This study reviewed police competency models and developed a core competency model for investigative police through the procedures of data collection, competency extraction and model development, validity verification, final revision and model completion.

  Specifically, the investigative police fields were divided into violent crime investigation, criminal offense investigation, women and youth crime investigation, intelligent crime investigation, economic crime investigation, drug crime investigation, organized crime investigation, cyber crime investigation, and digital forensics. security crime investigation and traffic crime investigation. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with investigators and instructors in each field, and core competencies such as knowledge, skills, and abilities are extracted to determine the draft of core competency model of each investigation field.

  In order to verify whether the draft of core competency model for each investigative field was valid, an online survey was conducted on investigators working in each investigative field through cooperation with National Office of Investigation. and as a result of statistical analysis, some competencies with low validity were excluded from the model. In addition, we collected advisory opinions from related experts, revised the names of some competencies, and finalized the final core competency model.

  The results showed that the violent crime investigation core competency model consisted of eleven competencies, including ‘tracking ability to apprehend suspects.’ The criminal offense investigation core competency model consists of eleven competencies, including ‘evidence collection and analysis ability to identify suspects and prove charges.’ The core competency model for women and youth crime investigation consists of eleven competencies, including ‘knowledge of criminal laws, special laws, and precedents related to women and youth crimes.’ The intelligent crime investigation core competency model consists of ten competencies, including ‘compulsory investigation ability’. The economic crime investigation core competency model consists of ten competencies, including ‘the ability to identify specific facts and issues in complaints and accusations.’ The core competency model for drug crime investigation consists of ten competencies, including ‘judgment and execution ability for compulsory investigation’. The organized crime investigation core competency model consists of seven competencies, including ‘information network management and intelligence collection capabilities for violent organizations.’ The cyber crime investigation core competency model consists of ten competencies, including ‘ability to take coercive action at the scene of arrest.’ The digital forensics core competency model consists of nine competencies, including ‘the ability to collect evidence while securing integrity, identity, and reliability.’ The security crime investigation core competency model consists of thirteen competencies, including ‘knowledge of North Korea-related laws and precedents, including the National Security Act.’ The traffic crime investigation core competency model consists of twelve competencies, including ‘knowledge of the Traffic Accident Handling Special Act and the Road Traffic Act and related precedents.’

  These research results are significant in that they take into account the expansion of the police investigation field, the changed criminal justice environment, and the characteristics of various investigation fields. In addition, as a result of a comprehensive review of various investigative core competency models, knowledge of criminal law and precedents, knowledge of special laws related to the investigation field, evidence collection and analysis ability, ability to use databases and programs, tracking ability, compulsory investigation (seizure and search, etc.) ability, interview ability, and investigative writing ability were derived as common capabilities of investigators.

  In the short term, the research results of the investigative police core competency model can contribute to improving educational programs in each investigative field. For example, if the training time related to the core competencies is insufficient, further expansion may be considered. In addition, from a mid to long term perspective, the investigative police core competency model can be used to improve the personnel management and qualification management system of investigators at National Office of Investigation, such as giving preference to talent with core competencies in each investigative field. Through this, if the capabilities of police investigators are strengthened, it is expected that the overall capabilities of police investigations as a criminal justice agency will be strengthened, contributing to the implementation of the national task of ensuring the safety of the people's lives.

  In addition, the core competency model developed in this study focuses on technical competencies such as knowledge, skills, and abilities, and the competencies that had low validity are difficult to consider as core competencies, but may still be competencies necessary for investigation, so caution is needed in interpreting the results. In the future, we suggest that there is a need to conduct research to derive a more comprehensive competency model in a specific investigative field or to conduct research related to redesigning the education system and establishing an uation system.