Faster recruitment at heart of strategy to boost detective numbers
Kent Police to fast track recruits to non-uniform roles after 12 monthsReforms to recruitment, shift patterns and exams are being looked as part of moves to stabilise declining detective numbers.
Last week another force opened a “fast track” detective recruitment scheme in a bid to boost numbers.
Kent Police opened recruitment for what it calls "Investigate First" – a scheme where trainees spend one year on regular probation and in uniform before switching to detective work.
It also emerged that Essex Police’s new recruitment drive which the force initially advertised as recruitment “direct to detectives”, telling the public they would have the opportunity to “step straight into the world of our detectives”, also incorporates one-year training in uniform prior to the switch to criminal investigation.
They join forces including Hampshire, Suffolk and Thames Valley in taking on similar schemes. The Met is currently the only force where there is no time at all spent in uniform prior to becoming a detective, though City of London Police are looking at following their lead.
Across England and Wales there is an estimated 22 per cent lack of detective capability, with 4,800 investigator roles vacant.
Chiefs asked the College of Policing to carry out a “prioritised” independent evaluation of direct entry to detective, early streaming to detective and police staff investigator programmes.
A spokesman said: “The College is continuing to work with the national policing lead and the investigative entry working group to evaluate the impact of the various force recruitment schemes to ensure they use the most appropriate approach to meet their operational needs and priorities.”
Karen Stephens, detectives lead at the Police Federation, says direct entry detective schemes are “unfair” on the participants if they don’t have any training in uniform before taking, and possibly failing, their national investigators exam (NIE).
“Fast-track streaming at least has some street experience. I’m not 100 per cent in favour but at least if you fail you can go to uniform.”
Other measures discussed by chiefs include a reform of CID shift patterns.
Chief Constable Matt Jukes told an NPCC meeting earlier this year: “Shift patterns for CID and investigators are often more detrimental to home life as they have fewer rest days than response officers.
“Furthermore, they have more enforced overtime to work as they don’t always have officers booking on duty at the end of their shift that they can hand over investigations to.”
He noted that “some forces” are reviewing detective shift patterns to help with this.
Ms Stephens told Police Oracle: “It is an issue but it’s not just about rest days. In CID you don’t know when you’re going to finish, you can start at 8am and expect to finish at 5pm but if a job comes in at 3pm you can’t hand it over to anyone. In uniform you can hand over to the next shift.
“It comes down to resources, if you’re fully staffed people aren’t so over-stretched.”
Elsewhere CC Jukes noted that there have been complaints about the varying levels of support to pass the national investigators exam in different forces.
The exam is to be reviewed as part of the College of Policing’s education framework, and nationally recommended policies for support may be introduced.
News Archive
- December 2023 (3)
- November 2023 (5)
- October 2023 (4)
- September 2023 (5)
- August 2023 (4)
- July 2023 (3)
- June 2023 (5)
- May 2023 (2)
- April 2023 (5)
- March 2023 (3)
- February 2023 (7)
- January 2023 (11)
- December 2022 (6)
- November 2022 (5)
- October 2022 (5)
- September 2022 (6)
- August 2022 (2)
- July 2022 (11)
- June 2022 (8)
- May 2022 (11)
- April 2022 (8)
- March 2022 (3)
- February 2022 (5)
- January 2022 (12)
- December 2021 (1)
- November 2021 (9)
- October 2021 (4)
- September 2021 (10)
- August 2021 (9)
- July 2021 (12)
- June 2021 (4)
- May 2021 (11)
- April 2021 (14)
- March 2021 (14)
- February 2021 (19)
- January 2021 (18)
- December 2020 (6)
- November 2020 (12)
- October 2020 (14)
- September 2020 (15)
- August 2020 (16)
- July 2020 (16)
- June 2020 (18)
- May 2020 (22)
- April 2020 (18)
- March 2020 (23)
- February 2020 (20)
- January 2020 (4)
- December 2019 (5)
- November 2019 (6)
- October 2019 (5)
- September 2019 (6)
- August 2019 (8)
- July 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (8)
- May 2019 (8)
- April 2019 (8)
- March 2019 (10)
- February 2019 (9)
- January 2019 (9)
- December 2018 (9)
- November 2018 (12)
- October 2018 (8)
- September 2018 (7)
- August 2018 (11)
- July 2018 (7)
- June 2018 (9)
- May 2018 (9)
- April 2018 (12)
- March 2018 (10)
- February 2018 (8)
- January 2018 (5)
- December 2017 (6)
- November 2017 (4)
- October 2017 (3)
- September 2017 (10)
- August 2017 (5)
- July 2017 (5)
- June 2017 (6)
- May 2017 (6)
- April 2017 (2)
- March 2017 (3)
- February 2017 (4)
- January 2017 (1)
- December 2016 (3)
- November 2016 (4)
- October 2016 (1)
- September 2016 (4)
- August 2016 (4)
- July 2016 (1)
- June 2016 (5)
- May 2016 (3)
- April 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (3)
- February 2016 (3)
- January 2016 (3)
- December 2015 (3)
- November 2015 (3)
- October 2015 (3)
- September 2015 (2)
- August 2015 (1)
- July 2015 (11)
- June 2015 (1)