Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
The CID is the department that investigates crimes of a more serious nature, which may require specialist skills to ensure more complex or serious crimes are investigated fully.
The types of serious crimes that they investigate are murders, serious assaults, robberies, fraud, and sexual offences. CID may also assist in the investigation of less serious crimes like theft.
CID investigates crimes that have already been committed, as they have a very demanding workload, which prevents them from patrolling the streets.
Within the CID there are also specialist sections that deal with detecting and preventing crime on a larger scale.
This includes the Drug Squad, Fraud Squad, and the Crime Squad. To be appointed to these sections, you need to be experienced in basic detective work before you would be considered.
Uniformed officers must complete their 2-year probationary period before they can be considered for a post within the CID. Posts normally arise for trainee detectives and uniformed officers can apply for the post. Like any position you would be up against other candidates and would be interviewed to assess your suitability for the post. There is no guarantee that because you have applied to join the CID that you would be suitable for the role.
National Crime Squad
The National Crime Squad was launched in April 1998 and targets serious and organised crime in the UK. This squad replaced the six former Regional Crime Squads to implement a nationally co-ordinated approach to serious and organised crime. The NCS work closely with the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), the Scottish Crime Squad, Customs and Excise and other law enforcement bodies.
The types of crime they investigate includes kidnap and extortion, international drug trafficking, arms smuggling, counterfeit currency, money laundering, people smuggling, contract killing, and high-tech crime.
The NCS is managed by a Director General and consists of approximately 1400 officers and around 430 support staff. The squad consists of 3 operational command units (OCUs) covering England and Wales.
The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU, http://www.nhtcu.org) was launched in April 2001, and as part of the NCS, it was the first national law enforcement body in the UK to combat serious and organised cyber crime of a national or international nature.
The Immigration Crime Team (ICT) was established in January 2002, to combat illegal immigration into the UK by organised criminals. The ICT comprises of staff from the National Crime Squad and the Immigration Service.