Aspiring detectives from Hucknall and across the county have just a few days left to apply for a new fast-track training course that will prepare them for a career investigating Nottinghamshire's most serious crimes.

Nottinghamshire Police launched its brand new 'Fast Track to Detective Constable' entry programme last month to find the investigators of the future.

Over 100 applicants have already applied ahead of the deadline, which is midnight on Sunday (16 April).

Successful applicants will join Nottinghamshire Police in August 2023 as a police officer and start a fast-track journey in becoming a Detective Constable.

This will be completed through a 21-week initial course at the force's state-of-the-art training school at its Arnold headquarters, which is around five miles away from Hucknall.

Members of the cohort will then be placed throughout the force to be tutored and experience being a uniformed frontline officer for 12 months.

They will then move into a Detective Constable role and complete their Detective portfolio.

This is the first time Nottinghamshire Police has opened this fast-track programme to the public.

Detective Inspector Ed Cook said: "The traditional path to becoming a detective constable would see you join as a uniformed police officer first and then consider a detective career path at a later date in your policing career.

"However, we are now giving you the chance to move directly into a trainee detective constable role following on from your initial officer training.

"Being a detective is not only challenging, it is extremely rewarding. Detectives investigate anything from domestic abuse, fraud, robbery, child protection, cyber-crime, serious assaults, organised crime, right the way through to high level drugs importation and serious organised crime.

"We have designed this entry route programme to equip successful applicants with the right knowledge and resources to support them in becoming an accredited detective and to help make Nottinghamshire safer."

Graduates who are interested in becoming investigators may also be interested in Nottinghamshire Police's graduate investigator scheme. Open to university graduates, this salaried development scheme provides a genuine experience in criminal investigations, across a variety of areas of the organisation. This enables anyone undertaking this pathway to make an informed decision about policing as a career whilst being provided with transferrable employability skills valued in all professions.

Applications for this year's graduate investigator scheme also close at midnight on Sunday.

For more information on the 'Fast Track to Detective Constable' and 'Graduate Investigator' roles and to apply, visit the 'current vacancies' section of Nottinghamshire Police's careers page which can be accessed by clicking here.