Notts Police recruits UK's first police Digital Forensic apprentice

A 19-year-old says he is excited at the prospect of solving crime with modern technology after becoming the UK’s first police digital forensic apprentice.

Sam Roe joined Nottinghamshire Police in December 2023 and is learning about all aspects of digital investigation within a law enforcement setting.  

He is working towards a level 4 qualification in digital forensics – defined as the process of identifying, preserving, analysing, and documenting digital evidence – with the apprenticeship running for two years.

Over that time he will work with a variety of digital investigation teams, utilising a range of hardware and software to support the extraction of evidence from devices such as mobile phones and computers to support all manner of investigations.

Among the teams is the force’s Digital Multimedia Evidence Unit, which specialises in gathering evidence from CCTV networks, drone footage, audio files and body worn video footage.

Sam, of Heanor, Derbyshire, said he was thrilled to land the role. He said:

“It’s been fantastic so far. I’ve only been here a couple of months but already I’m learning a lot.

“Currently I’m on the cyber team, which investigate things like DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks and ransomware attacks. If a company is hacked or there’s been a data breach, the cyber team can look into how that’s happened and how the company can prevent it happening again.

“Being on the team has been brilliant so far. I’ve been learning as much as I can so I can eventually help out.

“There are so many cyber criminals who are trying to steal data and sell it on. If I can help businesses and the public protect themselves from data breaches, I’ll find that really rewarding.”

Nottinghamshire Police was the first force to advertise the Digital Forensic Technician Apprenticeship, which has been approved by the Chartered Institute for IT, the Institute of Cyber Digital Investigation Professionals (ICDIP), and the Chartered Institute for Information Security.

Blue Lights Digital is among the learning providers brought on board to provide the necessary training.

Detective Inspector Mark Booth, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Digital and Cyber team, said he was looking forward to seeing Sam’s progression. He said:

“I am really excited to be working with Sam in an aspect of policing in which recruitment and retention is particularly challenging. 

“By leading the way, Nottinghamshire Police will be able to shape this education programme to ensure that the workforce of the future is able to provide the best possible service to our communities, who live increasing amounts of their lives online.”

The apprenticeship has been developed by Forensic Capability Network - the NPCC’s national network for forensic science in England and Wales.

FCN’s Jo Morrissey, who has led on developing the apprenticeship, said:

“This apprenticeship is a great way for police forces to recruit talent into their organisation and for people to access an exciting career in digital forensics.

“We’ve designed the qualification to give apprentices like Sam a great all-round experience and the skills they need. We look forward to following the cohort’s progress as more apprentices join across the country.”

If you’re interested in applying for an apprenticeship with Nottinghamshire Police, please follow the following link to see what we have available: Apprenticeships | Nottinghamshire Police.