Forensic Apprentice

As a Forensic Apprentice within the West Midlands Police Forensic Services Department the post holder will support the objectives of the Forensic Services Department (FSD) and drive them towards excellence within the field of forensic evidence recovery. This will be done by ensuring all preparatory work is completed to enable relevant FSD Technical Practitioners to complete their examinations and interpretations and maintaining a top quality working environment for all laboratory areas.

The Forensic Apprentice will work predominantly within the Fingerprint Development Laboratory but will support other West Midlands Police Forensic Services Departments with a variety of administration duties.

Key Responsibilities

To receive, record and prioritise work in order to achieve the team’s agreed Service Level Agreements.
To operate force systems to record, update and case track all activity on submissions.
To carry out sequential treatments on exhibits received as defined by CAST guidelines.
To help administrate the Image Management System.
To maintain the West Midlands Police portion of the National Fingerprint Database within the Fingerprint Bureau
To ensure the integrity and continuity of all evidence is maintained.
To ensure good practice relating to Health & Safety and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH).
To support and work within a Quality Management System a (ISO17025 & ISO17020)
To maintain a clean, operational working environment within the relevant Forensic Service Departments.
To attend and pass any appropriate training courses linked to your apprenticeship qualifications and apprenticeship roles.
To monitor stock control within the relevant departments of FSD.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential Criteria

Must be 18 years or older
Must possess excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills.
Must demonstrate excellent presentation skills.
Must demonstrate a practical approach to problem solving and a willingness to accept responsibility.
Must demonstrate competent IT skills including experience of using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
A-Level or equivalent in a science subject and 5 GCSEs to grade C including Maths and English.

Desirable criteria

Practical understanding of Forensic Science.

Extra Information

Expected to comply with Health and Safety at Work Act, Fire Prevention
Regulations and COSHH Regulations at all times.
Able to tolerate potentially unpleasant situations or imagery.
36.5 hours per week (based on a working week of 37 hour).

Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.

Hours: Mon – Fri 9am to 5pm (start/finish times can be flexible but will depend on workload)

Location: Ridgepoint House, Birmingham.

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Recruitment Vetting and Counter Terrorism Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process.

Medical: Appointment to this role will be dependent upon successfully medical checks, which may include a drugs test and if required a fitness test.

Interviews: TBD

Contact: For further information about this role please contact Mick Killeen, Identification Manager by email on mick.killeen@westmidlands.police.uk

West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview.

It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.

“Diversity and Inclusion Vision: Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities”

By choosing to join West Midlands Police you will receive an enhanced benefits package including:

- Fair remuneration with progression opportunities, and access to a very competitive pension scheme

- Enhanced annual leave in additional to public holiday entitlements

- Discounts across travel, parking, daily costs of living and leisure activities

- A comprehensive wellbeing package including 24/7 support, free eye tests and flu jabs