The way murder, see corporate manslaughter and some other major crimes are investigated is set to change next Tuesday when Gloucestershire Constabulary joins the successful Brunel Major Crime Collaboration already running between Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Wiltshire Police.
The new Brunel Collaboration will see homicide investigations coordinated across the three forces for the first time and senior officers are promising an improved service that will deliver savings for the public.
Investigations the team will take on cover all categories of murder, as well as corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and deaths abroad but also, where capacity allows, any major crime case where there is a significant risk to public confidence.
Those working in major crime include detectives as well as CCTV analysts and police staff who record, index and process crime related information during investigations.
Gloucestershire’s 30 major crime staff will be joining 113 counterparts from Avon and Somerset Constabulary and 34 colleagues from Wiltshire Police.
Staff members will still be based in their host county but the collaboration means that, when required, they may travel to work in a partner force.
Response times will be unaffected as officers local to the county where a crime happens will still attend the scene in the first instance.
Other specialist crime units, such as CID and the Public Protection Bureau, will be unaffected by the move.
Lead Officer for the Brunel collaboration Detective Superintendent Andy Bevan said: “These are the most serious crimes that often need the most significant resources. Loved ones deserve no less than the most thorough investigation possible and the public quite rightly demand justice.
“The two-force collaboration has already proved a great success and with Gloucestershire joining I’m confident the service we deliver is going to get even better.
“Working together gives us greater capacity and flexibility to investigate major crime but it will also lead to innovation and higher standards of investigation. Learning from each other in this field of work can often yield great benefits.
“Locally, as Gloucestershire has seen in recent years, murder rates can fluctuate quite dramatically but regionally they are traditionally flat, which means investigating at that regional level makes absolute sense.
“We’re looking forward to working together as one team and can reassure the public that wherever major crime takes place in the region they can be confident in us to carry out the best possible investigation.”
Senior Responsible Officer for the project, Gloucestershire Assistant Chief Constable Richard Berry said: “In this time of austerity this collaboration represents a much smarter way of working.
“The sharing of resources will improve the quality of our investigations but also result in real savings, so it’s a win-win situation.
“Gloucestershire is joining an already successful collaboration and major crime is now investigated regionally in most areas of the country so people should be reassured that the evidence this works is already there.
“The officers and staff we have in this area are the most highly trained professionals and I’d like to thank them for their support in this development and their continued dedication to their roles.”