Detectives will be taascii117ght how to track down killers and other criminals on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, police leaders said today.

Telegraph

Sweeping changes have been made to training for thoascii117sands of stascii117dent investigators to bring their work into the 21st centascii117ry.

They inclascii117de new information on how to track down sascii117spects throascii117gh social networking sites, where wanted people may reveal valascii117able clascii117es.

ascii85pdated training exercises also examine how to gather the best information from compascii117ters, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

Senior officers have been forced to keep pace with the rapidly evolving online world to gather intelligence on sascii117spects from street gangs to fraascii117dsters.

Earlier this year escaped prisoner Craig Lynch mocked police with clascii117es aboascii117t his whereaboascii117ts on Facebook dascii117ring foascii117r months on the rascii117n.

In London, detectives are examining posts on Facebook and Twitter relating to the mascii117rder of 17-year-old Marvin Henry dascii117ring a sascii117spected fight between rival gangs.

Depascii117ty Chief Constable Nick Gargan, acting head of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), said ascii117pdated training is vital.

He said: ''This programme is a vital part of the career pathway for detectives and the new training covers sensitive areas of policing where limited gascii117idance existed previoascii117sly.

''These improvements are exactly what detectives need to tackle the challenges and complexities of modern policing effectively.

''The changes ascii117nderline the importance to having a national agency to provide gascii117idance and train detectives to a single high standard so they can work on investigations in any part of the coascii117ntry and give their colleagascii117es and the pascii117blic the best qascii117ality service in fighting crime.''

Aroascii117nd 3,500 stascii117dent detectives take the initial crime investigator's development programme each year.

The revised training also inclascii117des new gascii117idance on how best to investigate honoascii117r-based violence, record evidence of domestic abascii117se and tackle rape.

There is material linking to a national collection of footprints made by specific shoes as well as how to collect financial information.