Would-be detectives should learn skills on the beat first

THERE are individuals who have natural talent, flare and would make excellent detectives. But there is much to be said for being a Police officer and learning your trade before specialising in a particular area of work.

That’s the view of South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Zuleika Payne, who says would-be detectives should build their skills as a bobby on the beat first.

She was speaking after a direct entry scheme for detectives was introduced in the Metropolitan Police. However, there are no plans in place for such a scheme in South Yorkshire.

Zuleika said: “CID, like firearms, is a specialist area, and we wouldn’t just parachute people in to become a firearms officer, they would first and foremost be a police officer.

“So this whole notion of direct entry detective certainly does raise eyebrows in some quarters. I would say at the outset that undoubtedly there are individuals out there who may have a natural leaning towards being an investigator. An inquisitive and enquiring mind, and perhaps a lot of natural ability.

“But there’s a lot to be said for actually becoming a police officer and doing some basic bobbying and building those skills. Coupled with that, actually working in an area, a locality, becoming familiar with your neighbourhood, knowing who’s who, certainly in the criminal fraternity. That’s going to make for a far more effective detective.

“Now, I’m sure the idea of a direct entry detective on paper, theoretically, will hold a lot of attraction for people outside the organisation wanting to come in. But when you consider, certainly in South Yorkshire, they are entering an under-funded, under-resourced organisation, I’m not convinced this is the best plan.

“We certainly need an uplift in the number of detectives. If direct entrants are an enhancement to service delivery, then that’s a fantastic way of progressing matters. But, sadly, the concern is that direct entry detectives may become a replacement, and we really need to have those with a well-rooted detective career if we’re going to be effective crime fighters and detectives.”

HMIC said earlier this year that the shortage of detectives was a “national crisis”, and more should be done to attract people into CID.

“The situation in South Yorkshire doesn’t reflect that in quite the same proportions,” added Zuleika.

“But when you look at who would like to exit the organisation, then a disproportionately high number of individuals who applied for severance came from a CID, public protection background.

“Now I would say that in all aspects of police work officers take work home with them (metaphorically), you never forget about what you’re dealing with. You’re constantly thinking about your caseload and officers want to do a good job.

“But that’s even more evident when it comes to detectives because they’re dealing with serious and complex crimes. And of course, they ultimately want to detect those crimes and secure convictions, and so there is added pressure.

“Now, when you’re comparing detective work and the CID to routine uniform response there are some subtle differences. Detectives need further specialist training because of the nature of the caseload that they’re dealing with, ie complex and serious crimes.”

“The notion that somebody could be parachuted in from outside the organisation into a very specialist area of work, one can see from the outside looking in that this may have some downfall.”