Trainee Forensic Collision Investigator

Role Type Police Staff
Local Policing/ Business Area Forensic Services
Department Forensic Services
Location HQ Waterwells
Grade SC5
Salary £30,333 - £32,613
Allowances Shift, Weekend Working, Oncall/Standby
Oncall/Standby Shift Percentage As per Staff handbook
Hours per Week 37
Type of Contract Permanent

Description 
Do you have a passion for problem solving using maths, physics and logic? Do you have the desire to keep people safe from harm?

An exciting new opportunity has arisen within our Forensic Collision Investigation Unit to become a Forensic Collision Investigator.

This is a challenging and rewarding role where, once fully trained, your expertise will provide important answers to how collisions occurred, providing much needed answers to families and producing expert witness evidence to both the Coronial and Criminal Courts of England and Wales.

Initially, you will undertake a structured trainee programme which will result in becoming qualified and achieving independent FCI status through a tutorship alongside a qualified FCI. Study is undertaken on an initial 4-week residential course, with additional study undertaken in your own time (approximately 16-18 hours per week), however, full support will be given by all of our qualified collision investigators.

In addition to mandatory skills such as photography, surveying using laser scanners, and evidence analysis, Forensic Collision Investigators are trained in many other technical disciplines, such as lightbulb analysis, and digital data interrogation.

Being a Forensic Collision Investigator isn’t for everyone. The nature of the job means that this role will be emotionally challenging. A 7-day 12 hour shift pattern and being part of a 24-hour on-call rota means the days can be long and nights cold. The successful candidate will require high levels of motivation and emotional resilience, and be prepared to work shift work, including weekends and bank holidays.

Evidence gathering is time sensitive, meaning that Forensic Collision Investigators are required to successfully complete a standard police response driving course.

The application process will consist of an assessment process which will cover mathematics assessment, vehicle examination, and delivery of a presentation to an investigation team. If successful at the assessment stage, you will be invited to a competency value interview.

You will be required to attend a mandatory online familiarisation event which will provide you with detailed information about the process and ensure you have received the necessary information about the role.

The dates of the familiarisation events are Thursday 5th March at 18:00 hours and Saturday 7th March at 11:00 hours. 

Recruitment process:

Stage one: Application via Oleeo. Closing date 16/3/26

Stage two: Assessment day - Date 30/3/2026 – 31/3/2026

Stage three: CVF based interview - Date TBC

The successful candidate for this role will be vetted at level Staff RV. This means the individual will need at least 3 years worth of residency in the UK.

Please refer to the Role Profile document when completing the Statement in support of your application section of the form. In this section, you are required to provide evidence with specific examples for each of the Essential criteria included under the Experience and Qualifications section of the Role Profile. For each of the criteria, please write a paragraph detailing how your experience, qualifications, skills and abilities meet the minimum criteria for the role. Applicants who do not provide this required evidence will unfortunately not be invited to interview.

Candidates applying for Gloucestershire Constabulary should be aware that the use of online 'Artificial Intelligence' (AI) systems such as ChatGPT to generate application answers is NOT permitted, any candidate found to have submitted an application form using online 'AI' software to generate answers will be removed from the recruitment process with immediate effect. This may result in future applications with the Constabulary also being rejected, based on integrity.

Need help with your application?

If you need any support while completing your application, whether it’s understanding the questions, gathering the right information, or just having someone to talk it through with, then our Better Together Team is here to help. We’d be happy to support you at any stage of the process.

At Gloucestershire Constabulary we recognise the benefits of increasing diversity across our force and the value of building a representative workforce. That is why it is important that people from ethnically diverse backgrounds and under-represented groups, including those with a disability, apply and help us deliver excellence in policing throughout Gloucestershire. We are a proud Disability Confident Employer and are committed to providing equal opportunities. 

Closing Date 16/03/2026, 09:00

For further information in relation to this current police staff vacancy, the role profile and the application form, please click on the Apply Now button.