Detective direct recruitment not created to address ‘national crisis’ shortage

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has launched a direct entry detective constable programme to recruit people who have not thought of or rejected policing as a career option before. In a first for UK policing, the ‘Detective Pathway’ campaign hopes to attract more than 150 applicants from a range of backgrounds to bring their skills and expertise to the MPS. In March, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary warned of a “national crisis” in detective shortages, which is leading to “excessive workloads and stress” among police officers and staff. Detective Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman, lead for Detective Pathway, said the initiative was not created to deal with this issue – the MPS is currently between 600 and 800 below its required capacity – however, the Detective Pathway will help to reduce the shortage. The focus is “less about the numbers and more about people” he said. “We know from market testing we did last year that this is hugely attractive to people who may never have considered a career in policing. “In fact, what the market testing told us, there were people who previously rejected a career in policing that would now consider it. That is quite remarkable. “When you look into the detail, some of the things that make it attractive – particularly so to women and ethnic minorities – is the non-uniform aspect. “As much as the uniform is an attraction, it can equally be as much of a barrier.” However, he warned that recruits will be told the reality of policing is not the same as the perception they get from TV. “That is partly why we are focusing more on the sort of people we want – those that can manage a high workload – because that is really important,” he said. From Wednesday (May 31), people who have lived in London for three of the last six years will be able to apply to the programme. Applicants must have a degree, or to have undertaken a degree level apprenticeship, which falls in line with the new requirements for recruiting officers in England and Wales from next year. Det Chief Supt Clayman said: “We are going to expect the new recruits to move into these roles fairly quickly, expect them to pre-study the National Investigators Exam (NIE), and expect them to have the skills that our current detectives operate at, so it needs to be at degree level. Applicants who are accepted will undertake a full-day assessment, which consists of a verbal reasoning test, a briefing to a stakeholder, then an interview. Each trainee detective constable will then attend an 18-week foundation course, broadly following the same curriculum as police constable training, but with an investigative focus. The course includes three knowledge retention exams, three practical role play assessments and two written assessments. After completing the foundation course, the trainee detectives will spend around 12 weeks working in boroughs undertaking Professionalising Investigative Programme (PIP) Level 1 investigations, while studying for the mandatory NIE. Every trainee must complete the NIE within 12 months to continue on the Detective Pathway, and will only get two attempts at passing it. Trainees will then attend a seven-week detective course where they will continue to develop investigative skills and undertake five further assessments. On completion, the trainee detectives will re-join their boroughs to complete their PIP Level 2 workbook, and become a substantive detective constable at the end of their two-year probation period. Det Chief Supt Clayman said: “When they are signed off they do an extra year in their borough, and then they can move into specialist crime. “If they’ve got the talent and they want to try and go for a promotion, they can do that as well. The world is open to them once they have completed.” As a trainee detective constable, the starting salary will be £29,607 per annum – made up of a salary of £22,896 a year, plus London weighting and allowances of £6,711. The Detective Pathway recruitment campaign is expect