Evidence Recovery Technician (Laindon/Office Based)

Location of Role: Laindon

Advert Closing Date: 07/08/2025

Starting Salary: £26,106.00 (pro-rata for part-time vacancies)

Part/Full Time: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Other (see advert text)

Weekend/Evening Working: Yes

An opportunity has arisen to join our team in the role of Evidence Recovery Technician, based at the Chemical Enhancement Laboratory, Laindon.

This is a challenging role that requires the successful candidate to receive submissions from crime scenes into a laboratory, determine the most appropriate forensic examination techniques, apply chemical treatments and examine exhibits for developed fingerprints.

Fingerprints will need to be recorded and photographed to provide forensic evidence to assist in the detection of crime. All processes are carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures which must be followed to maintain the laboratory’s accreditation status.

You will work as part of a team of technicians organizing workloads to meet demands, providing specialist advice to investigators, and writing reports for Court.

Applications are invited from any candidate who meets the essential criteria. Aptitude for the role will be tested as part of the interview process for those successfully shortlisted.

What we are looking for

At shortlisting we will be looking for essential evidence of the following:

You must have a good standard of education to GCSE or equivalent and be IT literate
You must be self-motivated and able to work on your own initiative and well as part of a team
You must have good organisational skills and be able to prioritise workloads to meet competing demands
You must have excellent attention to detail.

In addition, it would be desirable if you could evidence:

Previous experience of working from and following a standard operating procedure
Previous experience/knowledge of working in an accredited/laboratory environment.

Location and Hours

You will be based at the Chemical Enhancement Laboratory in Durham House, Laindon.

Evidence Recovery Technicians are expected to work a shift pattern covering Monday – Friday between 07:00 and 20:00, plus two weekends in nine between 0800-1600.

We are committed to fostering a fair, open, and inclusive environment for all. We welcome applications from everyone, regardless of background or identity. We believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to our success as an organization. We encourage all new employees to help us uphold our commitment to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.

For further information about the role please, contact Steve Hall at Steve.Hall@essex.police.uk or Louise Bell at Louise.Bell@essex.police.uk.

Essex Police offer incremental increases within this salary band, therefore the salary for this position will rise to a maximum of £40,890.00.

For the full Essex job description please click here.

For the full Kent job description please click here.

Kent Police and Essex Police have separate salary grading systems, therefore the salary for this position will be dependent on which home office force you are appointed to. This will be discussed with the successful applicant before a final offer is made.

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.

If you’re not from the UK, you must be a resident in the UK and have lived here continuously for the last three years. You must also be free from restrictions with indefinite leave to remain. If you’re from the UK you must have lived here continuously for the last three years. This doesn’t apply to those serving abroad in the British Armed Forces.

Essex Police is a Disability Confident Leader, we:

have subjected our Disability Confident self-assessment to external challenge and validation
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.

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