Need Help with Detective Career

Probably the best guide I can think of is Carl's website:
carls-sims-4-guide.com/careers/gettowork/detective/
Although notably bugged in the early days, it seems to have been cleaned up a lot with patches and is now considered playable.

Good luck; it's actually a good career, I've had several sims get to its pinnacle! :smile:

Thanks so much for the link. I will check it out and see if I can get the hang of it.

Once you collect evidence from the crime scene, you then have to return to the station and analyze it. This will give you clues to the suspect's identity.

To expand on what @BK747 said, once you get fingerprints, samples, witness testimonies, you go back to use the various equipment on it. You can cross reference Witness Testimonies on the computers. You can analyze the fingerprints and samples on the science machine (can't think of it's name at the moment.) Once you have all that, you then add the clues to the Case Board, and eventually, you'll build a profile of the perp. The board will gradually fill up with pictures and images as you get closer and closer to a full description of the suspect, and at a certain point, I don't believe you can add any more. Once you have at least 2 descriptors of the suspect (logged in your notebook on your phone), you will have the option to issue a APB on any suspects matching that description. Then you'll be sent to a random lot, where there will be various individuals matching the descriptors you have. The more complete your case board was (and thus, the more descriptors you have), the smaller the pool of suspects will be on the lot. Eventually, you will have to arrest one of them and take them back to the precinct, where they will be in the prison cell near the front side of the PD. You can select the interrogation table to interrogate them. If you had multiple suspects when you issued an APB, there is a chance you could have arrested the wrong person, in which you'll screw up your case and have to accept defeat. That's why I emphasize it's best to fully flesh out your case board before issuing an APB.

As a glitchy bonus, extra evidence in your inventory that you haven't analyzed or cross referenced from one case is totally usable once you start a new case, and you can "cheat" by analyzing and cross referring that evidence for the new one without actually having to go to the new crime scene for more evidence.

"BK747;c-16952807" wrote:
Once you collect evidence from the crime scene, you then have to return to the station and analyze it. This will give you clues to the suspect's identity.

I tried that and it said "Analysis failed." I was lost at that point, time had run out, and I had no idea what to do. :(

"TheGreatGorlon;c-16952872" wrote:
To expand on what @BK747 said, once you get fingerprints, samples, witness testimonies, you go back to use the various equipment on it. You can cross reference Witness Testimonies on the computers. You can analyze the fingerprints and samples on the science machine (can't think of it's name at the moment.) Once you have all that, you then add the clues to the Case Board, and eventually, you'll build a profile of the perp. The board will gradually fill up with pictures and images as you get closer and closer to a full description of the suspect, and at a certain point, I don't believe you can add any more. Once you have at least 2 descriptors of the suspect (logged in your notebook on your phone), you will have the option to issue a APB on any suspects matching that description. Then you'll be sent to a random lot, where there will be various individuals matching the descriptors you have. The more complete your case board was (and thus, the more descriptors you have), the smaller the pool of suspects will be on the lot. Eventually, you will have to arrest one of them and take them back to the precinct, where they will be in the prison cell near the front side of the PD. You can select the interrogation table to interrogate them. If you had multiple suspects when you issued an APB, there is a chance you could have arrested the wrong person, in which you'll screw up your case and have to accept defeat. That's why I emphasize it's best to fully flesh out your case board before issuing an APB.

As a glitchy bonus, extra evidence in your inventory that you haven't analyzed or cross referenced from one case is totally usable once you start a new case, and you can "cheat" by analyzing and cross referring that evidence for the new one without actually having to go to the new crime scene for more evidence.

That all sounds great...but how are you supposed to do all of that in the limited time available? Plus use the restroom and eat when necessary?

You don't have to finish everything on the first day. Even at higher levels it takes a few days to solve a case (usually about 3 days for me: one to go on site and gather evidence, then start analyzing some, one to finish analyzing clues and do various other things at work, and I wait for the next day to go get my suspect and interrogate, because that can take a while and I have no idea what happens if the interrogation isn't finished when your work day ends).

As for analyzing samples, as you work more, your sim will become better at it. I think it is tied to your logic skill. Other things, like using the computer to cross reference testimonies, seem to always work.

Also, don't forget to prioritize tasks that are in the list on the upper-left. Those will increase your job performance and salary for the day, and they are usually pretty good clues as to what you should do next. Detective starts a little slow, but it's a fun career. I hope you enjoy it.

"SerraNolwen;c-16954621" wrote:
You don't have to finish everything on the first day. Even at higher levels it takes a few days to solve a case (usually about 3 days for me: one to go on site and gather evidence, then start analyzing some, one to finish analyzing clues and do various other things at work, and I wait for the next day to go get my suspect and interrogate, because that can take a while and I have no idea what happens if the interrogation isn't finished when your work day ends).

As for analyzing samples, as you work more, your sim will become better at it. I think it is tied to your logic skill. Other things, like using the computer to cross reference testimonies, seem to always work.

Also, don't forget to prioritize tasks that are in the list on the upper-left. Those will increase your job performance and salary for the day, and they are usually pretty good clues as to what you should do next. Detective starts a little slow, but it's a fun career. I hope you enjoy it.

I try to follow the task list as much as I can. Sometimes it's not easy, though. Recently it said something about talking to the chief... great. Who is the chief? I looked all around the station and never did find him or her. I play multiple families, so I'm always changing from one household to another. I suppose for my detective to advance, I'll have to play his household for a longer period of time.

I really hate these careers. They might be good for my sims, but I'm terrible at them. I'd much rather just send a sim off to work and let him succeed or fail on his own. That's mostly what I've done with my detective in the past, but I figured I would try -- again -- to go to work with him and help him out. I'm just not much help. :(