Police tackle detective shortage

Graduates will be trained as detectives in 12 weeks under government plans to tackle a severe shortage of police investigators. Ministers announced £350,000 funding for the development of a fast-track training programme, following warnings from the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) that a dearth of qualified detectives amounted to a “national crisis”. Police will boost detective numbers by 1,000 in the next five years under the new initiative, according to the Home Office.