You know when one of these are going down because of the dust cloud obscuring the brawlers. They’re quite easy to spot… when they’re taking place. It’s equally easy to miss the action.

When you go on patrol and are looking for trouble, watch out for visibly angry Sims. They’re easy to pick out due to their body language. Their fists will be clenched, they’ll be hunched over, they’ll stomp along when they walk, and they’ll mutter angrily. Keep an eye on these Sims, as it won’t be long before their anger gets the best of them.

If you do come across a Sim who has just caused trouble, you as a beat officer have to issue them a citation. This interaction is available without the need to introduce yourself. Simply select Issue Citation on the offending Sim and your Sim will hand them a ticket. The offender won’t be very happy, but then they shouldn’t have committed the crime, should they?

While on patrol, you’ll usually be tasked with interacting with 2 to 3 Sims, plus issuing citations to another 2 to 3 Sims, before the game suggests you head back to the station. There’s also a task that asks you to stay on patrol for at least 2 hours. This should be enough time to do everything you need, but you can stay for longer if you like. To return to the station, simply select your Sim and choose Return to Police Station.

You may not find yourself going on patrol that often once you’re busy solving crimes, but it’s nice now and again to leave the station and walk the streets. It’s quite easy-going and a good way to slow down, plus you’ll mingle with the community. You can in theory stay out on patrol for the whole shift, if that’s what you want, but if you’re going for a gold performance, I wouldn’t recommend it as the tasks won’t last long enough to let you get that far.

Solving Cases

It doesn’t take long as you climb the ranks until you can start doing some serious Detective work – and this will form the bulk of your day-to-day work (when working actively). Being a Detective means solving crimes, which involves investigating crime scenes, gathering clues, and finally arresting and charging a suspect. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also very satisfying. As a rookie Detective, it might seem overwhelming, so we’ll take you through the whole process from start to finish.

Note that cases cannot be solved at home. Everything must be done during an active work day.

Starting a New Case

To initiate a case, you first need to get one. To get a case assignment, you can use any computer at the station. The option Get a Case Assignment should come up right away.

Once you’ve got your assignment, you have to set up the crime map. This documents your progress in the case, updating the clues gathered so you can eventually issue an APB. Right now, the crime map board is either empty or full of notes from the previous case. Simply select the board and choose Start Case Map. The board will be cleared and your Sim will post the first notes on the new crime to solve.

Visiting the Crime Scene

With the case assigned and the case map set up, it’s now time to go to the scene of the crime and gather evidence. This is a pretty exciting moment in the case. To visit the crime scene, select the crime map board and choose Go to Crime Scene.

You will be teleported to the scene of the crime, which is a random Lot in any of the neighborhoods in any world you have installed in The Sims 4. The Lot can be either Residential or Commercial. You won’t know what Lot you’ll have until you get there. Note that you won’t be taken to a Residential Lot that’s currently unoccupied.

Once you get to the Lot, it’ll soon be obvious that something’s gone down there. The Lot won’t look how it usually appears, at least on the inside. You’ll find graffiti on the ground, broken appliances, missing items, and random items strewn on the floor. 

This is essentially what you’ll find at every crime scene as a Detective in The Sims 4. You won’t expect to find dead bodies or blood or anything grisly like that. It’s generally vandalism and stolen items you are dealing with.

The first thing you should do when you arrive at the crime scene is establish what you’ve got. Pause time if you wish. Take a look around the Lot and see what you’re dealing with. Look at the floors, and examine the items closely. Is anything missing? Graffiti is quite easy to spot, but it can be outdoors as well as indoors. As for missing items, these are marked as transparent green to indicate something is gone. Broken objects are usually electrical items that would normally need repairing or replacing, sparking and such. 

