Crime Indexer – Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS)

Published: 13th October 2026

Information about the Business Area

This Deputy Directorate incorporates the teams of Operation Stovewood, Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Operations and the Child Protection Team (CPT), National Investigative Capabilities (NIC), Investigations HQ and the Command Private Offices.

The Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS)  work to identify the potential emergence of serial killers and serial rapists at the earliest stage of their offending and supports investigations into serious stranger sexual offences and murders nationwide.

According to Codes of Practice, police forces must submit case information for offences meeting SCAS criteria.  SCAS provides analytical assistance using the ViCLAS database (a national database of serious sexual offences) to conduct Comparative Case Analysis.

Our goal is to identify serial offenders and persons of interest, aiding the investigation of some of the most serious sexual crimes across the country.  As a Crime Indexer, you will be part of a dedicated team responsible for collecting offences from forces and indexing them onto ViCLAS.

 

 A SCAS Crime Indexer has key responsibility for collating and indexing case details relating to serious sexual offences, to aid the identification and disruption of serial sex offending across the UK.

As a Crime Indexer, you will be part of a dedicated team responsible for collecting offences from forces and indexing them onto ViCLAS.  You will  be responsible for maintaining relationships with police forces across the UK.

Your work will directly contribute to solving serious crimes and making communities safer.

Candidates should be aware that this role involves exposure to potentially distressing case material relating to serious sexual offences, including murder. Such material may contain references to sexual violence, trauma, physical injury, and explicit sexual language.

Maintaining Force Relationships

Each Crime Indexer is assigned responsibility for maintaining relationships with a share of the police forces around the UK through their SCAS Contact Officers. This ensures that forces submit cases meeting SCAS criteria.

Indexing Cases

Crime Indexers code offences into the ViCLAS database, viewing victim interviews and breaking down case information  into over 100 data points. This enables Crime Analysts to search ViCLAS to identify potentially linked offences through their analysis.

Reviewing Case Submissions

Crime Indexers review cases submitted by Police forces to determine if they meet the criteria for entry into ViCLAS. They also identify and request any outstanding materials required to index the case, such as Video Recorded Interview and Crime Reports.

Experience of prioritising workload and delivering to tight deadlines

Able to decide on priorities  and effectively manages time and workload and escalates issues – ensuring tasks are completed to agreed standards and timelines

Experience of using a variety of communication methods to explain information to different audiences

Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with both internal and external stakeholders and conveys information clearly and effectively through written and verbal communication.

Experience of effective decision making

Able to examine and analyse data to help make informed choices using logic and initiative to make sense of a situation and find an intelligent solution

Ability to extract and interpret complex data/information and index it accurately.

Experience of working with information from a range of sources, ensuring data is record accurately and consistently.

Able to develop effective working relationships with colleagues, partners and other stakeholders.

Develops and maintains positive relationships with internal and/or external stakeholders in order to achieve stakeholder needs and business objectives.

Assessment Prior to Interview

Assessment Information

This assessment will be conducted in person in the Bristol area in early November. Please note that travel expenses will not be reimbursed.

This is a pass or fail assessment so candidates who pass will be invited for interview

 

To find out more about the role and the application process we will be holding virtual opening evenings via MS Teams on Tuesday 20th October at 1800-1900

To register, please click on the following link

Virtual Event – Crime Indexer (SCAS)

This event is by invitation only.

You will be asked for your name and email address.

Registration will close on Monday 19th October at 1200

You will not be able to register after this date and time.

 

Salary

A pay flexibility case seeking to modernise NCA pay frameworks was approved by the Government in July 2026. The NCA recognises and engages in collective bargaining with three trade unions: The National Crime Officers Association (NCOA), Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and FDA. Therefore, our terms and conditions are currently undergoing a formal review, in consultation with these recognised trade unions. The outcome is expected to be known by early 2027.
All salary offers will be made in line with Remuneration Policy.

Benefits

All NCA employees are members of the UK Civil Service and eligible for the Civil Service pension scheme, alongside your salary the NCA contributes £10,843. Further information on the benefits of the scheme is available on the Civil Service Pension Website.

New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).

Other benefits include:

  • Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
  • Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
  • Learning and Development opportunities
  • Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
  • Housing schemes – Key Worker status
  • Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway | Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
  • Staff support groups/networks
  • Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

Further information is available on the NCA Website.

Selection Process Details

This vacancy is using the Success Profiles framework and will assess using the following criteria: Behaviours, Experience, Technical Skills
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

How we will assess you

Your application will be assessed against the following:
Experience – This will be assessed:

Statement of Suitability

Please provide a 750 word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria below:

Advise a time when you delivered high-quality work to a challenging deadline.

Detail how you used effective communication to influence a decision, outcome, or stakeholder.

Detail an example of when you identified a problem and successfully implemented a solution.

A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.

You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.

We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.

Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.

For guidance on the application process, visit:
NCA Applying and Onboarding

Assessment 1

The format of this assessment will be Assessment which will be tested on via the details listed below.

Candidates who are successful at sift will be invited to attend an in-person assessment in the Bristol area designed to evaluate their aptitude for case indexing, ability to manage competing workloads, and capacity to handle sensitive and distressing material with professionalism and resilience.

The assessment will be week commencing 9th November 2026 face to face and interviews week commencing 7th December 2026 on Teams

If you are successful you will be invited to the second assessment.

Assessment 2

The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.

Success Profiles at Assessment

Behaviours
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Making Effective Decisions
Technical
  • Workload Management
Assessment Outcome
Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.

In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:

  1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
  2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
  3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used
Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.
You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.
Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.
We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.

Eligibility, Pre-Employment Check and Vetting

Please see the NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf) for details on how your data is handled.
If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted.

Nationality Requirements

This role is broadly open to the following groups:
• UK nationals or dual nationals, where one component is British
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre- settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements
You will be required to participate in digital right to work and address checks as part of the recruitment process.

Security and Vetting

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC Enhanced. All security clearances will be managed by the NCA.
For more information on security vetting please visit: UK Security Vetting guidance for applicants and Demystifying Vetting and see our vetting charter at: The Vetting Charter.

Vetting requirements – SC Enhanced

Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance.
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
For further information on National Security Vetting checks please visit the following page Demystifying Vetting
Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.

Occupational Health

Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.

Things you need to know

Near Miss

If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade.

Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role.

All offers are made based on merit.

Hybrid Working

The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustments

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.

If you experience accessibility issues with the advert or require reasonable adjustments, please contact our Recruitment Team at central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk before the advert closing date.

Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.

For more on our Disability Confident commitment, visit Disability Confident Scheme | Civil Service Careers.

Visit NCA Benefits and Support for more details.

Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, we require certain personal details about you on submission of your application for statistical and monitoring purposes only. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit on merit through fair and open competition, in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk(quoting the vacancy reference).
If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.

Working for the NCA

The National Crime Agency is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.
If preferable, alternative contract types may be available. Please review the green bar of this advert to view all available contract types for this role. Where Loan or Secondment options are available, these would be for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.
If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the advert, please contact:

Name : Central Recruitment Team
Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Attachments

NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf)

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