Supporting effective investigations: Help shape our new guidelines

The complexity of crime is increasing. It remains vital that all officers and staff involved in a case ensure their actions contribute to a fair, impartial investigation.

We are continuing to work with forces to improve practice through all stages of an investigation by providing new guidelines to support a consistent approach. The guidelines will be developed based on the experiences of officers and staff and research evidence and will provide a summary of good practice for conducting investigations.

To ensure the guidelines will support forces in the most effective way possible, we need to draw on the knowledge and experience of officers and staff from the front line. You can shape this work by:

• providing feedback on the scope of the guidelines
• being a member of the committee developing the guidelines
• submitting your experiences to our practice evidence review

We want to hear from anyone involved in the investigative process, including officers, police staff and volunteers and those responsible for their learning and development.

We will be consulting on the scope for the guidelines from 24 November to 21 December 2020. To help shape this important work, download the consultation documents and submit your response before the closing date for submissions. If you would like to express your interest in being part of the guideline committee or to submit practice evidence, complete the relevant section(s) on the consultation feedback form.

This work will further support forces to improve investigative practice. The final guidelines can be used alongside resources on disclosure, learning on digital intelligence and investigation, guidelines on taking initial accounts from victims and witnesses and upcoming guidelines for effective supervision.