If you’ve had a good look around the crime scene and can’t see too much going on, you’ll need to take a closer look. Sometimes, evidence doesn’t appear immediately. Your Sim therefore needs to scan the environment. This is done by selecting the ground and using Search for Clues. When they do this, evidence will appear on the ground, which they can then take photos and evidence of. I found that in cases higher up in the Detective career, I had to use this interaction to get evidence, as the crime scene was lacking in graffiti, broken or missing objects. My suggestion would be to use the Search interaction in each room until you get enough evidence.

You can also take photos for evidence, which you do by selecting the item and choosing Take Photo of Evidence. With some evidence, you can also Dust for Fingerprints. Generally, whenever you select an item, you’ll have the option to Take Photo for Evidence, Dust for Fingerprints, and Collect Evidence Sample.

That’s not all you need to do at a crime scene. You also have witnesses to interview. When you visit a crime scene, there will be 3 random Sims hanging around the Lot. They may or may not be the Lot’s usual residents, if it’s a Residential Lot. They’ll stand out against the uniformed officers at the crime scene. They’ll also have Witness tagged by their name. Witnesses will not leave the crime scene. They will hang around, talking to officers and generally going about their business. You should interview them as soon as possible. You don’t need to introduce yourself; just select them and Take Witness Report. These will be added as evidence for solving the case.

The tasks you are given requires you to take 3 witness reports, 3 evidence, and 3 photos. This is generally a good basis to have to get an APB. You don’t need more than this. You could probably get away with less than this, but it’s best to stick to what the tasks say.

Once you’re finished at a crime scene, you can return to the police station by selecting your Sim and choosing Return to Police Station. Note that you will not be able to return to the same crime scene. You are able to visit a crime scene again if you need more evidence, but it will be somewhere else and with different witnesses and evidence. It’s therefore a good idea to get as much evidence as possible from your first crime scene visit.

Gathering Clues

So, you’ve visited the scene of the crime, interviewed witnesses and collected evidence. Now what? Now you need to take all this and analyze it, which will paint a picture of what happened and who might have done this. Analyzing the evidence will eventually lead to you identifying a possible suspect.

There are a few ways to collect clues: using the bio analysis machine and cross referencing the police database on the computer.

If you’ve played the Doctor career, you’ll be familiar with the bio analysis machine. Although there’s a lab technician working in the laboratory, there are 3 bio analysis machines available to use. You simply select the machine and select Analyze Evidence…, and a list will appear of evidence you have gathered from the crime scene. Evidence samples and fingerprints can be analyzed. Select one and your Sim will work away at the machine. It takes less than an hour to do a complete analysis. Your Sim will either be successful or not. Most of the time, they will get something. 

The second main method of getting new clues is by using the interaction on the computer Cross Reference Police Database. This works a bit like analyzing evidence on the bio analysis machine. By selecting this interaction, you’ll get a list of evidence gathered. Select one and your Sim will work on the computer. This is another task that doesn’t take long to get results. Your Sim will be successful all the time with this, guaranteeing a new clue for your case.

Once you’ve analyzed or cross referenced your evidence, you need to add it to the case map. You just need to select the crime map and Add Clues. This updates the board, as well as your Notebook with a new clue for your case. Despite the interaction being named as plural, Add Clues only actually adds one clue. To add all the current clues with the evidence you have so far, you need to repeat the action.

If you do happen to be low on evidence and you need more clues, you can always use the Deduce New Clue option, available from the crime map. This should get you a new clue, handy if you’re low and need one more to get that APB.

Issuing an APB (All Points Bulletin)

As soon as you have enough clues, the game will inform you that you’re ready to issue an APB, or All Points Bulletin. The option for this isn’t even available until you have enough clues (about 4, I believe). You don’t have to issue an APB the minute it becomes available. If you want a better chance at identifying the culprit, you can keep gathering clues with bio analysis and cross referencing. You can get a max of 6 clues. If you’ve got the max number of clues, it’s really quite pointless trying to get more evidence and clues, so don’t waste your time (unless you really want to).

