ABSTRACT
In September 2005, the Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) 1 launched a national training and development programme which is intended ‘to enhance the crime investigation skills and ability of police officers and staff involved in the investigative process and to drive through new standards of investigation at all levels’ (NCPE 2005b: 1). The Professionalizing Criminal Investigation Programme (PIP) is a key feature of the government's police reform agenda (Home Office 2004a: 88) and is one of the milestones in the National Policing Plan 2004–2007 (Home Office 2004b).
