The Forensic Capability Network (FCN) is looking for people to work in its quality, executive and operations teams as it begins to take shape.

The hub was created as part of a 13-point Home Office action plan aimed at improving the scale, speed and capability of police forensic science services. The plan also focuses heavily on ensuring quality standards for forensic services are maintained both internally and with outside suppliers after a number of high profile cases. 

These included the convictions of 41 people being overturned and a re-testing programme being launched after concerns were raised about toxicoligy results from the Randox Testing Services site in Manchester.

The Home Office held a review which tasked the FCN with stabilising the UK’s "fragile and fragmented" forensic science market with a new long-term commercial strategy.

To improve quality benchmarking, it is working with UK Research and Innovation, to establish a new oversight mechanism for new scientific developments.

It will improve networking between existing services and is backed by grants from the Police Transformation Fund.

Another objective is acting as a single voice on behalf of policing with key stakeholders.

Most of UK’s 43 forces use a mixture of internal and commercial forensic science provision.

The FCN’s Transforming Forensics (TF) Programme will bring together the existing services to ensure they share knowledge and improve resilience, efficiency, quality and effectiveness.

Ensuring demands for change are met are the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The APCC Forensics Lead, Martyn Underhill, is hosting the FCN in Dorset and sharing oversight with the NPCC Lead for Forensic Science, Chief Constable James Vaughan.

The FCN it is looking to fill roles including operations and commercial capability. Dorset is leading the recruitment process but most of the roles are home-based.

The FCN said: “Policing in the UK is seeking to modernise – making the most of technology and innovative approaches to respond to current challenges and future demand.

It added: “The Transforming Forensics (TF) Programme is designed to support forensic science capabilities across policing to turn this challenge into an opportunity.

"At the heart of TF is a desire to work together nationally to deliver high quality, specialist forensic capabilities. We are creating a fantastic team of dedicated people to successfully drive and deliver the FCN and have opportunities in a wide variety of roles.”