The Authorised Professional Practice (APP) has been approved by the College of Policing as the official and most up-to-date source of professional practice on policing. South Yorkshire Police have adopted APP as their Statement of Agreed Policy. This is the agreed policy on Investigation and you may wish to refer to the APP section now.
Exceptions
South Yorkshire Police will seek to operate within agreed National APP guidance unless exceptional circumstances exist. Any decision to operate outside of this guidance will need to be justified in line with the National Decision Model.
Additions
There are no additional areas of policy beyond those set out within APP.
See also
Investigations Improvement Unit (IIU) Delivery Plan 2024-26
Investigation
The strategic aim of the investigation policy is to deliver the highest standards of service to the public. This policy applies to all levels of criminal investigation.
The Force will seek to treat victims, witnesses and offenders in a fair, transparent and ethical manner in order to prevent and detect crime, protect the public and bring offenders to justice.
The care of victims is our priority and our aim is to deliver a consistently high quality of support on every occasion.
South Yorkshire Police are committed to continuous professional improvement and organisational learning within the investigative function to reassure and build public confidence.
South Yorkshire Police will work with partners and professional bodies to equip and accredit our staff to undertake criminal investigations and be responsive to changing circumstances to achieve the most appropriate outcomes.
South Yorkshire Police are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of society from criminals who exploit them, specifically victims who have been subjected to hate crime, child exploitation, domestic abuse, honour based violence, modern slavery, VAWG and human trafficking.
South Yorkshire Police will ensure specialist training and support for investigators including those managing investigations outside of criminality, working closely with HM Coroner relating to unexplained deaths, Health and Safety Executive and missing persons.
We will utilise technology where appropriate to improve our efficiency and effectiveness to support professional investigation of crime.
All staff working within investigation functions will conduct themselves and deliver in line with the Code of Ethics with particular emphasis on our values of Integrity, Openness, Fairness, Respect, Honesty, Courage and Teamwork.
This overarching policy is also in accordance with current legislation, APP guidance and subject of continuous review.
A number of National guidance documents further underpins the Investigation policy;
- Core Investigative Doctrine 2012
- National Crime recording Standards (NCRS)
Crime Management
NATIONAL CRIME RECORDING STANDARD (NCRS)
All reports of crime which come to the attention of South Yorkshire Police must be recorded in compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) (2018), the aims of which are to promote greater consistency between police forces in the recording of crime and to ensure a more victim-oriented approach to crime recording.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Assistant Chief Constable (Crime and Criminal Justice) is responsible for the overall integrity of the crime recording processes within South Yorkshire Police.
The Detective Chief Superintendent (Head of Crime) is responsible for setting crime policy and associated procedural instructions.
District Commanders, Superintendents and Detective Superintendents and departmental heads are responsible for monitoring compliance with the crime management policy and procedural instructions within their respective districts or departments.
The Force Crime Registrar acts as the final arbiter for the interpretation of The National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) and the Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR). The Force Crime Registrar will also:
- advise on the development of crime recording policies, systems and processes;
- design and oversee the implementation and monitoring of audit programmes;
- the prompt and effective circulation of changes in Home Office Counting Rules;
- representing the Force regionally and nationally, including acting as the Home Office contact for all crime recording issues.
The Force Designated Decision Maker (DDM) is a dedicated role within the Audit and Governance Unit. The DDM will make day-to-day operational decisions in order to ensure compliance with NCRS and HOCR, particularly relating to:
- cancellation of investigations;
- outcomes
Detective Chief Inspectors are responsible for the accuracy of crime recording and the integrity of investigation and finalisation within their district or department. This includes:
- ensuring crimes are allocated to the most appropriate resource within their district or department;
- ensuring the effective monitoring of crime and non-crime recordable incidents;
- review and management of investigation plans;
- monitoring to ensure appropriate and proportionate use of postal charge and requisitions;
- ensuring compliance with the guidance set out in The Director’s Guidance on Charging issued under Section 37A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984; and
- monitoring and addressing issues of file quality.
