Low criminal very slow trailing detectives (12)
I believe the answer is:
disconsolate
'low' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'criminal very slow trailing detectives' is the wordplay.
'criminal very' becomes 'conso' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'slow' becomes 'late' (I've seen this in other clues).
'trailing' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'detectives' becomes 'dis' (Detective Inspectors, DIs).
'conso'+'late'='consolate'
'consolate' put after 'dis' is 'DISCONSOLATE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for disconsolate that I've seen before include "Unhappy and unable to be comforted" , "Deeply sad" , "Woebegone" , "Unhappy and impossible to comfort" , "Sad; beyond comfort" .)