A 12-week fast-track scheme to get graduates onboard as detectives is ringing alarm bells with South Yorkshire Police Federation.<\/p>\n
Chair Zuleika Payne says she is not confident the Home Office Plan, which sets out to address a national 5,000 shortfall in detective numbers, is the answer.<\/p>\n
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Scheme leaders say it will provide 1,000 new detectives by 2023 and it is backed by Chief Constable Matt Jukes, National Lead of Investigative Resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got some real concerns about it,\u201d Zuleika said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes without saying, there will be many individuals who would make fantastic investigators. However, it\u2019s a bold step to suggest that someone with just 12 weeks\u2019 classroom training is going to be prepared for the complex and difficult cases they are going to be presented with as an investigator.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to end up with detectives working side by side; one will have 15 years\u2019 experience maybe and the other is going to have 12 weeks\u2019 experience \u2013 it\u2019s just very hard to imagine the fast track course will give them what they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, there are people out there who would make great investigators but let\u2019s give them the correct training to perform the role, to solve the problems they are going to be faced with everyday.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of that comes from policing experience, which you just can\u2019t replicate on a course. Police detectives are selected from officers who have completed their two year student officer phase as a regular police officer.<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s before an officer is interviewed by a board, if successful placed in a CID team before completing a further training portfolio. It\u2019s a lengthy and involved process, it doesn\u2019t happen overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuleika believes that spending time and resource in solving the detective crisis and understanding how the sector has got to crisis point would be more beneficial.<\/p>\n
She explained: \u201cThere is a crisis, there\u2019s no doubt about it, but what\u2019s the history behind the crisis? Why are we in this situation?<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we need more investigators on board but if we don\u2019t address why we are where we are and cure that, then the danger is we\u2019ll end up back at square one.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetectives deal with a huge amount of risk, they investigate serious and complex crimes and we are becoming increasingly risk averse.<\/p>\n
\u201cExisting investigators need support, but unless that matter is addressed sufficiently then the matter will not be satisfactorily resolved in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n