National Detective Programme

HOW TO APPLY

To be eligible for the detective programme, you must:

✓ Have achieved a 1st, 2:1 or 2:2 at undergraduate degree level or non-UK equivalent.

✓ Be over the age of 18 upon application.

✓ Have lived in the UK for the last three years with no more than nine months abroad cumulatively within that time.

✓ Have indefinite leave to remain and work in the UK.

✓ Hold a UK Level 3 Qualification in any subject (e.g. an A Level or BTEC National Diploma), or if not, an English Language overseas equivalent.

✓ Not be looking to transfer between police forces or return to policing.

✓ Not have already been assessed for our 2020 National Graduate Leadership Programme.

Career changers

Changing careers isn’t an easy decision, but life and work experiences are key when it comes to being a great detective.

We believe those bringing knowledge and expertise from other industries are invaluable to the police service.

You’ll need to be emotionally aware, seeing things from other points of view, and be able to form meaningful relationships across diverse groups of people. You’ll need to be methodical and analytical in solving problems, and have the ability to foresee risks, gathering all the information before making a call. Does this sound like you? If so, you have the potential to become a detective.

✓ We take ownership: You will be a credible authority, instilling confidence and trust in others through the quality of your knowledge, skills, presence and professionalism. You will show substantial resilience, working well under pressure in the face of change, with a determined and positive attitude to overcoming obstacles. You need to be able to bounce back quickly from difficult situations and setbacks. These may come from the public and the incidents you deal with but also internally e.g. resistance to change. You need to be persistent and stay focused on the outcomes you need to achieve. Going into the force as a detective you enter as a member of staff who will be relied on to make decisions and provide guidance. However, this needs to be balanced with humility and a willing to learn and act on feedback.

✓ We are emotionally aware: You will be an empathic connector. You will be able to develop meaningful relationships with an extensive variety of people, allowing you to communicate and persuade effectively. You must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in, and respect for other people’s opinions. Self-awareness and high levels of emotional control are also required to handle emotionally charged situations. Detectives work on extremely emotive cases, including crimes involving child abuse, human trafficking and serious assault.

✓ We are collaborative: You will be a clear communicator, with an exemplary clear and effective style of communication, both verbal and written. This highly attentive attention to detail in communication is critical to several elements of the role including gathering statements, writing crime reports and preparing handover information. You need to be able to present the outputs of your analysis in a clear, thorough and often persuasive way to a wide range of collaborators and stakeholders. You will have to work with different partners and agencies to solve problems, including social services and local authorities.

We seek feedback, learn from our mistakes and reflect to improve and amend our future practices.

✓ We deliver, support and inspire: You will be organised, manage your time highly effectively and deliver in all situations. You will be making a sustainable impact, leaving things better than you found them. You will be able to prove your ability to deliver results, often outside your comfort zone – you push yourself hard, using your initiative to get positive results. You have to assess risks quickly and effectively, using your judgement and be willing to take and own a decision based on this assessment. Things will happen on shift that can mean you suddenly have to respond and go out to crime scene which could then take up the rest of your shift or week. The workload is demanding and you will have to manage many conflicting priorities.

✓ We analyse critically: You will have an investigative mindset. You will notice what others don’t. You will have a methodical approach to solving multiple complex problems, considering all eventualities and risks. You must be curious, objective and willing to delve into data, pull out important points from across different information sources and weigh up options to solve crimes. You also need to think laterally as to how to overcome problems. Detectives need to take and own decisions independently without needing the input of others.

✓ We are innovative and open minded: You will be innovative and open-minded. You must be open to learning and feedback, always striving to improve and develop. You need to be thorough and accurate in your investigations, be able to spot errors or pick up on small details that might be useful. You must have a willingness to understand and learn about cultural differences and how to utilise this knowledge within your work. With the ever-changing nature of crime, you will be at the forefront of creating and implementing innovative ways to tackle it; utilising new technology, methodology and research.