LOSING THE DETECTIVES: VIEWS FROM THE ... - Police Federation

actual processes of policing are still largely unscrutinised. That is why the
professional ising of criminal investigation practice and the sustaining of motivation
and commitment are of such importance.
Two models for organising criminal investigation identified by Burrows et al in their
study of eight BCUs are relevant to this point. The reliance on individual
professional commitment is most immediately apparent in the ideal type
‘discretionary’ model where there is ‘maximum officer ownership of cases’ and
maximum professional discretion at all stages’. ‘Knowledgeable, professional officers
capable of exercising good individual judgement’ and operating with ‘strong
individual ‘professional ethics’ are listed as requirements.
The ‘procedural’ model reduces the element of individual discretion by carefully
delineating each stage in the investigative process and by specifying, based on best
practice, what needs to be done at each stage. The inherent dangers of this model
illustrate how it can be undermined by a lack of commitment on the part of
‘operatives [who] nominally do their jobs ‘by the book’ in a blinkered way that
overlooks useful information for the investigation of crime . . . The individuals
involved may focus on the details of the prescribed activity at the expense of
attempting to achieve its purpose.’ (Burrows et al, 2005: 132 and 133).
To avoid these problems operatives need to be trained to know what is ethical and
effective best practice and how to do it. In both models the quality of performance
depends on skill, motivation and professional pride: if forces are not to lose their
detectives steps need to be taken urgently to address the issues raised in this report
that threaten to undermine all three.
The challenge for senior police management
The discussions in the focus groups revealed that there is a deeper resource issue
involved than just numbers: the depletion of GO CID and the lack of trained
detectives are acutely important matters which need to be addressed, but the deeper
resource issue is about the alienation of detectives and how this will erode their
commitment to the organisation.
Boosting motivation and sustaining commitment will challenge the leadership skills of
senior police management. The experiences captured in this report of the detectives
they are in danger of losing, provide some good clues to how this can be prosecuted.
However, until the dysfunctional consequences of NPM are acknowledged by the
Government and steps are taken to remove those elements that are antithetical to
policing, police leaders are unlikely to be able to rise to the challenge.
(xiii)