METHODS to how murder, corporate manslaughter and some other major crimes are investigated is set to change when Gloucestershire Constabulary joins the Brunel Major Crime Collaboration.

The collaboration is already running between Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Wiltshire Police and will see homicide investigations coordinated across the three forces for the first time. Senior officers are promising an improved service that will deliver savings for the public.

Investigations the team will take on cover all categories of murder, as well as corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and deaths abroad but also, where capacity allows, any major crime case where there is a significant risk to public confidence.

Those working in major crime include detectives as well as CCTV analysts and police staff who record, index and process crime related information during investigations.

Gloucestershire’s 30 major crime staff will be joining 113 counterparts from Avon and Somerset Constabulary and 34 colleagues from Wiltshire Police.

Staff members will still be based in their host county but when required may travel to work in a partner force.

Response times will be unaffected as officers local to the county where a crime happens will still attend the scene in the first instance.

Other specialist crime units, such as CID and the Public Protection Bureau, will be unaffected by the move.

Lead Officer for the Brunel collaboration Detective Superintendent Andy Bevan said: “These are the most serious crimes that often need the most significant resources.

“The two-force collaboration has already proved a great success and with Gloucestershire joining I’m confident the service we deliver is going to get even better.

“Locally, as Gloucestershire has seen in recent years, murder rates can fluctuate quite dramatically but regionally they are traditionally flat, which means investigating at that regional level makes absolute sense."