Investigation, Oversight and Casework roles
Our Investigations, Oversight and Casework directorate is responsible for overseeing all investigatory functions, as well as oversight of the police complaints system and casework. This work is critical in ensuring we achieve our vision of improving trust and confidence in the police.
Our Investigations teams cover all of England and Wales and carry out hundreds of independent investigations every year. Our investigators are supported by a range of teams who do a huge amount of work to support them.
Our Major Investigations function delivers large scale, resource-intensive investigations, that are generally complex and high-profile, including investigations of national significance.
Our Assessment Unit receives around 7,000 referrals from police forces per year. The team determines the mode of investigation for all referrals. They make difficult decisions on a daily basis about what we investigate independently and what we ask a police force's own professional standards department to investigate.
The Oversight team ensure we effectively engage with and challenge professional standards departments to ensure the complaints process is clearly adhered to. The team provides practitioner inputs, workshops and dip sampling, among others, to produce guidance documents and publications, to share knowledge and effective practice and to identify improvement activity.
The Casework team is responsible for carrying out hundreds of reviews of police complaints per year. They review complaints and death and serious injury cases that have already been investigated by police forces. This helps to ensure compliance within the system, individual accountability and improves policing by identifying and sharing learning.
A lot of people's first contact with the organisation comes through our Customer Contact Centre. The team provides advice regarding the complaints process to members of the public, the police and other agencies. They handle around 40,000 emails and 22,000 calls every year.
Investigative roles
As a Trainee Investigator, you will focus on developing the skills and knowledge you need to become a fully accredited investigator (PIP 1). If you have good analytical skills, an eye for detail and the ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds, you can be involved in our high-profile, complex investigations.
Being in our investigations team is a role you can never fully prepare for, but our 24-month trainee investigator programme will ensure you have the skills you need to unearth the facts and inspire confidence in your work. On completion of your PIP 1 programme, you will promoted to an investigator. As a member of one of our teams, you will take part in interviews, collect and analyse evidence, attend post-mortems, and prepare materials for court or inquest proceedings. In fact, you will play a major role in helping us to deliver high-quality investigations that meet the diverse needs of complainants and families.
Sometimes, it can be tough and emotionally challenging. Many of our investigations will be in the public eye and the case may come under intense media scrutiny. You might have to attend post-mortems and deal with people who are understandably frustrated and angry.
While our training and support will help you to deal with different situations, your character will be equally important. You should have the ability to empathise and communicate sympathetically with people in all circumstances, as well as the resilience to adapt to different situations.
You will need an analytical mind, the drive to discover the right answers and the resilience to handle investigations diplomatically and objectively.
Hear from Zara and Calum, our trainee investigators:
Working closely with bereaved families, complainants and the police to establish the facts, you’ll be part of the team conducting or supporting a range of investigations. This will involve gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and complainants, taking statements and preparing files for different cases.
You will need to act fairly and thoroughly in every investigation, reassuring complainants or bereaved relatives of your impartiality and independence from the police. With a strong analytical approach and a keen eye for detail when gathering evidence, you will have the character to work with people from a variety of backgrounds. This means you should be a confident interviewer, with the ability to adapt your communication style to achieve the best results.
Being an investigator can be a highly charged role, attending post-mortems and speaking with grieving families at their most distressed. So you will need to be resilient and focus on achieving a fair result for everyone who turns to us for help.
You will be involved in totally unique investigations, so this is a role you can never be fully prepared for. That is why we’ll ensure you have ongoing training and development to keep your skills fresh. As part of this role, you will become a fully accredited investigator (PIP 1). With the character to share your insights and knowledge with colleagues, you will enjoy the scope to influence investigations and ultimately, social justice. You will be part of a diverse team that represents the range of people who rely on us for independent support. Occasionally, you will also need to work unsociable and extended hours as a member of our 24-hour on-call facility.
If you have some investigatory experience, or a background in an inspection, regulatory, enforcement or similar role, this is an excellent opportunity to develop your skills further, working on a variety of high-profile investigations.
As a lead investigator, you will be involved in every aspect of investigations into alleged crime and misconduct, from setting out the initial terms of reference, to collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, drawing conclusions, and writing a final report, many of which are published.
As well as visiting incident scenes to ensure all evidence is preserved and recovered, you will also be expected to attend post-mortems and brief pathologists. This means you will need to be resilient and focus on discovering the facts. Your investigations will often be under public scrutiny, and you will be the main point of contact for complainants, bereaved families and other interested parties. So, you will need to be a confident and personable communicator, with the ability to stay calm and focused under pressure.
To ensure you’re always prepared for the unique challenges of our work, we will give you ongoing training and support. As part of this role, you will become a fully accredited investigator (PIP 2). On completion of your PIP 2 programme, you will be promoted. Being a lead investigator is a complex and ultimately fulfilling role, offering you the opportunity to work with every sector of the community and have a positive impact on their lives. Your understanding of different communities and your ability to empathise with and relate to them will be crucial.
You will need strong analytical skills, developed in a role where you led investigations. This could have been gained in areas such as social services, trading standards, regulatory bodies, risk, audit, probation, or enforcement. Occasionally, you will also need to work unsociable and extended hours as a member of our 24-hour on-call facility.
Hear from Rachael, a lead investigator:
There are four different Investigations Team Leader roles that sit within our Investigations function.
Investigations Team Leader - Performance and Resourcing oversees the recruitment, accreditation, performance, personal and professional development of teams of Investigators and Trainee Investigators. The role involves coaching and mentoring teams of investigators, ensuring operational excellence by reviewing the quality of investigations and investigation products. This team supports the 'Investigations Manager – Performance and Resourcing and Demand Resourcing Directorate' to identify investigator demand and supply for workforce planning and development purposes.
