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Helping the police with their inquiries: improving investigator resilience and capacity in England and Wales

James, A, Johnson, C, Turner, J and Silverstone, D (2023) Helping the police with their inquiries: improving investigator resilience and capacity in England and Wales. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice. ISSN 2056-3841

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Abstract

In 2016, the oversight body for policing in England and Wales reported a national shortage of 5,000 qualified detectives and other investigators. Commissioned by the National Police Chiefs Council, this research critically assessed initiatives taken by the Police Service of England and Wales since that time to remedy that shortfall. The purpose of this study is to answer the question, “To what extent can fast-track investigator recruitment and training schemes enhance the PSEW’s investigative capacity and capability?” Between 2019 and 2020, the authors examined four cases in England and Wales. Three were novel fast-track programmes for new joiners. The fourth was an investigator resilience programme. This study was qualitative and interpretive in nature. The authors carried out systematic reviews of the literature on investigative policy and detective work. The authors reviewed internal evaluations completed by Forces A, B and C. The authors interviewed respondents (n = 82) and supplemented the interview data with survey data (n = 45; N = 127); the authors analysed the data thematically and reviewed the findings in the context of systems theory and social identity theory. The major themes identified by the analysis presented in this study were marketing and recruitment, attrition and progression, acceptance of the trainees, training and trainees’ welfare and well-being. The programmes were not as successful as they might have been because of systems failures. Principally, ineffective coordination of the programmes with other elements of the forces on which their success also relied (such as training, human resources and detective, departments). A critical limiting factor was the lack of experienced, skilled detectives able to train, support and mentor the trainees.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com
Uncontrolled Keywords: policing; police training; social identity theory; systems theory; training/professionalisation; detective work; staff recruitment; 1602 Criminology; 1801 Law
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV7231 Criminal Justice Administrations > HV7551 Police. Detectives. Constabulary
Divisions: Justice Studies (from Sep 19)
Publisher: Emerald
SWORD Depositor: A Symplectic
Date Deposited: 15 Feb 2023 12:39
Last Modified: 15 Feb 2023 12:39
DOI or ID number: 10.1108/JCRPP-11-2022-0055
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18899
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