All clues that you’ve gathered can be found in your Sim’s Notebook, which is found next to the Calendar. Open it up and find the Detective career tab. Here, all the clues collected will appear for your current case. 

Now you’ve got all your clues (or at least enough to identify a suspect), it’s time to go out and make an arrest. The clues have identified a suspect, and you have to go and find them and bring them to the station. To initiate this, select the option Issue APB on the crime map. 

You will be taken to the Lot where the suspect is located. This is usually a public or Commercial Lot. The suspect won’t be at their home or someone else’s home. Once the Lot loads up, I would suggest pausing the game at this point so you can find the suspect without them moving around and precious time ticking away. The suspect will not leave the area.

Usually when you arrive at the Lot, the suspect is the only person there (probably because the game hasn’t loaded up the other Sims just yet). This is the best time to identify and arrest a suspect, before they get lost in a crowd of Sims. However, to be absolutely sure you have the right person, you should consult your Notebook. If you have the maximum of 6 clues, you should have the following to identify the suspect:

1. Their gender
2. Their age (they’ll be no younger than a teen)
3. The color of their hair
4. One of their traits (and only one – you cannot get more traits from more clues)
5. What top they’re wearing
6. What bottoms they’re wearing

Even just 2 or 3 clues can narrow down a suspect, but it’s still best to be sure. If you incorrectly identify a suspect, it will take a hit on your overall performance and could even cost you that promotion you’ve been working so hard on, so be careful!

If you want to get a Sim’s trait to help identify them, then you’ll need to introduce yourself, then use the interaction Get to Know. This will reveal one of their traits. They’ll only have 3 traits, but it’s not always the one listed in the Notebook. However, there is a reward from the Reward Store that you can buy with satisfaction points that allows you to learn all of a Sim’s traits the minute you meet them, which is extremely handy for a lot of things, but also the Detective career. This reward is called Observant and is available for 500 satisfaction points.

(There is the option to use the interaction Ask about Suspect to help locate them, but to be honest, you don’t really need this. I found it didn’t really help when looking for a suspect. So long as you have all the clues to identify the suspect, you shouldn’t need to use it.)

Once you have positively identified a suspect, it’s time to make that all important arrest. You don’t need to introduce yourself for this. The option Arrest Suspect will be right there. The Sim won’t resist; they’ll reluctantly go with you to the station. At this point, you will leave the Lot and return to the station, where the suspect will be waiting in a cell to be interrogated.

Note that the suspect will never be a resident living in a Residential Lot, so you won’t be arresting Bob Pancakes or Bella Goth. It’s always a totally randomized Sim that you’ve probably never seen before.

Interrogating the Suspect

With the suspect arrested and carted off to the station, there’s one last thing to do in your investigation: get a confession! This is the final stage, but it can also be tricky. You have to make a judgment based on the suspect’s mood on how you approach them to get the much-needed confession to close the case.

When the suspect is arrested, they will appear at the station in one of the cells (usually the one the opposite end of the cell with the in-house criminals). They will be waiting for you to interrogate them. You can interrogate them any time you like; they won’t leave the station until you do, and the case won’t be closed, so it’s probably best just to get on with it. The only time you shouldn’t do an interrogation is when you’re getting to the end of your shift (especially if you’ve already used an extension). You won’t have enough time to complete the interrogation before your day ends, so if the end of the day is approaching, leave it until the next shift. The suspect can wait.

If you are ready to interview the suspect, select the interrogation table (not the suspect) and choose Interrogate Suspect. Wait for your Sim to get the suspect out of their cell and seated at the table, and you’ll be ready to start.

The whole purpose of an interrogation is to get a confession out of the suspect. To do this, you need to break through to them. You have a few options on approaching this. You can play at being a good cop, generally being friendly and encouraging to the suspect. Alternatively, you can be the bad cop, acting crazy and threatening and scaring the suspect. You can also present your findings to the suspect. You can use a combination of these methods and interactions to get through to the suspect – but you’ll have to study their behavior and mood if you want to be successful, and choose your approach based on this. This is when things can get a little difficult.

