Forensic Collision Investigator (FCIU) (Boreham)

Location of Role: Boreham

Advert Closing Date: 07/03/2025

Starting Salary: £40,890.00 (pro-rata for part-time vacancies)

Part/Full Time: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Shift not 24/7

Weekend/Evening Working: Yes

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Police Staff Employee to undertake the role of Forensic Collision Investigator (FCI) based at Boreham.

This is a unique and challenging role that requires the successful candidate to:

1. Attend fatal road traffic collisions (and occasionally other specified related incidents) across Essex. You will be expected to liaise with the Lead Investigating Officer (LIO) to provide advice and opinion to assist with the direction of their investigation from an early stage, whilst ensuring that the scene is managed and resourced appropriately. You will methodically examine the scene and record physical evidence to determine what happened. Attention to detail is key.
2. Investigate collisions by identifying and carrying out appropriate analyses and tests using a variety of methods. These may include calculating speed from CCTV, examining light bulbs, using computer software to reconstruct vehicle positions and physical vehicle testing. Once trained, you will need to use your experience and initiative to determine what activities are appropriate for your investigation.
3. Practise in accordance with specified processes and partake in competency testing as required, assisting the FCIU as we work towards ISO accreditation and compliance with the Forensic Science Regulator's codes.
4. Produce detailed reports on your findings and attend court as an impartial expert witness. You will also scrutinise your colleagues' reports and provide feedback as part of a peer-review process. It is desirable that you have experience in compiling detailed, balanced reports within complex investigations for presentation to the CPS and/or court.
5. Remain independent of the separate investigation into suspects and witnesses - particularly where a prosecution is under consideration - and form your conclusions solely based on the evidence available.

Specialist technical knowledge around forensic collision investigation will be provided during your training. However, it is essential that as the successful candidate you can provide examples to demonstrate that you:

1. Can work independently and methodically to assess a scene or incident accurately and decide what actions or resources are required.
2. Have good knowledge regarding the preservation of evidence and can provide examples of your practical experience in relation to identifying scene parameters, securing crime scenes, and gathering evidence.
3. Can communicate clearly and professionally to different audiences, both verbally and in written form.

You should be aware that the nature of the role means that you will be exposed to incidents which have the potential to be traumatic or distressing. It is therefore desirable that you should be able to provide examples of your resilience and ability to work under pressure in challenging or unpleasant circumstances.

You will need to achieve nationally set qualifications to practice independently. Initially this will involve undertaking the University Certificate of Professional Development (UCPD) either as a residential modular course starting in September 2025 or a distance learning course starting in March 2026, with a one-week practical element in Gloucestershire and a written examination at the end of the course in January 2027. Within the FCIU you will be allocated a mentor and support will be provided to help with your studies, but you must pass the UCPD and complete a local portfolio evidencing your developing practical skills to remain on the unit (estimated within 2 years).

Due to the academic study required to become a qualified FCI, it is essential that you have achieved GCSEs (or equivalent/higher) in Maths and English with at least grade C or above in both subjects.

The selection process will involve a maths test and a written scenario exercise. Candidates who pass both tests will progress to interview. The maths test and written exercise will be administered under exam conditions. Candidates who are shortlisted will be provided further details to assist with preparation for these stages and reasonable adjustment requirements will be supported as required.

What we offer:

1. A fascinating scientific role working on a small but supportive team.
2. Regular training to allow for your continuous professional development with opportunities to specialise further in areas of particular interest.
3. Training to become an Advanced police driver (if not already at that level) with opportunities to gain other driving licence categories (bus, HGV, motorcycle).

We would encourage anyone considering applying to contact PS James Lee (Internal Ext: 480567 External: 01245235130 Email: james.lee@essex.police.uk) who will be happy to discuss the role and the training requirements and answer any questions that you may have.

Essex Police offer incremental increases within this salary band, therefore the salary for this position will rise to a maximum of £43,920.00.

For the full job description please click here.

Your application for this role will be shortlisted on the content you provide within the reason for application question, within the application form itself. CV's, covering letters or attachments are not included in the shortlist. Within your reason for application answer, please refer to any experience, skills, and abilities you feel you have that will make you suitable for this role, based on the role criteria stated in the job advert or job description. Please provide as much detail as possible as insufficient content may mean you do not meet the shortlisting criteria, however please note this question is limited to 9000 characters and this system will count spaces and blank lines as characters. This count may differ from the Microsoft Word word count function therefore you may wish to use a different online character counter to check the characters used.

All of our posts require a level of vetting and security clearance. During the recruitment process you will be sent vetting information forms to complete.

Kent Police and Essex Police welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, or employment status.

Please let us know if you require extra support at any stage of the application process, or for further information regarding this position, please email us at recruitment.business.services@ecis.police.uk stating 'Application Support and Adjustments' in the title of your email. Alternatively, you can call us on 01245 452833.

Where appropriate we will make adjustments to the selection process, working arrangements and/or the working environment provided it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.

This post is open to:

1. British Citizens
2. Members of a European Economic Area (EEA) state who hold settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
3. Commonwealth citizens or foreign nationals (who are not British citizens or European Economic Area (EEA) state members) who have leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for an indefinite period that is free from restrictions.

All applicants (except those who have been serving abroad with the British Armed Forces) must have lived in the UK continuously for the past three years.

Essex Police and Kent Police are an equal opportunities employer. Communications may be recorded for monitoring purposes.

Essex Police is a Disability Confident Leader, we:

1. have subjected our Disability Confident self-assessment to external challenge and validation
2. are taking an active leadership role in encouraging and helping other employers on their journey to becoming Disability Confident.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are central to the values of our organisation. At Essex Police we value and embrace the unique experiences, identities and abilities that each of us bring to our roles. We strive to empower everyone to bring their authentic self openly and safely to work.

Through the dedicated commitment of our support networks, DE&I team and wider HR departments, we are on a journey to embed our DE&I commitments, ensuring Essex Police is an employer of choice; where everyone feels included.