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FORCEWIDE
While detectives Sami and Marty from the hit series ‘Fool Me Once’ had their hands full solving a multi death conspiracy on their own, our Major Crime Team do things a bit differently.
We have a dedicated team of detectives working round the clock to help keep our communities safe by solving some of the most serious of crimes.
You may be surprised to hear that when somebody is tragically killed and our Major Crime Team get to work, they have a mixture of over 40 detectives and staff with a variety of skills that all contribute to ensuring dangerous offenders are brought to justice.
Having worked in our Major Crime department for 5 years, Detective Sergeant Stephanie Rawson took time out to talk about how our Major Crime Team solve crime.
Can you talk us through what types of investigations you and your team work on within the Major Crime Team?
“I think for a lot of people, when they hear Major Crime they think ‘murders’ and while they’re right, we do work around the clock to catch a killer, we also investigate manslaughter, kidnap, child deaths, gross negligence and long running investigations known by a lot of people as ‘cold cases’.
“On occasion, because of the particular skills we have, we also assist colleagues across the force with investigations which have high levels of sensitivity and are resource intensive such as sexual offences, organised crime and internal investigations.
“Alongside our day-to-day investigations, we also offer support to other government organisations with scenario based training.”
People might be surprised to hear you investigate cases of gross negligence, how do those investigation work?
“These can be quite lengthy and complex investigations involving some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
“Our job is to understand why and how, they have come to receive a poor level of care. Sadly, that poor level of care often involves one or multiple people being mistreated. It might be that they’ve been neglected, or their care plan hasn’t been followed.
“Quite often, these concerns are reported to us by family members after a loved one suddenly passes away, or by other health care professionals and professional bodies.
You mentioned that as a team, you have a particular set of skills, how does that help you solve a murder?
“When I say particular set of skills, we aren’t quite Liam Neeson however with any murder investigation, a Senior Investigating Officer is always appointed to ensure no stone is left unturned when it comes to gathering evidence.
“Usually, an initial briefing will be held to help everyone understand the circumstances around the initial report to police, these often include the whole team who are on duty.
“We tend to then work in sub teams which are usually made up of detectives and investigating officers overseen by a detective sergeant.
“The Senior Investigating officer will ask each team to focus on a specific part of the investigation, whether that be conducting house to house enquiries, speaking to witnesses or interviewing the murder suspect or suspects.
“We also have what are known as digital media investigators, who play a vital role in collating CCTV, phone data and other digital aspects of the investigation.
“The first 48 hours are crucial as we start to understand the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, and the only way that can happen is through a huge team effort.
Understandably, when anybody is murdered this causes concern amongst residents, does it happen a lot in our area?
“It is always awful when we are called to attend a briefing after a family tragically loses a loved one, however the majority of our investigations involve people who are known to each other, and I’m pleased to say they don’t happen on a weekly basis.
“As a force, we’re not like other big cities who tend to investigate far more deaths, many of which have a higher level of violence than the ones we typically see.
What happens when you’ve caught the killer and they’re charged?
“I think it has always been a bit of a myth that once we charge somebody our job is done until the suspect is sent to Crown Court to either plead or stand trial, but that isn’t actually the case, that’s when most of the hard work starts for us.
“Once we charge somebody, that is when we start to build on the evidence already gathered alongside our Disclosure Officers for the Crown Prosecution Service.
“This may include through the Family Liaison Officer, building the bigger picture and understanding the victim’s life, taking witnesses statements, exploring more CCTV and developing any new intelligence received through the major incident room portal.
“We have a team of specialist police staff who then read through all of the documentation, type up and process interviews and statements, as well as assessing and allocating further enquiries.”
After you’ve charged the suspect, how does any new information help you to continue to build your case for court?
“There are a number of routes that we can receive information through which helps us to continue to build part of the prosecution case to convict the person responsible for the death.
“This can be through house-to-house enquiries, people kindly submitting doorbell, dashcam and CCTV footage, contacting our non-emergency number 101 or through the major incident room portal (MIPP).
“The MIPP can be accessed through our website and allows members of the public to provide us with information which then comes directly into our office and is assessed by the Incident Room police staff.”
Are there any other ways that you can submit information to the police?
“If anybody has any information that could help us catch and prosecute a suspect, but they have concerns about coming forward, we will always encourage members of the public to contact CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.
“CrimeStoppers is a completely anonymous service, independent from all police forces.
“Please do get in touch if you do have any information about crime. Reporting information, however you choose to do so, could be the difference between us catching a murderer and them walking free.”