The Force Crime Bureau (FCB) is responsible for:
- recording crimes in accordance with NCRS;
- the initial assessment of reports of crime;
- filing of crimes, where no vulnerabilities or lines of enquiry are identified;
- the allocation of recorded crime, where vulnerabilities or lines of enquiry are identified;
- the administration of crime updates (for example suspect status and property lists) and requests from investigators.
The Crime Support Hub (CSH) within the Crime Services is responsible for:
- the triaging of crimes based on vulnerability and solvability factors;
- the filing of crimes following a desktop investigation and the allocation of recorded crime with proportionate investigation plans.
All managers and supervisors are responsible for:
- ensuring their staff comply with NCRS and allocated crime is investigated by appropriately trained and experienced officers in a timely manner;
- setting and monitoring of investigation plans ensuring appropriate disposal outcomes;
- ensuring that reviews of allocated crimes are completed every 28 days (Sgt) and every 4 months (Inspector);
- ensuring the proportionate use of the postal charge and requisitions
- checking the quality of file submissions and addressing any identified failings;
- filing of crimes where appropriately trained and authorised to do so.
All officers and appropriate police staff are responsible for:
- adherence to the NCRS when investigating reports of crime;
- carrying out reasonable and proportionate lines of enquiry in line with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 Code of Practice;
- regularly keeping victims updated in accordance with the Victims’ Code; and
- endorsing tinvestigations with updates and all contact with victims and their representatives in line with the Code;
- the quality of files submitted into the criminal justice system.
THE CRIME MANAGEMENT PROCESS
The Crime Management process is defined by the following key areas:
- call handling;
- crime recording;
- crime assessment;
- crime allocation;
- crime investigation;
- crime finalisation
Call Handling
Calls received will be dealt with in accordance with Pi28.2 - Incident Handling Protocol.
Call Handling staff utilise the principles of the National Decision Making Model to assess the call for service, policing purpose and victim/victims need. The emphasis is on the appropriate resource to attend and subsequently accepting responsibility for any action required, crime recording and subsequent investigation.
Crime Recording
Officers and staff will submit crimes for recording, wherever possible from the scene of the incident or when speaking to the complainant, using the appropriate electronic portal.
If a victim is considered vulnerable or is a Repeat Victim, this will be recorded on the crime recording system to ensure specific needs are addressed and the response and investigation are appropriately prioritised.
When recording a crime, officers will ensure an Initial Victims Needs Assessment (INVA) is completed and requirements of the victim's code are met.
When recording a crime from an officer or member of staff it may be assigned straight to that investigator at their request if the officer is the most suitable resource to investigate the crime.
CMS was the force recognised Crime Management System until 2017 and all crimes recorded on this system must remain open until finalised. There is no requirement or expectation to duplicate the crime on CONNECT as an active investigation, victim updates and suspect management is expected and should be recorded on CMS.
Significant changes in the circumstances of the crime report (see below) must result in the CMS report being updated;
- Identification of suspect
- Arrest of suspect
- Charge or release of suspect
- Any other criminal justice updates
- Change in detail of MO or other mandatory fields
The crime report will be re-opened and the updates added at the earliest opportunity to ensure that any information held on SYP systems is current and up to date, this data will upload to PND and be reflected in any Home Office Data returns and is then available in force for any performance and analytical use.
Crime Assessment
The initial assessment of a crime comprises of the following key areas:
- safeguarding and vulnerability considerations;
- investigative opportunities;
- victim contact;
- prevention advice.
The ‘5-point SOLVE’ approach tool provides officers with the areas for consideration:
- S – Severity
- O – Offence and offender characteristics
- L – Likelihood of solving
- V – Vulnerability
- E – Extent of harm and community impact
Initial investigative priorities should focus on the following factors and early completion of fast track actions order to:
- preserve life;
- preserve scenes;
- secure evidence;
- identify victims;
- identify suspects
Fast Track Actions are defined as: ‘Any investigative actions which, if pursued immediately are likely to establish important facts, preserve evidence or lead to the early resolution of the investigation.’
Material in the form of witnesses, forensic evidence and articles associated with the crime may be readily available if prompt action is taken to gather them. Whether the crime has been recently committed or not, it is important that every chance to gather material is taken at the first opportunity.
