In this study, we examine the conditions for participation in criminal investigation practices among two professional categories: police officers and civilians. Specifically, we analyse how participation is shaped and conditioned through the use of symbols and symbolic actions in relation to doing gender and professional identity. The Swedish police have addressed staffing shortages by hiring civilians, predominantly graduate women, as criminal investigators. We interviewed 71 civilians and police officers, focusing on their perspectives on the nature of investigative work, civilian integration, and the distinctions between the two professional groups. Additionally, the data includes 11 days of ethnographic observations at five different investigative units. Using reflexive thematic analysis and a sociomaterial perspective, we constructed four ideal types of participation – defensive civilian, hybrid police, hybrid civilian and defensive police. We argue that these ideal types of participation are positioned in relation to orientations of doing gender and professional identity, and furthermore associated with different categories of symbols and symbolic actions. Our study enhances our understanding of relational power in workplace learning, particularly social ordering through legitimacy and status.