South Yorkshire Police is recruiting for detectives - and you could be one in just two years

If you think you have what it takes to become a police detective, then South Yorkshire Police want to hear from you. Their Detective Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) is linked with Sheffield Hallam University and means you could qualify as a detective in just two years.

Successful applications who qualify will have the opportunity to work with the force’s major crime unit, investigating serious crimes such as murders, or the serious organised crime unit, where you would be tackling major drugs gangs. The force says that whichever team you end up working for, “no two days are the same as a detective”.

The job advert says: “We’re looking for the problem solvers, the curious and the tenacious. People who have the desire to follow every lead, discover the truth of what happened and seek results. Emotionally resilient and compassionate, you will need to stay calm in the face of adversity and build relationships with those who may be the victim or witness of a serious and violent crime.

"You will have to critically analyse the evidence, establishing the facts which will be used to obtain justice in court. And while it’s not always like what you see on the TV, you will get to deal with interesting and challenging situations daily.”

Detectives typically work 40 hours a week, but this does include working early, late and night shifts as well as bank holidays and weekends. Typical duties include; interviewing suspects, handling forensic evidence, attending court and working with crime scene investigators.

The job advert adds: “For the Detective DHEP, student officers are only in uniform for approx. 10 weeks whilst being tutored, where you must achieve fitness for independent patrol. Following this, and for the rest of the programme, you will be in a non-uniformed investigative environment.

"All learning and operational deployments on the detective pathway are contextualised and relevant to an investigative context - you will learn how things work in theory so that when you encounter them in real life you will be confident to deal with the situation.”

To apply, or for more information, click here.