A Labour government would encourage police forces to recruit detectives directly from industry, without having to work as officers first.
Talking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Labour’s shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding Jess Phillips said fewer than half of police forces currently have a scheme to directly recruit detectives with relevant professional backgrounds and skillsets.
Under its policy, people with experience in business fraud investigation, child protection and other relevant expertise would be able to join the police in an entry-level detective role.
Police detective recruitment
According to the Police Foundation, there are an estimated 7,000 detective vacancies in the UK.
Phillips said: “It should be an across-the-board scheme to try to undo the massive shortfall in detective vacancies”.
The Police Federation of England and Wales has in the past argued that ‘beat’ experience is vital for detectives.
Its national chair, Steve Hartshorn, told the BBC: “My sincere hope is pay and conditions to recruit and retain people with such skills into policing will make it an attractive career for them to switch over.
“Internal recruitment to make becoming a detective a more attractive role should also be reviewed to understand why it’s not seen as a career choice.
“I fear we will lose more police officers to the private sector and fall even further behind if the issues are not addressed soon.”
Police workforce figures for England and Wales published last week showed that the number of police officers leaving the service hit an all-time high last year. In the 12 months to March 2023, 9,192 officers left, with voluntary resignation being the most common route out of the profession (4,575), followed by normal retirement (3,956).
Hartshorn said: “These worrying findings simply echo what thousands of police officers across England and Wales have been warning and their concerns, which we relayed to the government.
“Last year, nearly one in five police officers told us they plan on handing in their resignation as soon as possible or within the next two years due to reasons including unfair pay.
“These are not just words, or a tick in a box in our survey, this is reality, and it will worsen unless their voices are listened to and taken seriously.”
However, the number of full-time equivalent officers in post was also at an all-time high at 147,430. This was an increase of 5.1% on the figure for March 2022.
Hartshorn suggested this was still not enough officers, stating that since 2010 the number of officers has grown by 1,400 while the population of England and Wales has increased by four million.
“The fact there are only 1,400 extra officers on top of 2010’s figures is shocking given the population has grown rapidly since then, and the nature of crime continues to increase in complexity,” he said.
“Our members are doing their utmost to protect the public, but demand is continuing to outstrip resources. It is paramount the service not only recruits, but retains, which will only be possible if pay and conditions are improved, to give members of the public the service they deserve.”
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He said the 7% pay award for police and prison officers announced last month was a step in the right direction, but “still falls short of the real-term pay cut officers have suffered since 2000.”
