Detectives: Recruitment and retention is becoming real issue

DETECTIVES say they are underpaid for the work they do.

A recent NPCC survey revealed the vast majority of those interviewed felt inadequately rewarded. Many respondents believe the issue is leaving teams under-staffed with some reporting that uniformed PCs are increasingly investigating complex cases, due to a lack of CID capacity.

One told the survey that people were joining CID to do the job for the right reason before quickly realising the money does not compensate for the work they have to deal with.

As a solution, more than 77 per cent of Detectives see offering bonuses as a great way to encourage more people into the role, particularly to help fill hard-to-recruit-for vacancies.

Bonuses of up to £4,000 a year could be offered as part of plan by Chief Constables to arrest the decline, although they could only be used in ‘exceptional’ cases.

The Police Federation National Detectives’ Forum thinks cuts to forces nationwide mean many simply don’t have the number of Detectives they need, an issue further highlighted in last year’s PFEW National Detectives’ Survey when 62% said cuts were behind increased workload.

“Recruitment and retention is becoming a real issue,” Forum Chairman Martin Plummer told Police Oracle.

“Because of government imposed cuts, a number of forces are below the number of Detectives they need.

“Detectives are asked to investigate the most serious crimes and we need something that will enhance the role. If that means detectives are remunerated with a bonus payment that should be looked at.”

He added: “It will have to come from existing force budgets which is a significant concern. There will be many areas across the force that will put business cases to get those funds.”