The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 8 plus 4 letter word NEW SCOTLAND YARD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
N
E
W
S
C
O
T
L
A
N
D
Y
A
R
D
More clues leading to the result NEW SCOTLAND YARD
- Constable collection can be seen here
- Detectives finding information on bed with rope around its end
- . Old Bill’s home is modern with a country garden
- Unprecedented tax on fat man’s in force here
- Nasty cold warned Doctor Nick
- Cads now ardently grilled in police department
- Breaking and entry was old crime first investigated here?
- They might solve dastardly con from this?
- Clue to dastardly con followed up here?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Detectives" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case detectives = new scotland yard.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.