Crime Allocation
The Force Crime Bureau will record the appropriate crime in compliance with the Home Office Counting Rules and the National Crime Recording Standard. The crime will either be filed by the Force Crime Bureau or allocated to the appropriate officer/department for further investigation.
The vulnerability of the victim, complexity of the crime and the matching of appropriate skill sets are the key deciding factors when deciding who investigates a particular crime.
Where there are no solvability factors, but the victim is assessed as being vulnerable, the investigation is allocated with full rationale recorded, to the respective district vulnerability Worktray to ensure that further support is offered to the most vulnerable victims:
- Barnsley Vulnerability
- Doncaster Vulnerability
- Rotherham Vulnerability
- Sheffield Vulnerability
Crimes will be allocated to an appropriate officer or member of staff based on their skills, experience levels and capacity. There may be the need for a degree of flexibility in relation to crimes that cross over different districts and departments. Examples of this may include fraud offences, sexual offences and drugs offences.
The triaging of crimes is completed by the Crime Support Hub who are responsible for conducting desktop investigations. The outcome of the desktop investigation may result in the crime being filed or the crime being allocated for secondary investigation. All crimes allocated for secondary investigations by the Crime Support Hub will include a bespoke investigation plan.
Crimes will be allocated for secondary investigation to the relevant District Department for onward allocation to officers and staff with geographic or functional responsibility, via CONNECT 'trays' as follows
- District Response Sergeant;
- District Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeant
- District Priority Crime Team Detective Inspector
- CID Detective Sergeant
- PVP Detective Sergeant
- Domestic Abuse Team Sergeant
- any other district/departmental Sergeant or Detective Inspector as necessary to ensure the most suitable, trained and experienced resource investigations the crime.
Each district/department may have additional considerations regarding the allocation of crime and investigative responsibilities. These decisions are not the responsibility of the Force Crime Bureau or the Crime Support Hub and therefore any arbitration regarding the allocation of crime is the responsibility of the relevant Detective Chief Inspector.
Procedures for secondary crime allocation will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant procedural instructions - see Pi9.12 - Crime Management - Crime Allocation Instruction.
Crime Investigation
Investigations should be proportionate and resources used to investigate the crime should be relative to the seriousness, risk, complexity and solvability of the investigation. The aim of the Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) is to ensure that staff are trained, skilled and accredited to conduct the highest quality investigations. The PIP structure involves a series of levels:
- PIP level 1 – priority and volume crime investigations
- PIP level 2 – serious and complex investigations
- PIP level 3 – major investigations
- PIP level 4 – strategic management of highly complex investigations.
All PIP 1 and PIP 2 crimes allocated for investigation should have an investigation plan recorded the crime management system. Investigation plans with respect to PIP level 3 and 4 investigations, will generally recorded on the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System (HOLMES) or subject of bespoke policy decisions set by the Senior Investigating Officer.
Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Investigations should be referred to as required.
When is an investigation plan required?
An investigation plan must be created for all active investigations where there are outstanding and reasonable lines of enquiry. The rationale for closing a crime without an investigation plan or without further investigation must be clearly recorded in the closing report before a supervisor can finalise the case.
An ‘Investigation Plan’ entry must be recorded on the enquiry log within 48 hours of allocation to the relevant department. If a plan is not required, this must also be recorded on the log with a clear rationale.
All plans must follow Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and be proportionate to the nature, seriousness and complexity of the investigation. They must be live, structured, and reviewed throughout the life of the case.
Investigation plans
An effective plan must support structured, victim-focused, and evidence-led investigations. It should be tailored to the specific case and include, where relevant:
- Reasonable lines of enquiry
- Victim support measures (including compliance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime)
- Safeguarding needs and vulnerabilities
- Suspect management and risk mitigation
- Initial actions and next steps
- Timings, review points and anticipated investigative milestones.
Supervisors should ensure that actions set are realistic, prioritised, and support progression of the case.
Creating the investigation plan
The creation of the investigation plan is the responsibility of the allocated Sergeant, though it may be delegated to a suitably experienced officer where appropriate. Where delegation occurs, the plan must be checked and formally endorsed by the supervising sergeant to ensure it is fit for purpose and aligns with investigative standards – this should take place during the initial stages of an investigation (within 48 hours of the Investigation Plan being created).
