Detectives in West Yorkshire are seeking aspiring sleuths to help them tackle serious crime.

The county’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (H-MET) is looking for members of the public who can help with house-to-house inquiries, build links with communities and keep them up to date with information once investigations have finished.

The force hopes to recruit between 50 and 60 volunteers who will also help with duties including administration, proof-reading and transporting exhibits from crime scenes, enabling trained detectives to concentrate on priority work.

Senior officers will explain more about H-MET and volunteering opportunities within the force at open evenings on March 8 and 11.

Head of H-MET, Detective Chief Superintendent Max McLean, said: “H-MET is one of the most challenging areas of policing, dealing with some of the worst possible crimes.

“Volunteers will bring added value to the work carried out by the current team and will help us to engage with the communities that are affected by serious crime.

“We welcome adults of all ages from all backgrounds and would encourage them to take up this exciting opportunity and reap the rewards that police work has to offer.”

Successful volunteers, who will be subjected to standard vetting processes, will be allocated to one of H-MET’s operational teams or support units.

Michael Downes, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “We welcome volunteers assisting the police service in building and maintaining relationships in communities and helping with admin-type tasks but we would be very concerned if volunteers were undertaking roles that ordinarily require police training.

“We notice that reference has been made to door-to-door inquiries and our concern is that these people are not fully trained and that may result in evidence being lost and crime going undetected.”

The open evenings will run from 7pm to 8pm at the Lecture Theatre at Bishopgarth Training School, Westfield Road, Wakefield.

To register for a place, visit police volunteers.co.uk.

e-mail: hannah.baker@telegraphandargus.co.uk