Nottinghamshire Police apprentice crime scene investigator thriving in ‘dream job’

A week of work experience proved to be the inspiration that led Nottinghamshire Police’s newest crime scene investigator directly to his dream job.

Drawn to the role by his life-long love of science, 19-year-old Louis Clark joined Nottinghamshire Police as an apprentice in February 2021 ­— just two years after completing his work experience.

After an extensive programme of training and shadowing he recently qualified as a tier one investigator, allowing him to investigate the scenes of burglaries, thefts and other similar offences.

He is now juggling a demanding programme of online learning with the day-to-day demands of the role.

Speaking during National Apprenticeship Week, the former Southwell Minster School pupil explained why he sidestepped a traditional university education.

“Put simply I didn’t want to spend a moment longer in education than I had to. As soon as I had completed my work experience I knew what I wanted to do and there was a very clear route in front of me to do it,” he said.

“I have always loved science ­— particularly biology ­— and had been interested in forensic science for a long time. Like a lot of other people I had seen the shows on TV and was keen to learn more about it.

“Clearly, it’s not always quite us dramatic as it is on the TV, but the job itself is even better than I imagined it could be. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t genuinely look forward to coming to work and learning more about the role.”

Crime scene investigators are responsible for finding and collecting forensic evidence which can be used to support successful prosecutions. Fingerprints and DNA evidence plays a significant part in that work, but there are often other opportunities too.

Louis added: “I recently helped to identify a burglar who had left a partial shoe print at a the scene of one of his crimes. Officers were later able to match that to the shoes we was wearing when he was arrested and prove beyond doubt that he had been at the scene.

“That was a great feeling because I had helped the victims of a crime to get justice for what happened to them. Ultimately that’s what this job is all about and what motivates me every day. As crime scene investigators we are responsible for gathering the evidence that can potentially be the difference between somebody walking free and somebody being convicted.”

As one of 26 crime scene investigators, Louis is at the start of his career with Nottinghamshire Police and will be sent to the scenes of more serious offences as his experience grows. But he is already a popular and well-known member of the team ­— having spent much of the last year shadowing more experience colleagues.

He added: “I do get a bit of stick sometimes for being the baby of the office, but I really am lucky to be working with such a experienced and friendly group of people. Every time I go out to a job with them I learn something new ­— either how to do something in half the time, or a new way to interact with people who have just been the victim of a crime. It really is invaluable experience and I can’t thank them enough for all they have done for me.

“This has been an amazing experience for me and I am just so glad that the opportunity for an apprenticeship came up. As a result I am working in my dream job at the age of only 19; I am learning from some really experienced colleagues and getting paid at the same time. In future years I am looking forward to learning even more and progressing to working on bigger and more challenging crime scenes.”

Forensics operations manager Leigh Richards said: “Louis is the first apprentice we have recruited into the department and he really has done a fantastic job in the time he has been here. He really impressed us when we interviewed him and his development since then has been really encouraging. He is already a valued part of our team and I am confident that he will be a fantastic asset to Nottinghamshire Police for many years to come.”