Throughout the interrogation, you can monitor the current mood of the suspect. The mood varies from suspect to suspect. They’re usually Tense, but they can also be Shy, Friendly, etc. On the basis of their mood, you have to choose how to approach your interview. Are you going to be friendly and coaxing, aggressive, or just put the evidence in front of them? Depending on their current mood and what approach you go for, it will either fill the meter or deplete it, or it won’t change at all. This meter represents how close, or far, you are to getting through to the suspect and getting that confession. It’ll start at the bottom and gradually fill up. Once it’s full, the meter will glow and the Sim will be ready to confess. If you make a bad approach, it might drop the meter, so watch out. This is why you have to be careful what methods you use in interrogation.

Once you get the idea of interrogations and the best approaches based on a Sim’s mood, they won’t be so difficult to crack. This is the general rule of thumb to a successful and swift interrogation. If a Sim is Tense, use Bad Cop interactions, mixed in with a few Evidence interactions. If a Sim is in a good mood, such as being Friendly and generally cooperative, you can use Good Cop methods. Sims who progress towards confessing often act visibly nervous, a good indicator that you’re on the right track. Note that a Sim’s mood can change during an interrogation. They might start off quite happy but then later become more nervous. If this happens, you’ll have to adjust your interrogation method accordingly.

As soon as the suspect has cracked, use the interaction Get Confession to close the case. Your Sim will then lock the suspect away – and that’s it! The case is over! From here, you can do odd jobs around the station, go on patrol, or even begin a new case. If it’s getting to the end of the day, I would suggest waiting until the next active shift to start a new case. If you have a few hours left in the day, you can kill a few by going on patrol. If time is short, just do some odd jobs at the station.

All Levels in the Detective Career

By now, you’ll know the ins-and-outs of the Detective career, but you’ll probably also want to know what lies ahead in the career ladder. What promotions lie ahead? What rewards can you get? How much does each level pay? To paint you a clear picture, here’s a complete overview of the Detective career, including titles, salary, working hours, working days, and rewards for promotion.

Cadet

Salary: §20 per hour

Work Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Work Hours: 8am – 5pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Attend two active work days in the Detective career

This is where you start your career as a Detective. All you have to do to get promoted is attend work actively 2 days.

Officer

Salary: §28 per hour

Work Days: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Work Hours: 8am – 5pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: 1.) Go to a Crime Scene 2.) Go on Patrol

Promotion Rewards: §160, New Clothes

From level 2, you’ll start taking on more responsibilities, such as gathering evidence at crime scenes and going on patrols.

Corporal

Salary: §38 per hour

Work Days: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Work Hours: 9am – 6pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Interrogate a Suspect

Promotion Rewards: §224, Most Modern Cell Towel Rack, Get with the Gloss Metal Shelf, The Lonely Man’s Shelf, Cold Steel, Stinkman’s Wall Bench, Hard Time Mirror, The Solitary Sleeper, The Impenetrable, Jaded Cell Depository, Holey Door of Holding, Single Serving Justice Dispenser, The Impossible, The “Don’t Even Try”

For the next promotion, you need to interrogate a suspect you have arrested. Don’t be nervous! Just take cues from the suspect’s mood and make the right judgments on what interview methods to take.

Detective

Salary: §52 per hour

Work Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Work Hours: 9am – 6pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Solve 1 Case

Promotion Rewards: §304, No Holds Barred Window, Privacy Glass, Jailbird’s Lament, Be Prepared Security Gate, Brushed Metal Double Door

Now your Sim has officially been promoted to a Detective, the real work begins. From now on, promotions require you to solve a number of crimes. To start with, you just need to solve one.

Senior Detective

Salary: §78 per hour

Work Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Work Hours: 9am – 6pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Solve 2 Cases

Promotion Rewards: §416, New Clothes, One-Way Mirror Window, The Attainder

You’re a Senior Detective now, so you need to step it up. Solving 2 cases will lead to the next promotion.