Investigators and investigations should be subject to effective and proactive supervision at regular intervals throughout the investigation and at key milestones including, but not limited to;
- Suspect identification procedure
- Bail
- Released under investigation (RUI)
- Pre-charge advice
- Charging decision
- Use of other criminal justice outcomes i.e. out of Court disposal.
- Decision to take NFA.
Mandatory updates to victims include.
When a suspect is;
- Arrested
- Interviewed under caution.
- Released without charge.
- Released on pre charge bail.
- Released under investigation.
- Charged
Or when;
- Bail conditions are changed.
- Bail conditions are cancelled.
- No further action is taken.
- An out of Court disposal is administered.
For victims with enhanced rights, these updates must be delivered in one working day. Victims with no enhanced rights must be updated within five working days.
Supervisor review and approval
A first supervisory review must take place early enough in the investigation to:
- Review the investigator’s caseload.
- Support the investigator to identify and plan their investigation focusing on suspect behaviour, including resources, priorities, and proportionality.
- Consider material gathered to date, including BWV footage and evaluate proposed lines of enquiry.
- Identify and test, where appropriate, relevant hypotheses.
- Review action taken to assess and manage risk, including safeguarding of victims and witnesses.
- Review victim and witness strategies, considering additional support for vulnerable, intimidated, or significant witnesses. Ensure appropriate support has been put in place, and compliance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime(opens an external website in the same tab).
- Review the victim needs assessment.
- Consider suspect status, bail or RUI, risk assessment (including risks posed by and to the suspect) and relevant support.
- Assess and direct disclosure compliance.
In addition, supervisors should also consider reviewing the following, as appropriate, and at key milestones:
- the investigative plan, in light of developments and new information
- the maintenance and updating of records.
- the identification of further lines of enquiries and investigative strategies
- investigative and evidential evaluations
- whether the case is ready to be referred to the CPS for a charging decision, for example consider evidential robustness and public interest.
- compliance with local and national policies and guidance
Reviews must take place as a minimum every 28 days, regardless of milestones.
All reviews must be recorded on the crime management system and provide meaningful direction, quality assurance, and professional challenge. Plans must be kept under dynamic review, with frequency proportionate to the level of threat, risk, and harm.
The following mnemonic provides a useful structure.
R – Reasonable lines of enquiry
E – Evidential assessment
V – Victim/Vulnerability
I – identify and manage suspects.
E – Evaluate resources
W – Working together
S – Set actions and time parameters
Quality and consistency checking
Investigation plans are subject to regular quality assurance through:
- Supervisor oversight at key stages of the investigation
- Monthly Investigation Quality Reviews (IQR) which assess plan quality, structure, and adherence across four pillars: victim focus, suspect management, investigative quality, and supervisory input.
- Inspector-led dip sampling, which helps identify good practice, areas for improvement, and opportunities for targeted CPD.
The central consideration remains:
‘Is the policing response appropriate and proportionate to the investigation?’
Findings from monitoring processes will inform training, operational improvements, and organisational learning.
Crime Finalisation
Some crimes may be suitable for filing without the need to deploy a physical resource to the scene or the victim. Decisions made to file crimes on this basis need to be made with full consideration given to the vulnerability involved and solvability factors available.
Such decisions call for a subjective judgement to be made with each case being considered on its individual merits, clearly certain categories of crime, by their nature, will always merit further investigation irrespective of vulnerability/solvability assessments.
Priority should always be given to the investigation of crimes where the presence of vulnerability or positive solvability factors exist.
The request to file a crime will be made by the officer or staff member responsible for the investigation, this will then be authorised by their supervisor's/manager's.
Crimes filed by the Force Crime Bureau or Crime Support Hub do not require a supervisors or managers authorisation; however supervisors and managers are responsible for monitoring and dip-sampling to ensure quality.
Where a crime is to be filed, the victim will be made aware and that fact recorded in line with the Victim’s Code of Practice.
The HOCR detail the recorded crime Outcomes Codes and the circumstances under which each Outcome should be applied.