Investigations Team Leader – Core delivers and sets the direction of investigations. Alongside the 'Investigations Team Leader – Performance and Resourcing', this role is responsible for ensuring the delivery of high quality, robust and independent investigations. The role oversees Lead Investigators, while also ensuring their personal and professional development, in order to achieve investigation excellence and meet quality standards. This is a key role in quality assurance and will involves responsibility for ensuring the quality of investigations and investigation products. The role is critical in ensuring timely resolutions of investigations and maintaining investigative integrity.
Investigations Team Leader – MI is similar to the 'Investigations Team Leader - Core' but is part of an Investigations team working within Major Investigations (MI).
Investigations Team Leader – ACU works within the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). The ACU is responsible for receiving covert referrals from forces across England and Wales and making appropriate investigation decisions. For those investigations determined as supervised, managed, independent or directed; the ACU will oversee these. This role acts as the national Anti-Corruption Lead, providing advice and direction to other anti-corruption investigations.
There are five different Investigations Manager roles that sit within our Investigations function.
Investigations Manager - Performance and Resourcing oversees the recruitment, accreditation, performance, personal and professional development of teams of Investigators and Trainee Investigators. Alongside the other investigation managers, this role is responsible for providing strategic leadership to teams of investigators, ensuring delivery of high quality, robust and independent investigations and demonstrating our core values in all aspects of the role.
This role has line management responsibilities of the 'Investigations Team Leader - Performance and Resourcing' and accountability for investigation outcomes and performance. The role works to identify trend areas for improvement and be a point of escalation for capacity, people management, wellbeing and pastoral matters. The role works closely with the Demand Resourcing Directorate to identify investigator demand and supply for workforce planning and development purposes. The role is the Operational Lead for Quality and Performance and is a senior sponsor for a number of topics.
Investigations Manager – Complex will direct and be the decision maker in relation to critical, contentious and high-risk cases. The role has accountability for the quality of investigations, timeliness and efficiency. It is a key role within the Operational Practitioner Group for Decision Making where this role sets standards, embeds good practice in decision making, acts as a topic lead, conducts quality assurance and provides peer support to decision makers across the organisation. This role leads on the Victim’s Right of Review, is the decision maker on re-investigations and revisits previous investigation decisions.
Investigations Manager – Core Business will set investigation direction, understand capacity and make decisions on cases. This role has line management responsibilities of a team of 'Investigations Team Leaders - Core Business,' and accountability for the quality, timeliness and efficiency of investigations.
Investigations Manager – Major Investigations will direct, be the decision maker and have delivery responsibility over Major Investigations. This is a key role within the Operational Practitioner Group for Decision Making. The role will set and embed good practice and standards in decision making, provide peer support to decision makers across the organisation and manage and mitigate organisational risk during Major Investigations.
Investigations Manager – ACU and Intelligence Unit will direct and be the decision maker in relation to high-risk anti-corruption cases; specifically, within the ACU and Intelligence Unit. This is a key role within the Operational Practitioner Group for Decision Making, where the role will set and embed good practice and standards in decision making, provide peer support to decision makers across the organisation and manage and mitigate organisational risk during covert and overt investigations.
When working within any of the above roles, you will have regular exposure to distressing material which will likely be impactful, traumatic and challenging. Given the nature of the work, you will have contact with individuals who are experiencing extreme distress. We recognise this and we offer all of our staff a range of wellbeing provisions, including TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) peer-to-peer support, a dedicated Wellbeing Advisor, and access to free confidential counselling. All of our staff are strongly encouraged to proactively access and engage with the support available.
Training and development
PIP is a structured development programme which aims to provide staff with the necessary skills for conducting professional investigations. PIP is the nationally recognised standard for investigators, and PIP1 and PIP2 are being introduced to our staff. These qualifications are a mandatory requirement for all investigators joining our organisation, and alongside the PIP curriculum, there will be elements of the programme focused on our work.
Each level has core skills and knowledge required for roles within that level:
- PIP1 is the foundation of investigations and will be completed by Trainee Investigators and Investigators.
- PIP2 will be completed by Lead Investigators as this programme builds on the development of leadership skills that are required to lead an investigation. PIP2 requires the Lead Investigator to pass the National Investigators Exam (NIE).
Both training programmes cover key aspects of the role, including the powers of an IOPC investigator, investigative interviewing skills, scene management, post incident procedures, principles of disclosure and report writing. Our lead investigators receive additional training covering all aspects of leading an investigation, including strategy, decision making and policy writing. While both PIP programmes have adopted a blended approach to training, there is in-person training required which may involve staying away from home for a period of time.
Both PIP programmes require our investigators to attend and complete all training elements, and demonstrate their knowledge and practical application, through a work-based portfolio of evidence. Training will require you to travel (expenses covered) and the majority of the training will be delivered in person.
Revalidation
Revalidation is the process we have designed that allows our investigators to maintain their PIP active status and demonstrate a continued ability to perform the role. Our Investigators will be expected to engage in the revalidation process throughout their investigative career. Failure to engage in revalidation could result in investigators being registered as PIP inactive.
Our Investigators are responsible for continuing their own professional development and maintaining and enhancing competence within their role. Personal and professional development is supported by our personal development process called DRIVE. Our Investigators will also have an annual revalidation conversation with a member of the Investigations Learning and Development team, where they will discuss what they have done to maintain and enhance their skills, knowledge and experience.
Maintaining a PIP active status is a contractual requirement expectation for all staff undertaking an Investigator role.
