Detectives and Detective vacancies currently in the MPS

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023102

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. How many detectives does the Met police currently have 01/02/2022?
2. How many detective vacancies?
3. The Met recently made changes to a number of units, including missing persons and the jigsaw sex offender management unit, which moved detectives out of the units to be replaced with PCs. The force announced this to staff late last year and the press bureau has confirmed that this was in line with College of Policing guidelines.

- Which other units had detectives moved and replaced with PCs?
- How many detectives were replaced with PCs in total? Please break these down by unit/role and responsibilities.

If a full breakdown is not possible, please provide the number of detectives removed from the missing persons and jigsaw units.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

The Met recently undertook a review of all DC roles across the MPS to ensure they were in roles that required the skills and training outlined by the College of Policing.
As a result it was determined that some DC roles could be effectively undertaken by appropriately trained and skilled PCs. This will allow some DCs to be placed into alternative teams to fully utilise their skills and training. Ultimately putting detectives into areas where they can add most value in order to keep the public safe.

This included some changes within the Missing Persons Units, Jigsaw and other units. Core functions of all these teams can be undertaken by suitably trained PCs and each team has DS oversight. There will still be DCs within Jigsaw teams and the Met’s Rape and Serious Sexual Assault teams will now be 100% staffed by detectives.

Q1 - How many detectives does the Met police currently have 01/02/2022?

As of the 25 March the MPS has 7,440 FTE Detectives in organisation and that includes 1,485 who are currently in probationary period.

Q2 - How many detective vacancies?

The MPS does not have any vacancies at the moment. All posts are filled.

Q3 - The Met recently made changes to a number of units, including missing persons and the jigsaw sex offender management unit, which moved detectives out of the units to be replaced with PCs. The force announced this to staff late last year and the press bureau has confirmed that this was in line with College of Policing guidelines.

There were a number of units where the posts were converted from DC to PC. This included MARAC, MASH, Misper, Jigsaw and VSUs (across all BCUs), Cyber, Central Orders team, CSC Vulnerability, some posts in Met Intel, High Tech Crime, Source unit. Some of these units had a portion of the target changed, others had all posts converted.

It is not possible to say how many were replaced, as many officers have moved naturally, over time not just as a result of this, but have moved out on promotion and natural retirements etc. In some cases there was an 18mth timeframe for officers to move to other posts, the last of these changes will not be made until later in the year.
Reporting will not easily identify the numbers of DC posts replaced. We will be able to check the targets have been met for the changes once the deadline at the end of the year has been reached.