All crime investigations must be finalised with an appropriate crime Outcome Code.
Where Outcome Codes 1-4 and 6-8 apply, Officers should update the crime report and submit the crime for filing.
Where Outcome Codes 11-22 apply, the officer or member of staff should submit a chaser to their supervisor or manager outlining the investigation and addressing the investigation plan in detail, seeking supervisory authorisation for filing and, once received, submit for filing.
Outcome Codes 5, 9 and 10 require the endorsement of a Dedicated Decision Maker (DDM) before the crime report can be filed. Such reports will be tasked to the CONNECT DDM Worktray.
A rationale for finalisation must be added to the CONNECT record utilising the CLOSED mnemonic principles to cover the following points in a manner proportionate to the risk and complexity of the investigation:
C – Correct recording
L – Legally Compliant
O – Outstanding records and property
S – Safeguarding review
E – Evidential summary
D - Decision
Link to CLOSED mnemonic.
Where a suspect has been charged, cautioned, reprimanded or warned, officers and staff must ensure that the crime report is updated before retiring from duty.
Supervisors and managers will identify officers who regularly fail to comply with these instructions and take appropriate action.
The HOCR details circumstances under which a crime can be cancelled including the transfer of reports to other Forces. It also describes the decision making levels for the cancellation of crime reports.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) claims are dealt with in accordance with the following policy Pi15.8 - Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Repeat Crime and Victimisation
The force defines vulnerable and repeat victims as:
Repeat Victim: A person or location that has been victimised more than once in a certain period of time. The time period is usually, though not exclusively, 12 months. This will include where a victim states in one report that they have been a victim more than once.
Vulnerable victim: A person is vulnerable if as a result of their situation or circumstances, they are unable to take care of, or protect themselves or others, from harm and exploitation.
Investigators and Supervisors will provide an enhanced service to vulnerable victims and work to reduce the number of people who suffer repeat victimisation. Where a victim is identified as a repeat, every effort should be made to discover any causes for the repeat victimisation and put in place measures to help avoid further incidents. Vulnerable victims will always be offered an enhanced service in line with the Complete Victim Care strategy. Any vulnerability will be recorded on Connect and be reflected in the person record and Victim Code Contract.
See also Pi9.18 - Managing Repeat Crime and Victimisation
Associated Procedural Instructions
The Investigation policy is further supported by the following procedural instructions that are reviewed regularly.
- Pi8.1 - Suspects Management Process
- Pi9.5 - Financial Crime - Financial Investigations as a General Investigative Tool
- Pi9.6 - Drug Enforcement
- Pi9.7 - Cash Seizures under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
- Pi9.8 - Counterfeit Currency
- Pi9.9 - Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Review - Form Mg/17
- Pi9.10 - Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR)
- Pi9.11 - Personal Robbery
- Pi9.12 - Crime Management - Crime Allocation Instruction
- Pi9.13 - Investigation of Auto Crime
- Pi9.14 - Investigation of Burglary Residential
- Pi9.15 - Investigation of Distraction Burglaries/Bogus Official Offences
- Pi9.16 - Minimum Standards for the Investigation of Burglary (Other)
- Pi9.17 - Offences Taken Into Consideration (TICs)
- Pi9.19 - Drug Related Overdoses and Deaths
- Pi9.20 - Vulnerable and Intimidated Victims and Witnesses Instructions
- Pi9.21 - Investigations Involving Persons in Prison
- Pi10.15 - Investigation of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
- Pi15.8 - Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Associated Procedural Instructions not owned by SCS:
The associated procedural instructions below are included within the Investigation policy due to the inclusion of these sections within APP.
Responsibility for ownership, management and review of these instructions is the Superintendent of the respective departments and includes the following procedural instructions:
- Pi9.1 - Application for Search Warrants
- Pi9.2 - European Arrest Warrants Part 1 – (Extradition Act 2003)
- Pi9.3 - Schengen Information System SISII
- Pi9.4 - Identification
- Pi9.18 - Managing Repeat Crime and Victimisation
See also Investigations Improvement Unit (IIU) Delivery Plan 2024-26