Craft under strain: comparative perspectives on detective work in England and Wales, Finland, and Denmark

James, A ORCID: 0000-0001-5460-406X, Cox-Forshaw, C and Carr, R (2026) Craft under strain: comparative perspectives on detective work in England and Wales, Finland, and Denmark. Policing, 20. ISSN 1752-4512

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Abstract

Detective work is under sustained strain, driven by rising caseloads, digitalisation, and intensified organisational scrutiny. While these pressures are understood as global, less is known about how they are experienced and managed in different institutional contexts. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 83 detectives in England and Wales, Finland, and Denmark, this article examines how responsibility for coping with investigative strain is organised and how this shapes detectives’ experiences of their work. The analysis indicates detectives across all three jurisdictions face broadly similar pressures but the ways in which these pressures are absorbed and managed differ markedly. Rather than treating resilience as an individual attribute, the article conceptualises it as an organisational accomplishment shaped by culture, structure, and professional learning arrangements. Through comparative analysis, the article develops a framework for understanding how different policing systems mediate shared pressures, contributing to debates about investigative craft and the sustainability of detective work.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LCAPS); detective work; police culture; detective caseloads; comparative study; police professionalisation; 4407 Policy and Administration; 44 Human Society; 1602 Criminology; 4402 Criminology
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV7231 Criminal Justice Administrations > HV7551 Police. Detectives. Constabulary
Divisions:	Law and Justice Studies
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Date of acceptance:	17 June 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	13 July 2026
Date Deposited:	13 Jul 2026 14:33
Last Modified:	13 Jul 2026 14:33
DOI or ID number:	10.1093/police/paag032
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29001

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