Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of vacancies for detectives of any rank in each police force.

We do not hold information centrally on police vacancies.

Decisions about the recruitment and retention of police officers and staff are the responsibility of chief constables and police and crime commissioners, supported by the College of Policing.

In its Effectiveness report, published on 2 March 2017, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) called on the National Police Chiefs’ Council, working with the College of Policing, to review by June what is being done to tackle concerns over the number of police detectives. HMIC recommended that these bodies should put in place a national action plan by December 2017. HMIC’s recommendations are primarily for police leaders to take action and ensure progress is made.

We continue to work with national policing leads to encourage better analysis of this issue and the development of sustainable solutions.