Sergeant

Salary: §92 per hour

Work Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Work Hours: 9am – 6pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Solve 3 Cases

Promotion Rewards: §624, To Serve and Protect Sign, Have You Seen These Lawbreakers?, Don’t Go There Caution Barrier, Nice Try Security Camera, The Sim Seal of Solidarity and Strength, Pole of Magnificence

Your Sim will be kept busy with 3 crimes to solve for the next level up.

Lieutenant

Salary: §123 per hour

Work Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Work Hours: 9am – 6pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Solve 4 Cases

Promotion Rewards: §736, Box O’ Files, Still Getting Settled Moving Box, Look At Me I’m Important Folders, Regulation Police Drawers, Arctic Kiss Fan, Proceed with Caution Table Light

As Lieutenant, solving cases should be second nature by now. You’ll have to go into work pretty much every shift to keep on top of the number of cases you’ve done.

Captain

Salary: §150 per hour

Work Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Work Hours: 9am – 5pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Solve 5 Cases

Promotion Rewards: §984, Mighty Plaque of Honor, Star on The Wall Plaque, Carol and Hubert, Interrogation Illumination, Retro, P.I. Lamp, Up Against the Wall, BluScreen 88D Alert Light, Brightest Night Flood Light, Sims In Uniform Calendar, Slots-a-Lot File-o-Facts

5 cases are a lot. You should practically be an expert at this stage.

Colonel

Salary: §205 per hour

Work Days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Work Hours: 9am – 5pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Requirements: Solve 6 Cases

Promotion Rewards: §1,200, Seat of Justice, The Sgt. Thompson, Surface Noir, File Cabinet Extraordinaire (x2), Rectangle with Shelves Bookshelf, Five-O Hallway Table, SentrySec Metal File Cabinet, The Troublemaker Couch, The Unyielding Bench

This is the last push to get to the top. You need to have 6 solved cases under your belt to become Chief.

Chief

Salary: §265 per hour

Work Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Work Hours: 9am – 5pm

Ideal Mood: Focused

Promotion Rewards: §1,640, New Clothes, The Regulation Station, Crystalline Bottom Holster, The Chief’s Crystal Desk, Clued In Achievement, Real Detective Suite Styled Room

Finally! You’ve made it to the top. It’s been a lot of grafting and crime solving, but it’s been worth it.

Final Tips

As we wrap up this guide to the Detective career in The Sims 4, let’s end with some final tips to leave you with:

• You ideally want to go to work in a good mood, with all your Needs in the green. The game suggests that your Sim be in a Focused mood, which you can easily get at the station from using the bio analysis machine, playing on the chess table, and using the interaction Browse Simpedia on a computer. If your Needs do happen to flounder during your shift, the station has everything you need to sustain you.
• It can take time to get to the top of the Detective career, even when you actively work every shift possible and max out your daily performance. The key is to work hard, do all the tasks listed, and be patient! 
• You can, if you wish, gather every piece of evidence available at every crime scene, but it’s really not necessary. It’ll be a waste of time and you only need a certain amount of clues to get an APB. Just get all 3 witnesses, 3 pieces of evidence, and 3 photos and you’re good.
• Make sure you have plenty of time with an interrogation. It doesn’t take hours and hours to get an outcome, but don’t wait until the end of the day either. You don’t want to rush the interrogation and have the wrong approach. Study the suspect’s behaviour and evaluate how you’ll interview them. If one method doesn’t work, try a different approach.
• When you arrive at the location of an APB, the way the game works is that the suspect should be the only one there when you first arrive. This makes it much easier to spot them. However, just to be sure, double check the suspect’s identity with the Notebook.
• For promotion rewards, you earn a LOT of free career reward objects. You basically get everything you can see at the police station. If you don’t plan to use the stuff, sell it for extra money.