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Gwent Police Plans Zero-Hour Detectives Amid Murder Surge

By Drooid · Oct 14, 2026, 10:21 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Gwent Police chief Mark Hobrough said the force may hire detectives on zero-hour contracts.
The force opened 11 murder investigations in ten months, far above the usual two to three annually.
The surge forced overtime, reassigned neighbourhood officers, and prompted a new demand-driven CID deployment model.
Hobrough also announced new inspector Alex Kear, sergeant Jordan Neal, and filled the Usk ward manager vacancy.

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Story summary

Gwent Police chief Mark Hobrough said the force may hire detectives on zero-hour contracts.
The force opened 11 murder investigations in ten months, far above the usual two to three annually.
The surge forced overtime, reassigned neighbourhood officers, and prompted a new demand-driven CID deployment model.
Hobrough also announced new inspector Alex Kear, sergeant Jordan Neal, and filled the Usk ward manager vacancy.