Job Title: Civilian Drug Expert Witness - 01
Salary: The starting salary is £40,519, which includes allowances totalling £3,009.
The salary is broken down as £37,510 basic salary, which will increase annually until you reach the top of the scale £40,141. Plus, a location allowance of £2,009 and a non-pensionable allowance of £1,000.
Location: Vauxhall
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Strategic Drugs Delivery Team within Specialist Crime of the Metropolitan Police.
We are looking for civilian drug expert witness to provide independent expert analysis and independent opinion on drugs-related evidence to support investigations and prosecutions and to deliver expert witness reports and testimony that enable courts to understand technical and evidential matters outside their experience.
Working for the Met doesn’t have to mean patrolling the streets. Just as important as our uniformed officers is our 14,000-strong team of professional and support staff working behind the scenes. It’s these skilled people who provide the organisational capability to police London.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Examine and analyse drugs-related evidence and prepare impartial expert reports, enabling courts and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to understand and deal with issues requiring expert opinion within cases.
- Produce high quality expert witness reports for Crown Court cases (including Old Bailey), ensuring courts receive impartial opinion evidence.
- Provide expert testimony in court across England and Wales, presenting complex opinion evidence in a clear and impartial manner to assist judicial decision-making.
- Engage with investigators and CPS lawyers to agree terms of reference for expert evidence, ensuring reports address key evidential issues identified.
- Maintain independence and impartiality in line with Criminal Procedure Rules (Part 19) and Criminal Procedure Directions, ensuring reports withstand judicial and cross-examination scrutiny.
- Collaborate with colleagues and external experts to produce joint expert reports when directed by the court or when otherwise needed.
- Manage personal workload and deadlines autonomously, prioritising tasks in line with court timetables and case requirements to avoid delays in proceedings.
- Support continuous improvement by contributing expertise to training, guidance and knowledge-sharing activities within the Drugs Delivery Team. Including MPS DEW foundation training.
- Quality assure/peer review the Drugs Expert Witness (DEW) reports of other experts from Basic Command Units (BCUs) and other Operational Command Units (OCUs) of the MPS maintaining consistency and evidential accuracy.
- Decline instructions when a case falls outside personal expertise, ensuring compliance with Criminal Procedure Rules, while fulfilling mandatory court taskings.
Who we're looking for:
- In-depth knowledge of drugs markets, trafficking methodologies and evidential interpretation in line with Criminal Procedure Rules.
- Understanding of relevant legislation (e.g. Misuse of Drugs Act, Police and Criminal Evidence Act, Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act).
- High-level analytical and report-writing skills to interpret evidence and present impartial findings.
- Strong verbal communication skills to present evidence clearly to courts and withstand cross-examination.
- Ability to prioritise competing case demands and meet strict deadlines set by the CPS and judiciary.
- Proven experience producing expert witness reports in drugs-related investigations, either in law enforcement or as an independent practitioner.
- Demonstrable record of presenting evidence in criminal courts.
Must be a recognised practising expert witness in drugs trafficking and/or supply, established either through independent practice or previous recognition by the courts (e.g. a recently retired detective previously recognised as an expert witness).
