20 civilian staff working on West Mercia Police crime investigations
A growing number of civilians are being used to investigate serious crimes in Shropshire.
New figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that West Mercia Police has increased the number of civilian investigators it employed from one to 20 over the past six years.
It is one of several forces across the UK to increasingly make use of staff who are not police officers for investigation work.
Neighbouring West Midlands Police increased its number of civilian investigators from six to 126 over the same period, and now spends £1.2 million a year.
This includes 77 who are working on a wide variety of crimes ranging from missing people to vehicle and drug crime.
The Metropolitan Police increased the number of civilian officers it employed from 21 to 42 over the same period, and now spends £2 million a year. More than half of these were retired detectives.
West Mercia Police was unable to confirm how many of its civilian investigators – which it calls ‘police staff investigators’ – were ex-officers.
The head of policing in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Chief Superintendent Kevin Purcell, said like many forces West Mercia was making use of civilian staff to investigate crime.
He said: “Over the past five years we have introduced the use of police staff investigators in the West Mercia Police area, a move which has become commonplace not just here but right across the country.
“We have a number working with us across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin,” he said.
“They are highly skilled investigators who are given thorough training specific to their role and have a variety of powers awarded to them by the chief constable enabling them to play a crucial role in crime investigation.”
Mr Purcell said they were able to provide skills and expertise to a range of investigations.
“The work they do is highly valued across the force and allows officers to be very much focussed on local demand,” he said.
Staffordshire Police nearly doubled the number of civilians it used.