How Investigation Overflow Impacts Police…And What to Do About It.

Across the UK, frontline investigators and police officers are raising the alarm about a hidden crisis: overwhelming workloads, burnout, and a relentless surge in complex cases. From community safety teams to police officers, many are working 12 to 20-hour days, trying to keep up with caseloads that continue to grow in both size and complexity. The problem isn’t just exhaustion, it’s systemic. Without timely reform, the long-term damage to public safety, staff wellbeing, and institutional trust could be profound.

What's Fuelling the Crisis

According to the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), more than 9,000 officers resigned in the year ending March 31, 2024, the second-highest number on record. Strikingly, 43% had fewer than five years of service, suggesting many were pushed out before they had the chance to truly find their footing.

So why are so many leaving? The answer lies in two crushing forces reshaping the investigative landscape: case overload and emotional burnout.

Modern investigators are drowning in unmanageable caseloads, a relentless tide that brings:

• Severe backlogs: delaying justice and undermining public confidence

• Chronic stress and burnout: eroding morale and pushing people to the brink

• Rushed or compromised investigations: as corners are cut to keep up

• High error rates: risking overlooked safeguarding concerns and wrongful outcomes

• Emotional exhaustion: from repeated exposure to traumatic and disturbing content

• Feeling out of their depth: forced to navigate complex legal and safeguarding decisions with inadequate support

• Insufficient tools and procedures: leaving them ill-equipped to act decisively or safely

Whether in police forces, housing departments, or local authorities, the storey is the same: investigators are being asked to do more with less, and it's breaking them.

The Consequences: Staff Loss and Public Risk

As stress levels rise, so do sickness rates. Skilled officers and community safety professionals are walking away, leaving behind critical knowledge gaps. Those who stay behind face even greater pressure, creating a vicious cycle of burnout and turnover.

The knock-on effects are felt across the public. Investigations stall, anti-social behaviour goes unchecked, opportunities for early intervention are missed, and public trust declines as visible enforcement disappears.

Still Using Spreadsheets?

Many police forces continue to rely on manual spreadsheets to manage Out of Court Resolution (OoCR) programmes, despite their clear limitations. What once seemed like a practical solution has become a liability, as spreadsheets are prone to human error, lack real-time tracking, offer no automated workflows or user accountability, and struggle to scale with demand. When every minute matters and accuracy is non-negotiable, a manual system isn’t just inefficient, it’s a risk.

A Smarter Solution: Automation

Enter Diversion Manager: a purpose-built platform designed to transform how UK forces manage their OoCR programmes. This isn’t just software, it’s a strategic shift toward smarter, more sustainable enforcement.

What Diversion Manager Delivers:

• Streamlined registration and fewer data entry errors

• Automated payment processing for efficient fee collection and disbursement

• 24/7 access to intervention courses, boosting completion rates

• Progress validation in real time, keeping case files up to date

• Automated resolution creation, routing documents for approval instantly

• Custom reporting dashboards, turning data into action

With Diversion Manager, officers and investigators reclaim time to focus on what matters most: people, decisions, and safeguarding.

By adopting automation, forces gain more than just efficiency, they see measurable improvements in programme completion rates, reduced recidivism, lower administrative costs, and increased consistency and accountability. Investigators no longer need to choose between quantity and quality, as the right technology supports both.

With Diversion Manager, police forces and community safety partnerships can break the burnout cycle, reduce reoffending, and deliver swift, fair, and effective justice.

Contact Diversion Manager

Diversion Manager supports your force with our fully functional platform configurable to accommodate Out of Court Resolution programmes with advanced workflow, communication, reporting, and integration with your case management system. Contact us today if you’d like to set a meeting to learn more about Diversion Manager or to schedule a demo.