A Critical Analysis of the Professionalisation of Investigation Programme at Investigative Level 2 in North West of England Police Forces

Abstract

In 2004, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Home Office were faced with a large body of evidence proving it was necessary to improve the way in which the police conduct criminal investigations in England and Wales. In an attempt to professionalise investigations, the Professionalising Investigation (PIP) was commissioned. PIP comprises four distinct investigative levels from PIP 1, the investigation of volume crime through to PIP 4, the strategic management of complex crime. This thesis explores the effectiveness of PIP at Investigative Level 2. The route for an investigator to becoming qualified to operate at PIP Investigative level 2 is the Initial Criminal Investigators Development Programme (ICIDP). To date, investigative training programmes including ICIDP are poorly researched. This programme of research deployed a qualitative methodology to give voice to senior police managers as to their understanding of ICIDP and to ascertain the effectiveness of ICIDP from the perception of the trainee investigators undertaking the PIP 2 qualification. The study selected two cohorts of respondents, namely a cohort of senior police officers in two North West police forces and a cohort of trainee investigators in the process of completing PIP at Investigative level 2. The collected data was analysed by way of thematic analysis. The programme of research adds insight to the subject. The study suggests that the PIP Level 2 programme is effective in the context of the trainee investigator operating in an overt generalised reactive context. The study recognises research limitations in the context of ostensibly small sample sizes and potential for researcher bias. The programme of research recommends that the police service considers a more modular approach to PIP Level 2 to take account of covert and specialised investigative roles.